danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

I love the British, but this article in the Daily Mail is tasteless and cruel.  Apparently, a finalist for the title of Ms. England is a size 16.  I don’t know how that translates in American sizes, but this girl–and she is just 17–is spoken of as though she were some sort of colossal, Fat Bastard-esque monster.  I admit that she doesn’t look like the typical pageant queen, but that can’t be anything but a good, since most contestants now just look like middle-aged strippers.

Still, more shocking than Chloe Marshall’s weight are the things this newspaper says about her.  I cannot imagine any serious publication in the United States calling a child “fat,” “lazy,” and a “terrible role model.”  I also cannot imagine a serious American publication allowing so many single sentence paragraphs.  That’s what’s really lazy.

Filed under: Current Events, Health on April 4th, 2008 | No Comments »

As I get older I am finding new ways in which to be crotchety and unpleasant. I am not being difficult on purpose, mind you, but I can be pretty rigidly opposed to things. But I don’t think that I will ever be one of those old people who hates for no reason. Quite the contrary, I am far more socially accepting that I once was, and I am always trying to, if not identify with others’ beliefs, then at least understand where they are coming from. It’s not only the noble thing to do, but it’s also more emotionally healthy for me.

With that in mind I thought I’d examine an area in which I could probably be more sensitive, namely the issue of obesity. An article on ABC News’ website–with the unfortunate title “Study: ‘Weight-ism’ Is Bigger Problem Than Racism”–describes an “accelerated” pattern of discrimination against fat people. Now, to put things in perspective, racism was an institutionalized, systemic and often violent abomination that flourished in the United States, particularly the South, for hundreds of years. It touched the lives of every individual of color in ways that no “weight-ism” ever could. But I cannot deny that in our looks-are-everything society overweight people could easily feel ostracized.

There are several possible reasons for this. Obesity is perceived as a sign of laziness; the poor are disproportionately fat versus the well-off (and nobody likes poor people), etc. But, statistics now seem to show that we’re at about the point where half of Americans are overweight. So what does this say about us? It says, I think, that labels are a refuge for those of us who are unwilling to see people for who they really are.

As for my own role in perpetuating an anti-fat bias, I admit to having used the word “fat” in the past as a general pejorative, even when it was not meant literally. A person might be a “big, fat jerk,” and so on. I also used to call my friends “gayfers.” I don’t know which comedian said this, but I also didn’t “mean ‘gay’ as in ‘homosexual’, I meant it as in ‘retarded’.” I have never been homophobic, nor racist, and I have a profound empathy for the disabled. And I have never consciously discriminated against a fat person in a way I thought might cause harm. I have close friends who are overweight and I love them, so my attitude about them is informed by my appreciation of them as people, not as bodies. I certainly do not love my skinny friends more because they are skinny. But I have been insensitive in my rhetoric, and that’s not nice.

Filed under: Friends, General, Health, Musings on April 2nd, 2008 | No Comments »

Today was my first day as a student at the University of Florida, the institution for which I have worked since 2000. Why am I just getting around to taking classes there, you ask? Well, it’s a long story, and I have now had a remarkable recollection, which is that I don’t really care much for stories. Rather, I don’t enjoy dissecting the microscopic elements of literary fiction to a degree to which the narrative is no longer enjoyable. I had subconsciously put my high school experiences behind me, wherein I was regularly called upon to analyze an author’s use of this or that device, and make arguments–based entirely on conjecture–about his meaning and purpose. I am taking a mix of English and history courses at this point, in case I decide next semester that history is a better fit for me.

Meanwhile, it is challenging to get back into the routines of school again. I have grown quite accustomed to my workaday life, and the mental lucidity that comes from being able to leave work at work, which is to say, my time at home is mine. That is not the case for students, and my time once again belongs to professors. It will be this way for a long time to come now if graduate school is in the picture.

And speaking of “in the picture”: in the picture above you see my arm, stuck with an enormous needle as I gave blood this morning. The last time I donated blood I was 18 years old, and I went with Dan Francke, who mocked a girl we knew for wearing black boots with white laces “which, of course, denote white power”, as he explained to her derisively.

For the record, the title of this post comes from Act I, Scene 12 of Rigoletto, where the Duke, disguised as Gualtier Maldè to seduce Gilda, lies to her thusly. The Duke may be deceiving, but the description fits me pretty well.

Filed under: General, Health, Music, School on January 8th, 2008 | No Comments »

Literally!  And by “it”, I mean my arm…with a needle full of vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella.  I probably would have preferred not to have to undergo this procedure which actually was quite painful, but they made me do it by blocking me from registration until I could prove I’d had it.  So, to the Infirmary I went, where the nurse admitted it would be painful.  She was right.  It wasn’t the sharp needle that hurt, but the injection itself: I could feel the cold vaccine going into my arm.

Say what you want about Santa Fe Community College–and I say they suck all the time–but they don’t require injections.  Then again, maybe they just don’t care.  Then again, again, maybe UF just wants the $75 fee I paid.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Health, School on December 3rd, 2007 | No Comments »

I don’t care if it did kill a bunch of children, I love Peter Pan peanut butter! It’s been off the shelf since February’s salmonella outbreak, the most interesting aspect thereof, to me, being that ConAgra, Peter Pan’s corporate parent, also, apparently, made Great Value peanut butter, the store brand of Wal-Mart.

I had three jars of the so-called “tainted” Peter Pan, one of which I had already eaten to no ill-effect, and two which Miriam forbade me to eat. During the embargo I was forced to purchase an alternative, first Jif, then, Skippy, which I found a reasonable substitute. But Peter Pan’s the best, and I am glad to have it back. Huzzah!

Filed under: Current Events, Food, Health on September 11th, 2007 | 1 Comment »