New Zealand bars British man's 'fat' wife

Not wishing to once again make fun of those of more "ample" proportions but....perhaps the hidden agenda behind the NZ policy is that even considering both north and south island there is not a massive land mass. maybe they are concerned that they cannot facilitate the space required by our welsh victims?

















Am I bad?(I know Ping will tell me!)

Originally Posted by Ping

This continual fat-bashing is becoming tedious, guys.

I agree...why do you guys do it? its very unkind and yes I take it personally

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

I agree...why do you guys do it? its very unkind and yes I take it personally

we're of the Wife Swap generation. Encouraged to sit back and watch tv/life and make note of how much better we are than everyone else.

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

I agree...why do you guys do it?

Do you want the rather blunt answer or the reasoned argument?

To put it bluntly, it's called comedy and having a sense of humour - if you want a perfect example, you might wish to try watching Jo Brand at work.

If you want a reasoned argument ... it's human nature. When things don't conform "to the norm" or within the bounds of what we term "average" then it becomes the target of ridicule and the butt of many a joke because of the difference.

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

its very unkind

Some of it CAN be rather harsh I will admit, and people should know when to draw the line ... however "continual fat bashing"? what exactly makes it continual? AFAIK there was about 4 comments (all from different people) before Ping posted that - that doesn't make it "continual" IMHO.

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

and yes I take it personally

Well please don't (nobody has actually aimed anything directly at you) ... I'm almost entirely bald and from Liverpool (although I don't have a strong scouse accent) and yet I am the butt of many a joke for being a "slap-head-scouse-git-I'll-nick-anything-me" sort of bloke!? It doesn't offend me in the slightest! Yes, ok sometimes I tire of the constant "ooh I better check me hub-caps" comments from new work colleagues, but I've learnt to take it on the chin, and in the light-hearted way it was intended.

I mean, I can't actually DO anything about my hair loss, so I HAVE to accept it (and the jokes that go with it) ... there's plenty of "fat" people who COULD do something about their weight and CHOOSE NOT TO.

Perhaps people ought to try and be a bit more light-hearted about these things

EDIT: Myself included ... slap-head!!!

Right, back to being serious again.

Continual. Have a look through various other threads where fat-bashing has become the latest trend (where bemoaning other cultures hasn't).

In the media, on this forum. It's everywhere. Not a day goes by that there isn't some anti-fat headline in the news.

It only serves to make 'the sun mentality' nation more vocal about fat people, which isn't a good thing.

Rather than whining about the PC brigade not letting you (the masses) slag off who you like, why not consider just being a nicer person? If people actually cared what effect their remarks had this would be a less nasty place to live in. Each nasty thing that goes on has a knock-on effect.

I also want to ask what kind of people are the type who need to put down others to feel better about themselves?

Originally Posted by Ping

I also want to ask what kind of people are the type who need to put down others to feel better about themselves?

The british.
All tv is based on this now. Fat/bad behaved/ lazy blah blah....

Being nicer does seem like the best option I wonder if work will give me an hour to myself through the week to not be grumpy

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

The british.
All tv is based on this now. Fat/bad behaved/ lazy blah blah....

Being nicer does seem like the best option I wonder if work will give me an hour to myself through the week to not be grumpy

Funny how it always boils back to the media... A worrying amount of power there.

Government enforced 'niceness' sessions...

*shudders*

That's getting into the realms of the WAY too scary...

fines for not smiling?
thought police for negative thoughts ?
It's close

problem is Pedro is where does it end? my daughter was teased and bullied at school because she is profoundly deaf yes she took it on the chin most of the time but I can assure you she suffered severe low esteem. (she used to come home and take it out on us!)

If you had severe low esteem about your bald head then you might take a different view about the way people joke about it. Maybe, luckily for you, it either doesnt bother you, or you pretend it doesnt (if the former then thats probably because its quite fashionable atm - quite fancy'em meself ) but many men suffer severe low self esteem over being bald. Would you stand up for yourself to your collegues if it did bother you? No probably not you would just feel inwardly distressed.

Originally Posted by Ping

Continual. Have a look through various other threads where fat-bashing has become the latest trend (where bemoaning other cultures hasn't).

Ping, I'm sorry but I wasn't aware of all the "fat-bashing" threads about.

Originally Posted by Ping

Not a day goes by that there isn't some anti-fat headline in the news. It only serves to make 'the sun mentality' nation more vocal about fat people, which isn't a good thing.

So, highlighting the health risks that obesity can cause is bad thing?
Not relevant to this thread I grant you, but if the press wish to report the health risks, at a time when more and more people are being declared "obese" then I think that IS a good thing.

Originally Posted by Ping

why not consider just being a nicer person? If people actually cared what effect their remarks had this would be a less nasty place to live in. Each nasty thing that goes on has a knock-on effect.

I also want to ask what kind of people are the type who need to put down others to feel better about themselves?

Well I consider myself to be a fairly nice person, but its a fine line between "putting people down" and "comedy", and not everyone will agree on where you draw the line. I know that sometimes my own "brand of comedy" sails quite close to the wind. So I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here Ping (and ArtyLady). However, just to show my nicer side, I will bear your comments in mind when mocking those I consider "different" to myself