Save Me From The Old White Men

Lori this takes my breath away. I cannot believe legislators are paid to come up with this type of nonsense! The voters of each of their districts should be screaming for someone to hurry up and write the recall law. Rampant stupidity should definitely be included in the list of criteria for invoking such a law and we could start with these three.

I heard about the law on the news tonight. It won't fly. It's obviously unconstitutional. Sounds like a new type of Jim Crow law.

L.W.-I know it won't ever become law. It's not that. It is the very fact that someone wrote it, introduced it, and actually typed it into public record in this state and thought it was "okay".

Just makes me growl.

Yeah, I get it. It's an embarrassment. It's like telling men with receding hair lines to stay out of the barber shop. They still have some hair left to cut.

How woul they even enforce this law? Put a scale at the door of every restaurant and stand there with a BMI chart? If that were the case, a lot of people would be turned away. You can be classified as obese on a BMI chart and not look like it at all.

L.G.,
After "the joke" and "the bill", your mama is ashamed to be from Mississippi.
V.M.

NOYRSLF- Mother, you are so obvious. I don't need your damn initials.

Is visiting message boards something you've gotten from ME? ;)

L.W.- Some friends and I were discussing it earlier. One is a lawyer..he basically said the same thing..there is no way to enforce it. Not unless you have trained people on wait staff to check BMIs. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Other than that, what are they going to do next? Stop letting them buy tater tots at the grocery store?

I swear, if people around here don't just sit down, calm down, and stop doing crap like this before they THINK, I might start telling people I'm from Louisiana.

Since I used to live in California, I may just start claiming that state.

Other than that, what are they going to do next? Stop letting them buy tater tots at the grocery store?

That would be hilarious. Underground tater tot networks and chocolate speakeasies will start popping up. The feds will be going into the bakoods to destroy high fructose corn syrup stills. When will the madness end? LOL

"backwoods", not "bakoods". Saw it after I hit submit.

This is a sign of things to come. Obesity causes problems so they say. So, what do they do. Ban the people from eating! If you can do it to tobacco, you can do it to food. This is why we need Government OUT of our lives people.

That has to be the stupidest bill that has ever been introduced. I think you are kinda over reacting to the joke. I thought it was funny.

By the way, why do you have to use "white" in the title? Can't you just say "old men" or is it necessary to use their color?

LawClerk-

1) Just Because
2) Yes

It is necessary to use their color?

Everybody knows that God is an Old White Man...Some of you could get in a lot of trouble. (P.S. I weigh about 130)

I want to ask a question, but I'm afraid of what may happen as a result of it.

LawClerk- I answered that question above. It is the word "yes" preceeded by the number 2. I answered your question that way because the second one was compounded. There were only two question marks. So, I answered the two that ended in question marks.

The clarify..if you had asked it this way
By the way, why do you have to use "white" in the title? Can't you just say "old men"? Or, is it necessary to use their color?

I would have answered:

1) Just because
2) Yes, I could have
3) Yes

With that small issue of comprehension cleared up, I will say:

Old White Men have enough advantages in this country to be able to handle a swift sarcastic swipe in the interest of "funny".

After all, I'm sitting next to a White Man on my couch right now and one day he will be MY "Old White Man" and he finds the whole post hysterical. If he can take it, you can too. Of course, he might be trying to retain access to my Old White Panties.

Oh L.W., go head...we need some excitement. I'm in my jammies on the couch contemplating what matinee I may attend. :)

No. I don't think it's funny. You might think it's funny.

Just because some "White Man" thinks it's funny, doesn't mean I will. I think it's inherently racist. There is zero reason to use the color of their skin in that post.

I wanted to make sure I understood completely what you were saying before I responded. Thanks for clarifying.

Okay, here goes:

In the instance of subject/verb agreement, when a command is given such as, "Come here," or, "Pick that up," there is an understood "you." Why is there an understood "white" when talking about people. If the guy is white, he's called a man, but when he isn't, he's called a black man, Latino man, Asian man, etc. Black people do it, too. Why do we do that? Is it a way of assigning a "personality" or preconceived notion to someone who is the subject of a conversation?

Have fun. I'm taking a nap, and then I have somewhere to go, so you may not hear from me for several hours. Have mercy.

Oh, LawClerk, Bless Your Heart. Do you get this angry when you read satirical pieces in other magazines? Or is it just this one?

If I consistently endeavored to write things that wouldn't piss anyone off, I'd be horribly boring. I hate being boring.

But, I do appreciate your outlook and opinion. This is why I always look forward to the comments after I post things like this....just for the dissenting voices. I love debate. Most often the best debates are brought on by very deliberate provocative statements.

Have mercy.

--HA! Actually, I agree with your post. I have no idea why there is an "understood" white. Interesting point.

But, I do agree that its to assign a certain "category" to the person, or man.

Like...if I started a story with "Well, I walked out of the grocery store and there was this black man in the parking lot."

