Karen Kataline Releases FATLASH!

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"People don't hate being fat enough," bioethicist, Daniel Callahan wrote in an editorial for The Hastings Center Report. Callahan's "edgy strategy," according to The Atlantic Monthly, is to "shame fat people" in order to combat obesity. He says that since "diets, drugs and appeals to their health aren't working, they should be "shamed and beat upon socially." Karen Kataline, MSW author of FATLASH! Food Police & the Fear of Thin says this not only creates and exacerbates eating disorders and weight problems, but it is Callahan and people like him who ought to be ashamed.

According to ObesityMyths.com, "Thirty-five million Americans went to sleep one night in 1998 at a government-approved weight and woke up "overweight" the next morning, thanks to a change in the government's definition. That group includes "overweight" celebrities like Will Smith, Pierce Brosnan, NBA stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tom Cruise, Donovan McNabb, and Sammy Sosa."

That hasn't stopped weight and appearance-obsessedresearchers like Callahan who have come so unhinged about other people's body-size that he advocates a "tasteful" form of shaming. He goes on to suggest that overweight people somehow don't know there's a social stigma against obesity. He insists that we ought to embark on a new "era of zero tolerance for body fat."

"We have a billion dollar weight loss industry that hasn't been able to come up with a magic pill to eradicate obesity," Kataline says, "but Mr. Callahan believes he can "make" people thin by proclamation and by normalizing bigotry and cruelty."

"What's the message this sends to children? 'Diversity, tolerance and bullying prevention' are really important but not if you're fat? Looking good and being socially acceptable is more important than character, principles or sound mental health? Is this a strategy of which the Lesbian/Gay (LGBT) community would approve? Perhaps Callahan should propose a new slogan, 'God Hates Fat People.'"

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