by Melvin Martin
I am of the self-devised theory that the newest form of American Expansionism is occurring along the boundaries of the waistlines of millions of my fellow citizens. It has always seemed to me that Americans, in their eternal quest for more and more, for bigger and bigger, and for better and better, ran out of room for expansion with the settlement of the state of Alaska.
With no where else to go since Alaska has become relatively tamed, the quest for ever-widening circles of places to expand at has focused on the American body--a piece of geography that has expanded beyond all expectations in just a few decades.
When I was a kid back in the '50s, the only place where one could go to see a carnival-type of fat woman was at the carnival--these days just go to the food court at the nearest shopping mall, and there you will see a multitude of women (of all ethnicities) who weigh on average close to 300 pounds. At the same mall, you will also notice that clothing stores that cater to the morbidly obese of both sexes abound in numbers unprecedented.
I replied to a recent comment on weight concerns in the U.S. military that accompanied an article in USA Today, and when I mentioned my weight at the age of 18 (110 pounds) some commentators actually asked if I was female. In 1971, when I was 18 in high school, there was perhaps one noticeably fat person for every 100 students. Go to any high school anywhere in the country today, and as one of my nieces has also told me: there are perhaps 70 excessively fat students out of 100 (which correlates to the 65-70% of American adults who can be medically classified as obese).
Last November, I went to a free buffet for ex-military personnel that is put on every Veteran's Day in the small town where I currently reside. Most of the people there were young adults who were way too young to be veterans and too fat to have been anywhere else most of their lives but at the myriad of eating troughs like this buffet.
At the ripe old age of 56, I still have a 34-inch waist (that I've had since I was 22), and I weigh between 170 and 175 throughout the year. These kids (there had to be about 50 of them) at the buffet had to weigh between 230 and 330 pounds with an average waist measurement of 60 inches. Having worked in the medical field in the '80s and early '90s, I am very well-trained to visually estimate peoples' weight by just looking at them, and I was astounded that night to say the least.
And these kids chowed down on all the wrong stuff! I had a piece of steak the size of a deck of playing cards with a small amount of mushrooms and caramelized onions, two servings of green beans with slivered almonds, a small dinner salad with lo-cal dressing, a cup of chili, a tiny slice of cheesecake with cherry topping and a cup of black coffee. I observed the kids' food selections, and they all served themselves huge piles of pizza with pepperoni, macaroni and cheese, mountains of mashed potatoes with rivers of thick, brown gravy, french fries, fried onion rings, fried okra, fried mushrooms, fried zucchini, fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, fried fish, plates of mini-cheeseburgers ("slammers"), and extra-large portions of cakes, pies, brownies, cookies and soft-serve ice cream topped with all manner of candy like gummie worms, gummie bears and jelly beans, to list just a few.
At one point I went to the table next to mine to get some steak sauce, and there were four 300-pound Future Farmers of America types sitting two tables away from mine with enough food on their plates to feed a family of six for at least a week. As I neared their table, the fattest girl there quickly extended her left arm out in a protective action to encircle her food with an over-sized pink, freckled paw--and kind of growled at me.
A 100-year old gypsy woman once told me years ago when I was traveling around the country that when there is no more room in Hell, then the dead will walk the earth.
In America, when there is no more land to rip off, exploit and over-colonize, the expansionism will turn inwards as it already has and Americans will simply get fatter and fatter and fatter.
The American tummy = The Newest Frontier.
Anyway, this commentary raises a few questions:
1) Are Americans really growing fat because they have no new frontiers to conquer? Would things be different if we had a renewed space mission to set foot on Mars? Or a national commitment to reducing global warming by adopting environment-friendly lifestyles?
2) Native people are about as overweight as anyone, if not more so. What exactly is the cause of this? Is it biological: Their bodies aren't adapted to Euro-American foods? Economic: a result of poverty and the related lack of good healthcare and education? Psychological: the byproduct of colonization and its depressing effects on motivation and self-esteem?
Is it a combination of these factors? Or is it just that when it comes to eating, Indians are like everyone else?
Below: Americans who are ready fight terrorists, liberals, or uppity minorities.
Let's see... could it be that so many people are unhappy and find a satisfaction in eating that is missing elsewhere in their lives? Or possibly that we have become an instant gratification society. Healthy foods take time and preparation. You can't drive thru.
ReplyDeleteAs for ethnic groups, let's look at low-income situations often experienced by these people. Our government has programs that are not nutritionally sound to assist these people. You cannot buy a healthy diet on the amount of Food Stamps allowed. You can only buy subsistence foods to stay within that budget limitation. Lots of carbs and fats but fresh things... veggies and fruits are too expensive to spend much on and so do not find their way into the diet chain. Healthier meats are more expensive and out of reach. You can only buy what you can afford. Something is better than nothing.
There was an interesting show on the PBS about how Native Americans have been affected negatively by these programs. The bean, tortilla and cheese or rice diets... those foods most commonly given away by food banks or government surplus are not healthy for people who traditionally had diets of fresh foods and fish.
There is an increase in Type 2 diabetes that is staggering and really, shameful (to the government) among these people since the switch to these programs entered their lives.
Add to that the diet found in our schools the last twenty years and it is compounded. These diets are also carb and fat based generally, though there is a movement currently to make healthier adjustments.
But no, I do not believe that there is any reason to believe this is linked to a lack of expansion opportunities. Unless we are lemming-like and committing suicide by diet for population control. I doubt that.
Good to see you have no trouble posting stereotypical cartoons.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you're still staunchly defending white people against criticism. Does that chip on your shoulder ever get in your way?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between your "we shouldn't criticize whites" attitude and "whites can do no wrong"? Nothing that I can see.
Sadly, you don't understand stereotypes any better than you understand generalizations. FYI, roughly 66% of Americans are overweight. The image isn't a false or stereotypical depiction of most Americans, it's an accurate one.