Unless you have been part of a sequestered jury or subject to some other court-mandated media ban, you are probably aware that Toronto recently elected a mayor who has been a bit controversial.
Career politician Rob Ford was never one to shy away from controversy before he was mayor and he generated a laundry list of jaw-dropping gaffes during his time as a city councillor. His election, sweeping victory, and subsequent first 11 months as mayor, however, have served to work Toronto's left wing -- from social activists to cyclists -- into a fine, frothing rage as he continues to do precisely what virtually everyone should have predicted he would do when he was elected (namely, continue acting like Rob Ford).
Since being elected, Rob Ford's city hall has spent over $400,000 to remove bike lanes that cost $59,000 to install, he has shunned Toronto's Pride festivities and he has ordered budget consultations that are considering, among other things, library closures, fire and police department layoffs, the elimination of 2,000 daycare subsidies, scrapping a program that funds 685 student nutrition programs, scrapping 42 AIDS prevention projects, cutting funding for 38 community drug prevention programs, closing the Toronto Environment Office, and even cutting Christmas Bureau, a program that distributes gifts and donations to needy children.
In short, Rob Ford has done plenty to draw valid criticism from the left and from people claiming that he doesn't have the city's long-term interests at heart (and this is to say nothing of his brother's recent public feud about the usefulness of libraries).
However, despite this plethora of rage-worthy mayoral activity, debates about Rob Ford are often undercut by some of his lazier critics with name-calling that tends to ignore the issues and generally lowers the level of discourse to that of mere personal attacks. I'm talking about the tendency of some of Rob Ford's critics to point out that Rob Ford is fat.
It's a common thing to find in the midst of any heated debate about Toronto municipal politics: Rob Ford fat jokes. They're virtually everywhere you might find an angry Toronto lefty, from graffiti to the comments sections of Toronto blogs to Facebook. These jokes are generally unfunny and rarely are they even remotely related to the actual matter being debated.
These types of attacks on Mr. Ford's appearance have just as often been denounced by Ford supporters for being out-of-line and irrelevant as they have been denounced by Ford detractors for being off-topic and counter-productive. A more thoughtful political commentary, the refrain often goes, needn't attack a man's weight, but instead should focus on his politics and performance.
Except here's the thing: Rob Ford is fat. And it matters.
I mean he's really big. By his own admission, Rob Ford weighs at least 300 pounds.
In my opinion, that is excessively, can't-blame-it-on-big-bones, dangerously fat. Rob Ford is of such bulk that I believe genetics alone are not to blame. You cannot brush Rob Ford's weight off by noting simply that he's "a big guy." Rob Ford's mass is such that I think it would be impossible not to assign him at least some of the blame for getting that big. Indeed, a story profiling Ford in MacLeans leading into the mayoral election opened with Ford digesting "a lot" of "roast beef and mashed potatoes" and similarly noted his weakness for root beer.
What I am trying to say is that I don't think Rob Ford is fat because he can't help it; I think Rob Ford is fat because he doesn't care about his health.
And as citizens in the city which he governs, this should be cause for alarm.
According to Health Canada,
[i]f you are overweight or obese, you may be at risk for a wide range of serious diseases and conditions including:
Obesity is one of the leading factors in heart disease and stroke, as well as in Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 1.8 million Canadians.
- hypertension or high blood pressure;
- coronary heart disease;
- Type 2 diabetes;
- stroke;
- gallbladder disease;
- osteoarthritis;
- sleep apnea and other breathing problems;
- some cancers such as breast, colon and endometrial cancer; and
- mental health problems, such as low self-esteem and depression.
I believe that the fact that our mayor is fat is actually relevant to the debate about his competency to do his duties. Not only does his risk for heart disease and stroke call into question his ability to actually remain physically healthy enough to act as mayor for an entire term, I think it also speaks to a level of personal irresponsibility and short-sightedness.
A person who would choose to ignore these health risks and instead continue to eat unhealthily and chug caffeine-filled energy drinks is showing little regard for his future. It stands to reason, therefore, that we might question this person's decision making when it comes to making sensible, long-term decisions regarding our city. I would argue that every time Rob Ford has a high-sugar beverage he is ignoring a plethora of facts which are readily available to him (the nutrition label on the can, statistics about diabetes and obesity, etc.) and, instead, he is making a choice to satisfy his more basic urges immediately with no regard for the consequences.
And so, when the debate turns to Rob Ford, his budget cuts, his disregard for cycling infrastructure, his funding cuts for social programs and his commitment to lasting, long-term solutions to the city's problems, it may seem inappropriate for someone to bring up the fact that he is a fat person, but I would argue, it is not irrelevant.