There is definitely more of an implied "preconceived notion" to that statement than, "Well, I walked out of the grocery store and there was a man in the parking lot." At least in the south...from my experience.

The dynamics of communication are very interesting to me. Especially the things you say when you don't realize you are saying them.

"Do you get this angry when you read satirical pieces in other magazines? Or is it just this one?"

Nope. Just here. The double standard is patently offensive to me.

Plenty of black folks are dying young and poor over a racial double standard that doesn't seem to bother whites much; I'm not going to get excited over "honkey" or "white men" unless the obvious intent is to exclude.

Ah, Tom, finally a man that understands and acknowledges his white entitlement. I thought that was missing from this converstation. :)

oh jeez...

If it's wrong to say for one group, it's wrong to say for the other group. It's sad that you don't get it, but, from the state of affairs that MS is in, I can't say I'm surprised either of you don't.

"his white entitlement"

That statement really perturbs me. You have no clue what you are talking about.

No, I don't get it. Sorry. Maybe you should start a nonprofit. Or hold a rally on the steps of the Capitol. Or get laid.

Now that was intelligent.

I thought so, too.

Easy does it, y'all. Let's not get personal.

Latasha, you're right. LawClerk, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have suggested that you start a nonprofit... ;o)

Tom-I totally didnt realize how much I've been missing you around here. ;)

No, it's ok. I've notice how the rules are only enforced against certain people on this site. No biggie.

Lighten up, Francis. I'm supposed to be the self-professed human piņata, remember?

(And Lori, miss you more. What are you up to these days?)

They are proposing a bill that will make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve obese people. That means anybody with a BMI of 30 or above won't be able to eat with everybody else. This is a problem since 30% of the state is considered obese.

Wouldn't it make much more sense to have another bill - for instance either/or

1) a bill urging MS's Washington Delegation to ask for Fed Funds to help install walking trails and parks - especially in the areas where obesity is the biggest problem?

2) fully funding anti-cholesterol drug prescriptions for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid yet unable to afford meaningful amounts of health insurance (say, HH income under $40,000, individual income under $25,000)

I agree that the legislation is ridiculous, and I applaud the fact that you are raising the issue. Food high in fat is not causing obesity- placing copious amounts of said food into our mouths coupled with a severe lack of exercise is morel likely the answer, not an authoritarian and frightening governmental attempt to curb our admittedly self-destructive behavior.

That said, I have to agree with LawClerk regarding the use of the word "white" in the title. I understand that it is normal to write sensational headline titles- in fact, it was the title that made me click on the link to read this. In that sense, your title was a smashing success and a good use of journalistic instinct on a purely practical level.

However, after reading the article, the only other reason to include the word (besides the sensationalistic approach outlined above) would be to infer that one of the reasons these three men decided to push the legislation was because of the color of their skin. That would appear to be inherently racist, as I understand the word. In your comments, you mentioned that white men have enough advantages to handle a sarcastic swipe- I fail to notice the sarcasm; if it's present, it was certainly undeveloped in the text of the article. However, you did extend the "old" adjective in the headline by commenting on one of the photos.

I don't know what you were thinking when you wrote it, nor do I profess to know. I'm much too old to play Internet Comment War and try to convince the other side that I'm right. I only posit that LawClerk's position is not wholly untenable, not that yours is patently unsound.

As you said earlier, however, these things do provoke debate. I hope we can have a constructive one.

LW wrote:

In the instance of subject/verb agreement, when a command is given such as, "Come here," or, "Pick that up," there is an understood "you." Why is there an understood "white" when talking about people. If the guy is white, he's called a man, but when he isn't, he's called a black man, Latino man, Asian man, etc. Black people do it, too. Why do we do that? Is it a way of assigning a "personality" or preconceived notion to someone who is the subject of a conversation?

This happens with gender. As in The High School Soccer team vs. The *Girls* High School Soccer. When there's no qualifier, it refers to the Boys team, since that's the norm. Bugs the crap out of me.

As for the old white men comment - Y'all just need to quit being so sensitive, poor old white men. And you need to look at who wrote the post, and what her past writings have been like, and develop a sense of humor. I thought it was feminists who had no sense of humor. I guess it's really the old white guys who are lacking...

Alrighty then, ya'll are wayyyyy to sensitive! When something is a fact, it is a fact. Seriously, the original comment was on a ignorant bill to attempt to control what people, who are judged "fat", eat. That is based on a major misconception - that overweight people naturally overeat. We know scientifically that this is not necessarily the case. There are many factors that influence weight and what we eat is just one of them. Other factors are: genetics, diseases, drug side effects (have you every really read the possible side effects of any drug you take?), etc...So not only are the lawmakers spending; sorry, wasting time, designing a bill to take away one of our essential rights, THEY ARE STUPID, TOO!! If you are going to be an "old white man" lawmaker who attempts to take away basic rights, you should at least know what you are talking about! Besides, it is never about the food anyway.
NOYRSLF (better know as: Mother)