Large man taking legal action against La Ronde.
Why is it that alcoholics and drug addicts are to be pitied, while those who medicate themselves with food are weak and lazy?
I agree, too, that the availability of "convenience" food makes it easier to consume way more fat and calories than a person needs. There's also the fact that people are working more and crazier hours. Who wants to try to cook a healthy meal after being at work for 12+ hours, let alone squeeze in some exercise when you're falling asleep on your feet?
NOBODY deserves to be humiliated just because they're fat.
I'm a firm believer that rides could have restraints that are more adjustable, like ratcheting lab bars and retractable seat belts. They could hold the skinny people in more securely while allowing the larger rider to fit more comfortably. One of my favorite rides, Mindbender, at SFOG, is a great example of a ratcheting lapbar that works for people of many sizes. OTS restraints could possibly be hinged to allow for variations in chest dimensions.
I've watched kids and really skinny people ride rides where I was concerned for *their* safety-- it looked like they could easily slide right out from under the bar or OTSRs. Heck, I was a tall, skinny kid, and nearly fell out of the Jack Rabbit at Kennywood when I was about 4 or 5. It took me a long time to get comfortable with coasters again after that! At least now when I ride a traditional coaster, I know I ain't going anywhere! :D
I wonder if the guy had ever been to the park before. Had he ever ridden that coaster before? Did it have accurate test seats? If not, then how in the world would he have known that he wouldn't fit on the ride? All that was needed was a POLITE aside: "Excuse me, sir, but it appears that we can't get the restraints to close, so for your safety we're going to have to ask you to exit the ride." A few manners never hurt!
CatPurrson
Cats, books, and roller coasters-- three of the best G-rated, calorie-free pleasures in life! 
Morté615 said:
I would love if the parks and manufactures would work together and give us larger people a chance to ride some of the great coasters, but if I can't I'm not going to sue. I am just going to not ride, and if too many rides in the same park are too small, then I am just not going to visit the parks.
Some manufacturers such as B&M already offer "big boy" seats. The thing is, you can't accomodate EVERY body size all the time. The majority of the public fall within a certain height and girth range and to attempt to accomodate anything on the extreme end for overweight people as an example, is to make it less fun and safe for everyone else.
Heavy and overweight people (such as this man in the 300-pound range) need to realize that their large size means that there will be a lot of things they won't be able to do -- and to be denied these things on the basis of safety should be taken with whatever humiliation they have left. Addiction, genetic problem, disorder whatever, if one puts enough effort into losing weight, it WILL happen. Just lay off the snacks.
I'm taking this man is suing Six Flags not because he was denied to ride, but doing so from the embarrassment of the process -- which I assume involved the loading process halted completely and everyone in the queue watching. Am I right when I say that Goliath doesn't have a test seat out at the queue entry? I'm suprised a lot of the larger Six Flags attractions don't have these.
Just lay off the snacks.
That's the sort of statement I find offensive. Let me guess- you don't have a weight problem.
FWIW, healthy snacks are an important part of a healthy diet. If a person is only eating three meals a day, he/she may get so ravenously hungry by the next meal that they'll scarf down anything in sight. Ever been that hungry? It's a lot better to eat a light snack (an apple and lowfat cheese or some yogurt and grapes, etc.) to tide you over to the next meal. This helps to keep the blood sugar on an even keel, too. Many diet experts are recommending six "mini-meals" a day.
I guess that maybe you think all overweight people do is sit around scarfing Ho-Hos, Twinkies, Big Macs, and so on, right?
CatPurrson (trying not to show too many claws!) ;)
Cats, books, and roller coasters-- three of the best G-rated, calorie-free pleasures in life!
And I certainly don't think all overweight people sit around porking out. But the act of not stuffing your face on a regular basis should not be an accomplishment or anything. Go out and get some exercise, force yourself to a restricted diet, and learn to not let emotions control eating habits. I have friends that have lost lots and lots of weight just by doing this -- of course with the help of family and friends and a little self-motivation.
