Do You Find This Fitness Rant Video Offensive ?

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  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Er... I couldn't tolerate his delivery style, so I didn't listen to it all, admittedly.

    I reached my highest weight while I was going to school full-time (six classes a semester) and working full-time (38 hours a week only because my sup let me cut off a couple of hours for travel time). Could I have done things differently? Absolutely.

    But I don't really consider that "laziness."

    Now, I have been overweight my entire life, but once again, I don't really consider myself lazy. I've always been an active person to some degree (actually now - at my lightest - is the least active I've ever been) and I've never really enjoyed fast food. It's just that my mom makes amazing, but calorie-laden home-cooked food, I've had binging tendencies in my past, and I've always misjudged my portions.

    So... maybe I'm an outlier, and maybe it's not fair to assume he's talking about anyone outside of the norm, but when I hear "fat people are lazy," my first reaction is always to argue that it's an unfair generalization.
  • SlimEsq
    SlimEsq Posts: 45 Member
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    Not really offensive but I don't agree with the premise of judging people on their appearance. You have no idea what that person is going through in their life and honestly, eating healthy is not a priority for everyone. Not everyone eats healthy and works out to change their physical appearance either. He has some valid points about being active and eating right but it is kind of lost in the rant.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    californiagirl2012 wrote: »
    Haha it seems that his message was okay and the "delivery method" seems to resonate more with the men commenters here than the women. I've noticed in general men are less emotional. My husband for example simply decides to lose ten pounds and suck it up and doesn't really say anything about it, he just does it. It's taken me awhile to not get upset and emotional just because my pants get a little tight, just suck it up and do the maintenance thing because no one wants to hear about it. lol

    :) I am just super super quiet IRL and I don't like loud sounds, loud voices, overt enthusiasm, etc. Most of the time when I hear loud sounds I just completely zone out because I find them overwhelming. So his language and bluntness did not bother me. His volume and zeal did.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    I think James Fell of Body For Wife has a good response:
    http://www.bodyforwife.com/john-burk-fitness-*kitten*-of-the-week/
    Essentially, the rant her is just thinly veiled contempt for fat people. Sure, he's couched in language of false concern, but that's obviously not true. The simple fact is, scientific evidence shows shaming is more likely to make weight worse, not better. If John Burk's rant was really because he was interested in making anyone's life better, why is he doing something counterproductive? Why is he keeping that video on the internet, even as people are explaining the scientific evidence to him? People have already pointed out to him how he's wrong, but he's going to continue doing things his way.
    The ultimate hypocrisy is, he says he doesn't listen to critics. Well, if he personally doesn't respond to even constructive criticism well, why does he have any expectation that other people will respond to harsh, nonconstructive criticism?
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    Tinabob777 wrote: »
    I think when he says, "fat people are lazy" I don't take that as they don't do daily things or they are not active. I took it as they don't want to put in the effort to track food, plan meals, read nutrition facts. That's the category I fell into. While I was obese, I was still very active, but too "lazy" to watch my food/portions. Now, maybe he means lazy in the literal sense, and in that case, he'd be wrong.

    Given the stigma that fat people have, I would put money on the fact that he was being literal.
  • maayan98
    maayan98 Posts: 15 Member
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    This guy is definitely not lazy when it comes to injecting steroids... Lol
  • kraft_kris
    kraft_kris Posts: 157 Member
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    I want to be offended, but deep down, I know he is basically right. Overall, I am not a lazy person, my job gets done, my house is clean, my bills are paid, my kids are well cared for (and so is my dog). But, in the area of food & exercise, obviously I am lacking or I would not be on MFP trying to lose 75lbs.

    That being said, I am not particularly motivated or empowered by a person who is calling me repulsive, since the voices in my head do a pretty good job of that on their own.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I don't care for the language and I think he should put a shirt on, but there's some truth to what he is saying. But I think we also have to realize that there are a bunch of people who want to want to get healthy, and yet it seems out of their capability to do so.

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