Don't let them eat cake, encourage them!

I was all set to write my next piece on a completely different issue. Then I sat down to dinner with my family and my husband looks at me and asks if a woman’s size 8 is considered overweight. My response was immediate, “OF COURSE NOT!” I had no idea what he was talking about and was flabbergasted at the thought that anyone would think that a size 8 is plus size. I was probably especially defensive because, on a good day, that’s what I wear. On a bad day, that is what I try to wear. On a really bad day, I give in and put on my sweats and sigh heavily as I remember there are cookies on the kitchen table.

Then he told me that he read something online regarding Meghan McCain and some “Ann Coulter-like woman”. Evidently Meghan criticized Coulter, and some other woman came to Coulter's defense by calling her fat. I couldn’t leave it alone and googled the story after I got the little one to bed. Here’s what I found:

A clip of Meghan McCain on “The View”

Meghan McCain’s blog

Now, I don’t know who this Laura Ingraham person is. But unfortunately I am familiar with Ann Coulter. The woman’s a harpy and gives a bad name to the GOP. I read McCain’s criticism of her and have to admit, the girl is dead on. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear how the extreme fanatical fringe of both parties attack the other, throwing low blows and insults. That is not a constructive political debate, people! They don’t seem willing to admit that people who don’t agree with their radical, extreme views are also Americans. We do all live in the same country, last time I checked.

Meghan seems likes an intelligent kid with a refreshing lack of sheep mentality. She professes her love for the GOP, while at the same time bringing to light its faults. She doesn’t seem the type to follow blindly. Maybe she’s a maverick in training.

**Note: I did vote for Obama and not McCain, but it had less to do with McCain and more with Obama. If McCain had won the primaries 8 years ago instead of w, I just might have voted for him. If he had won the presidency 8 years ago, I truly believe we would be living in a much different state of affairs and Bin Laden would’ve been toast. I am mentioning this only to point out that I am not biased against all Republicans and certainly not the McCains.

So instead of defending Coulter by engaging in a debate of policies, etc., Ingraham throws insult after insult, calling her “plus sized” among other things. McCain asks (and I’d like to know too) why is this socially acceptable? Almost every other aspect of a person is now off limits, but we can still be criticized not only because of our weight but also any other part of our appearance. Are Americans really that shallow? Do we really care that Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson has a freakishly dark tan? Or what hideous hat Aretha Franklin decides to wear? Sure, we may comment about it, but do we seriously let it affect our opinion? Do they somehow deserve less respect? Are they somehow less of a person?

I’d also like to know when anything above a size 3 became fat. My 15 year old niece has been obsessing about her weight since she was about 12. She’s constantly making comments about how she shouldn’t eat too much because she doesn’t want to get fat. That is wrong. She’s 15! She should be enjoying junk food while she still can. This society has been brainwashed into thinking that the ideal look is supermodels, actresses and other celebrities who are so thin they become invisible when they turn sideways. Of course, lord help you if you’re too thin! Then people are sure you have an eating disorder, just ask Calista Flockhart. We are so brainwashed, that when an average, or dare I say, normal size woman shows up on TV, I can’t help but notice that she’s chubby compared to her peers. Rachel Ray has often been criticized for her “excessive” weight, for example, and she’s a natural size 6. I heard Tina Yothers say that her self-image problems started on the set of “Family Ties.” Being average size, she looked overweight when she stood next to Justine Bateman (who by the way suffered from an eating disorder) and Meredith Baxter Birney. She didn’t have a weight problem, but was conditioned to think she did. What kind of effect does this have? A really bad one.

As for Meghan McCain? She’s my kind of Republican . . . progressive. The key word being progress.