Friday, October 29, 2010

"The things you criticize in others is really what you dislike about yourself"

Maura Kelly the insensitive journalist who wrote smack about fat people but then backtracked when the heat was onSo, Mike and Molly getting it on is turning some people off.

Writer Maura Kelly has, apparently, received enough hate mail to squeeze an apology from her over the article she wrote for Marie Claire about the two plus size actors in Mike & Molly getting "initimate" on TV.

One blogger raises some interesting issues, decrying the comparison of people who dislike fat people to racists, saying "i hate to state the obvious but you can't pick the colour of your skin, you can choose not to eat 50 pies in one sitting". Fair enough.

I've wondered for a while whether people's dislike, distaste and actual loathing of persons of carriage is rooted in the collective consciousness, going back to those hard scrabble hunter/gatherer days.

Back when a fat person -- if one existed -- was more than likely a member of the tribe who was eating more than their fair share of the communal stew.

While watching a documentary about serial killers, recently, there was a profile on a Russian killer/cannibal. A Russian criminologist or sociologist was interviewed and explained that in Russia during the 1970s, and definitely into the 80s, the sight of a large, well-fed person on the sidewalk was enough to strike fear into the hearts of all who encountered him.

Why?

The Soviet Union at that time had hit the skids worse than the west ever knew and food was scarce. The consumption of animals, pets and even people was rampant.

The fleshy, well-fed man ambling down the sidewalk, giving one more than a passing glance, was -- odds on -- a cannibal.

So, journalist Ms. Kelly dove into her article about Mike & Molly and in true ADD North American form, managing to be scathingly insensitive in the article and then sacchrine and phonily contrite in the apology tacked on to the end of it -- basically nullifying the whole sorry thing.

P.S. to Ms. Kelly. "Heroin" only has one "e" in it. Watch The Commitments again for the full explanation.

1 comment:

blank said...

im actually touched, iv been on here one day and i get a link from another blogger in their blog;
i approve of the use of russian cannibals you have in your blog.