It's actually A LOT easier than it seems. Too many people like to make excuses for themselves and get defensive about why they are they way they are -- like "ohhh, it's an addiction that's too hard to break," or "You'll never understand what it's like." Please. Not giving into food cravings never killed anyone. Just start the habit of not driving into every McDonald's or Carl's Jr. on the way home from work, steer clear of the meat, dairy, and fried foods in the grocery store, and find a gym partner. Try it out for a few months.
Chuck
That is exactly what I feel when my friends/wfie, etc start calling me "fatty." It is done in good humor...but the truth hurts. They do not do this when I'm 175 lbs. It starts at about 210...
On the other hand, when someone tries to softy"shame" you (notice that it's now a verb) - that's a different thing altogether, esp. when in public...and that's what I would term "humiliation".
This point is well taken...and agreed upon. I must note however, that without the "verb version of shame" there is no "noun version" as in the first case. Therefore, there is NEVER any "highly motivating" outcomes.
Bobby Knight and other rough coaches/teachers come to mind... They are willing to "humiliate" in the name of motivation. This method indeed has its critics and does not work for everybody (see Chuck). But for some of us...it is exactly what is needed (see me). You start sweet talking me and trying to build my self-esteem through kind language...and I'm going to see you as some "weak pink-panty-wearing-softy."
I need somebody up in my face calling it exactly how it is. When I'm fat...I'm fat!
From my perspective this is not about right and wrong...but rather about different motivating tools. The part that irks me is when others want to ban/outlaw (insert your favorite abolishment term here) strong, yet truthful language in the name of preserving self-esteem.
Charles Nungester said:
Honestly, I've never been a big chip, candy bar or sweets person. I snack more now on the diet than I did off. A two point bar or two point bag of pretzels and Im fine till meal time vs a 6 point bag of fritos :)Chuck
Though I'm not on a diet, i don't eat 'snack foods'. I tend to snack on cheese, celery, carrots and other junk like that. Sometimes I eat raw potatoes.
One high calorie indulgence I do have is beer. This summer I kicked the light beer brands and started drinking brands like, Sam Adams, Great Lakes Brewery and JW Dundees. Way more calories, but a better flavor and I tend to drink half as much as i did with the 'lights'.
Great Lakes Brewery Patron...
-Mark
CoastaPlaya said:
RatherGoodBear said:
My own politically incorrect theory on why more people are obese is women in the workforce. Well, actually it's probably more the constant running most people have put their schedules on in the past 20-30 years.Since most households now have two working parents, there's been less time to shop for and prepare meals at home...
Uh, wow... I wouldn't blame weight gain on working women at all. They worked 40-hour jobs during WWII and nobody got fatter. They worked 60-hour jobs during the Industrial Revolution and nobody got fatter.
I'm not sure the problem is purely working women (although I sincerely appreciate RGB's lack of fear when it comes to saying something remotely controversial) but the "two working parents" concept has resulted in a change in meal habits. It's true- not all home-cooked meals are healthy, but on average I think it's better for someone to eat something that was cooked in their own kitchen rather than fast food. Look at how fast food & chain restaurants have spread life wildfire- the number of those places has grown at a rate much greater than the country's population. That alone says a lot about America's meal mentality. People are always on the go. Two working parents- sometimes divorced and functioning as single parents- means that people are always eating meals that are prepared for them because there is no time needed to shop and cook and clean up. I'll also buy into the claim about an increase in medications that have "weight gain" as a side-effect. That is something a lot of people overlook.
There's no doubt about it that America's has gotten fatter over the years. It's no longer safe for kids to play outdoors or with other kids because you might get abducted (how much of that is inflated by t.v. news and news magazines, I don't know).
We've moved from physical labor to computer labor. The work schedule and time spent in traffic doesn't allow many people to get any excercise. When you have people commuting back and forth three hours a day because they can't afford to live in the area they work in, that sets a dangerous trend for little to no excercise.