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Only there's a few slight problems with my weight loss plan:
1. Riding a bike has no place in Mayor Ford's Toronto.
2. Sending children with cancer to summer camp does nothing to benefit Mr. Ford and as he has no apparent compassion he would never participate in this sort of thing.
3. Riding a bike requires expending effort (and in the case of my ratty knee) occasional pain. As far as I can tell Mr. Ford believes that if there isn't an easy way out, its not worth doing.
If you wish to criticize Robert Ford's policies and political decisions, go ahead and do so directly.
If you want to criticize Robert Ford's weight, and overweight people in general, go ahead and do so at your peril.
You've made the poorest, most unwise choice of all and try to combine both criticisms and it's simply dreadful. Insulting, offensive, pointless.
And if you are going to tell folks that being overweight is evidence of a politician's "irresponsibility and short-sightedness," you have NO choice but to criticize every politician who smokes tobacco, who drinks in excess of suggested daily limits, who has failed to get his annual prostate exam, who doesn't exercise regularly, who has unprotected sex outside of a monogamous/exclusive relationship, who goes bodysurfing, who doesn't use sunscreen...
Let me stop, because all I wish is to show you this is quite wrong.
Criticize a politician on her or his own terms, as a politician, judged on her or his policies and politics.
Leave the Fat Factor out of it.
My argument here is not meant to imply that all fat people are incapable of making decisions. I am aware that overweight people can and do lead responsible, well-planned lives.
It was my hope that by listing some of Rob Ford’s decisions with which I disagree, I would make it clear that I’m not simply grasping at straws to insult a man with whom I don’t share a political affiliation. There are plenty of reasons to be unhappy with Rob Ford’s performance as mayor thus far; regardless of weight. I thought I made that clear.
If I didn’t, here are some more examples that I hope will help:
As Rob Ford rolls out short-sighted plans for Toronto’s waterfront that include a Ferris wheel, a monorail, sports complexes and malls, and as Rob Ford backtracks on the poor decision not to accept provincial funding for public nurses and as Rob Ford goes hat in hand to the Province for funding for the TTC after he said he wouldn’t, it is becoming increasing clear that he is a poor planner and has trouble thinking long-term; opting instead for announcements and proclamations that seem satisfying in the short term, but ultimately ignore long-term issues.
Accordingly, Rob Ford’s weight, demonstrably the result of satisfying immediate urges and ignoring potential long-term health issues, is a relevant issue. It is symbolic of the way in which he has chosen to govern Toronto thus far.
Problems with this leap:
1. not always do people's personal choices correspond to choices having to do with other people
2. can we be certain a context-specific myopia generalizes to all domains?
3. someone acting in unhealthy ways is either (a) unaware, or (b) in denial of the consequences; does it follow that he is unaware or in denial of the consequences of his political actions? Unlikely
His fatness may preclude him from understanding the value of the bike lanes, but I think that's the strongest argument you have.
And I guess Libby Davies should withdraw from running as head of the NDP. She could be PM some day!
Indeed, you could probably make the same argument for any harmful vice.
You could, however, argue that smoking might get different treatment given that it's so addictive.
As for Winston Churchill, I'm assuming you refer to images of him at his most famous and arguably most politically brilliant, namely World War Two.
Churchill was around 70 at that time so you can hardly fairly compare his physique to Ford's. Find some pictures from Churchill circa 1916, when he was 42 (Rob Ford's age) and I think you'll find he was far from fat.
I look at the multitude of seriously overweight people today, many of whom are desperate to take it off and keep it. But they just can't do it, no more how hard or often they try. Nope, being overweight is not simply a matter of not respecting one's body. It's a condition where our most basic survival instincts are turned against us.
As much as I dislike everything Robbie and Dougie stand for, they are helping the city to organize around their simplistic ideas.
That's essentially the argument I've made: He has the information in front of him that his weight is a health issue, he has the means to take preventative and intelligent steps to correct the issue, and yet he chooses to do nothing. This is indicative of poor judgement or irresponsibility.
Anyway, my rebuttal is moot evidently given that you've already chosen not to read anything I write again.
Secondly, if you recognize that it is not nice to pick on someone because of their weight then why did you intentionally do it? Frankly it is none of your business and you do not have the moral right to comment on any personal life style choices another person makes when it is legal and has no adverse effect on you or society in general. if he was a alcoholic, drug dependent, brothel user or any "social" choice of that nature then yes because that directly effects the job he is in. appearence? not your right to criticize!
Though your argument seems to imply that all conservatives seek to gratify short-term urges. While I agree that Rob Ford's plans for slashing and burning are satisfying short term urges, I'd hesitate to say all conservatives feel the same way; especially given that, by definition, most conservatives are fiscally...conservative.