F16’s Don’t Kill People, 500 Lb. Bombs Kill People

Sometimes, people just get fat from eating more than they should. It happens quite a bit. Really, look around. I saw a cartoon years ago where a character was reminiscing something to the effect of:

"You’re born, you go on a few diets, and you die."

I’d call that fairly accurate.

 

Reading THIS advice column today, I was struck not by the shallowness of the letter writers, but by the curious need people have to turn every fault into a psychological "problem." Gaining forty pounds is grounds for hauling someone off to counseling, and nagging them to work out? No wonder the poor chap in the first letter is depressed, if in fact he is. Living in that sort of an environment being micro-managed by your partner would be well… depressing The way doctors hand out anti-depressants, and slap diagnosis’ on people without much thought, he might do well to seek another opinion. I wonder at who’s urging he sought the diagnosis in the first place? Wonder, wonder, wonder. Worse, it seems to be commonly accepted that so long as one argues their actions are for the good of the other, any and all behaviour is excusable. She’s repulsed by her fat husband…but it is because he’s sick and needs "help." I reckon if he lost forty pounds there would suddenly be some other failing in need of "help."

 

People being people, they are going to want to control others. I get that. What I don’t understand is how it became socially acceptable to do so. It is the normalest thing in the world to fuck something up, and want to blame it on someone else. We all think that way at some point. We don’t however all act on those urges. At least, we didn’t used to.

 

People get fat, they leave their socks on the floor, they drink too much. Human beings-oh man, are we ever irritating. So incredibly irritating. That doesn’t make us sick, or in need of therapy-for our own good. Imagine the arrogance of telling your parter what they need to do…for their own good. Rather like reducing them to the role of a small child. Incredible, really. Why would anyone want to be in a relationship like that?

 

Again, I could care less about the individuals penning off these letters for advice-rather I find it fascinating that it has become completely acceptable to impose one’s nonsense on another person. Maybe it started with the horrendous practise of "interventions."  Anyone can become a "therapist." Really, they don’t screen for being personally fucked-up. Just pay the tuition and you too can have a diploma-mill certificate qualifying you to offer helpful advice based on something you saw on daytime television. Here, have some Kool-Aid.

 

I’d really prefer a world where people could just be honest enough to admit they don’t like their parter any longer, rather than try to justify the dislike by pathologizing everyday life. Trying to impose a bogus psychological label on another human being seems a whole hell of a lot more shallow than saying you’re not attracted to fat people. But then, you wouldn’t get points for being such a good martyr, and suffering because they won’t get "help."

I cannot imagine how exhausting it must be to have that sort of a relationship. All that time and energy put into finding faults and agonising over them, and newspaper columns, television shows and the like making it seem respectable to do so. People are sleeping in the streets, eating from dumpsters and dying of treatable illnesses…and the middling classes (or what’s left anyway) are consumed with rubbish like this? Late Capitalism-fun, fun, fun.