And now they are saying that the people who you call your friends (even if they don't live in the same area) could influence your size. Could this be part of the reason why so many ACE members and enthusiasts are overweight?
But the reality is that I eat too much and exercise too little! There is ALWAYS time if you make time. I have two kids now and literally go to the gym late at night after the kids/wife go to bed.
Anyhow parallel to all those excuses we have for being a fat society...is the ironic development of the excuse itself. Seems we have all sorts of reasons to not take personal responsibility. And believe me...personal responsibility is what this case is all about!
Somebody is upset that they are too large to fit in a ride...and instead of blaming themself and doing something about it...they've found their excuse (parks' fault, manufacturer's fault, commute's fault, thyroid's fault, etc).
I'm frankly sick and tired of excuses and lack of personal responsibility for all sorts of issues! If we would concentrate a little more on personal responsibility and a little less on political correct language...then the world might be a healthier place!
As far as this guy from Canada. I'm sure he's ran into this before. Just go to America. Everyone sues everyone. Maybe I can earn a buck or two for doing what I did to myself.
Remember that a kid who becomes fat, is likely to remain fat. Health officials are already starting to sound the alarm that unless kids of today get their weight under control, that the diabetes that is already starting to show up in these kids is going to snowball and bankrupt the health system.
And how much of a choice Jeffrey do you think that kids have in what they eat at a younger age? Like my puppy, they eat what is fed to them. So if Mom and Dad don't have time to make healthy meals (or don't know how (oops, that's right they should just know how--it's their responsibility after all), and let kids drink soda all day long, does the kid have a choice in the matter? No.
I still remember going to Texas in 02' and I was shocked at the amount of TexMex fast-food places. I believe that was also the year that San Antonio came in last place as the unhealthiest place in America in one of the men's magazines, and Houston was no. 2 because of all the donut shops.
I'll never forget our security guard at the Holiday Inn in S.A. who was about the size of Jubba the Hutt. This guy probably wouldn't have made it 5 ft. without collapsing.
- Eating too much
- Not exercising enough
I think just took care of about 98% of the culpable causes. Ironically, in an excuse-prone society with ever decreasing personal responsibility, we spend most our time looking at the other 2% of the causation factors (thyroid, No Child Left Behind, commute, etc) and create a picture of helplessness.
With all due respect and no personal argument implied...when you have to trumpet "No Child Left Behind" as an excuse for fat kids...it only serves to demonstrate how prevalent and extreme some in society have become in their attempts to thwart personal responsibility. This very thread has offered up so many packaged excuses that would provide cover to the obese person unwilling to face reality...is it any wonder we've got people suing amusement parks for their own obesity? Just 5 minutes ago I found this story (very slow link)
about a guy and friend suing McDonalds for 10 million dollars because they gave him cheese on his burger. Aparently it is too much for the extremley allergic to take personal responsibility for checking their own cheese now too...?
If the obese person would spend 98% of their time and effort working on the two primary causes listed above...we probably would not need to have this discussion. As it is...I'm staying tune for whatever minority causation factors we come up with next. :)
I don't think that the two people who had to rush the guy to the hospital deserve any money. My first response would've been to call 911, not the McDonalds. Wasting time by calling McDonalds and asking to speak to the manager, and possibly having a heated discussion with the manager are what could've cost the guy his life.
Should Jeromy have inspected his sandwich before eating it? Absolutely. People shouldn't be so trusting of fast-food workers (or any food workers), but he's 20, and probably still naive.
When my friend orders a Whopper from Burger King, he asks for no pickles or tomatoes. Granted, he's not allergic to those things, but he always double checks to be sure. Sometimes, they don't get it right.
It has been my experience time and time again that fast-food workers don't tend to get things right. I can't tell you how many times when asked if I wanted to dine-in or take it to go, my order comes in a bag, even though I specified that I was going to eat there.
You must be logged in to post
