I just watched a very distressing video clip. The "ladies" on "The View" going back and forth about whether or not NJ Governor Chris Christie, a possible Republican candidate for president, is "too fat" to be president. This "issue" has become something being discussed on op-ed pages across the country now.
Quips from "The View" included how fun it would be to have a president who could say "Cheetos not vetoes", and when asked about what he would bring to the race and/or presidency, Joy Behar called out "Krispy Kreams".
In this day and age of taunting a person being called "bullying", in what way is treating the governor of a state in this manner acceptable?
Can you imagine the outrage if there were a candidate for president who were gay, and a panel on Fox News were to have a member who said that this candidate brings a mesh tank top to the race?
Yet suddenly Mr. Christie's weight is fair game. It is being discussed as readily as his stance on taxes, even though he has not even declared an intention to run. Is this some sort of indication that "bullying" is acceptable, but only if it is directed at the "right" victim?
Homosexuals or alleged homosexual behavior are off limits. Same for Muslims. Gender-based comments are forbidden. Don't even THINK about skin color. But you have a person who is overweight? It's okay to tell them to "put down the fork", or "eat a salad". In fact it almost seems to be encouraged.
Maybe it's time for a new viral video campaign. One that declares "it gets better, unless you're a fattie". Skinny models, actors and actresses, and everyday people can record quick youtube commentaries saying that just being you is fine, and something you should be proud of, unless of course, you are fat. Then, you are a punchline.
Let me be clear. I don't care if a political candidate is black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or Arab. They can be Catholic, Jew, Atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Zoroastrian. They could be fat as Jabba the Hutt, or skinny enough to make Kate Moss look corpulent. They could be a 7 feet tall giant, or a 2 foot tall dwarf. Straight, gay, or somewhere in the middle. If you believe in what you preach, and I happen to agree with it, you will have my vote.
So I would, in fact, vote for an Inuit, lesbian, little-person, who worships Tiamat, and is built like a blimp who holds to the same conservative philosophy I do sooner than I would vote for a Caucasian, straight, Roman Catholic, knockout who looks like Angelina Jolie who holds to some views that I do not agree with.
In politics, these labels are all meaningless to me. All that matters is that you believe what you say you do, and I'll vote for the one(s) who most closely match what I believe in.
In life, I am the same way. I don't judge anyone by how they look or what they do in their spare time. I listen to what they say or believe as a person. Why is it so damn hard for everyone else to do the same, and stop with the categorizing of others in ways that suggest that SOME people are worthy of respect and encouragement in themselves, but others are not?
I refuse to fall back on "can't we all just get along", because that is a garbage tagline anymore. Can't we all just stop behaving like petty piles of crap to one another, and start behaving like humans to each other? Is simple respect so damn much to ask?
