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The little scroll bar on this diary has magically turned green. I don’t remember programming it to be that way, but I am nonetheless pleased. It’s been a while. One time at fat camp we got to eat marshmallows. Or should I say marshmallow. There was a bag, and we were allowed to each have one. But after lining up and receiving our marshmallows, our hands were drawn on with a large “X.” They didn’t think we had enough self-control not to lie to them and finagle an extra marshmallow. The message sent was: we are not to be trusted. Especially when a sugary substance is involved. About a month ago I saw an MTV special about fat camps. I thought it fitting of MTV. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intriguing, if not fascinating. But what bothered me was the way the counselors spoke about the campers. They spoke of the kids as having no control, and triumphantly raided their cabins for contrabands, like iced tea. The campers were literally herded around, and basically treated like they were animals. As if admitting they were overweight by going to fat camp automatically forfeited their rights to be treated like a human. The counselors didn’t seem to appreciate or fathom the thought that maybe these kids had eating disorders. Or maybe they were filling a void with food, that wasn’t being filled by their families or society. Or maybe they were asking for help in the only way they knew how; buy calling negative attention to themselves. Fatness is not a food problem. Well, it is, but not how most people or the media play it out to be. Fat is protection, it’s a red flag, it’s a substitute. It’s not just an overwhelming appreciation for tastes. I guess what I’m thinking is, why does the treatment seem to be always focused on the outside. On loosing the weight? Because losing weight is not a mystery. That’s why it’s done fairly easily at fat camp. Without the presence of “contrabands” and regular forced exercise it’s practically unavoidable. When the fat is gone, people are happy. Society is happy to have one less fat person to look at and one less contributor to their statistics. But the fat is a symptom, and when only a symptom is eradicated, it may either be replaced, or return. There’s still the same need as before. The need to fill voids, the need for shielding, the need for something. Why ignore that, and treat it as a one-dimensional problem. Because if a child is overweight, there’s obviously more going on inside of them than just a slow metabolism. |