wrighty Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30529791 So the EU have ruled that obesity could be considered to be a disability, so that with equality legislation meaning employers have to make reasonable accommodation for, amongst others, disabled employees, we could now see employers being forced to widen doors, buy bigger chairs etc. Airlines may have to offer double seats at no extra cost, the obese may get blue badges so they can park in disabled bays etc. Personally I think this is wrong. Obese people have basically chosen to be that way, which is where it differs from what I would consider to be a genuine disability, and they also choose to continue to be obese when their problem could be alleviated by dieting, unlike say an amputee who isn't going to grow a new limb just by cutting down on his intake. What are others' opinions? Is this political correctness gone mad, or should people have the right to get and stay obese and expect society to bale them out when it gets too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I agree, it is wrong to class it as a disability. I do believe that such people should receive help but not in the form of disability allowances, legislation, etc. There was an interesting show about a hospital ward dealing with the obese on ITV a couple of years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillshepherd Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 get us to fuck out of this undemocratic nightmare called the E U,bunch of fat crazy bastards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 its an insult to real disabled people because they have no control over their disability whereas obese/overweight people can miraculously cure themselves by eating less /more healthily and exercising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 get us to fuck out of this undemocratic nightmare called the E U,bunch of fat crazy bastards. Don't worry, you're not in the EU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Important to note this part of the judgement; "Judges said that obesity in itself was not a disability - but if a person had a long-term impairment because of their obesity, then they would be protected by disability legislation." Just being obese will not be enough to "qualify" as being disabled. A person must also have a long-term impairment as a result which could include a whole host of other medical conditions that are already offered protection under equality legislation. The alternative to this judgement is a lot of obese people out of work, drawing unemployment benefits and probably making their condition worse as a result of inactivity. I am not overly concerned with this judgement as there are plenty of fair ways to dismiss someone on the grounds of their capability or lack thereof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 No. Totally wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreidel Dreidelsohn Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Personally I think this is wrong. Obese people have basically chosen to be that way, which is where it differs from what I would consider to be a genuine disability, If I choose to jump into a shallow pond and end up a paraplegic, am I also not disabled? Still, I do agree about fat bastards. Then again, what is the context? If fat people want to call themselves disabled, or if it's for insurance purposes, fine, but if they want a free parking ticket then they can f**** right off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 It's more of an eatability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I fear this story may cause The Daily Mail to spontaneously combust. Middle aged people throughout middle England will be spitting their cornflakes out in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Personally I think this is wrong. Obese people have basically chosen to be that way, which is where it differs from what I would consider to be a genuine disability, If I choose to jump into a shallow pond and end up a paraplegic, am I also not disabled? Still, I do agree about fat bastards. Then again, what is the context? If fat people want to call themselves disabled, or if it's for insurance purposes, fine, but if they want a free parking ticket then they can f**** right off. True, but there are two main differences. Firstly, obesity doesn't happen instantaneously, as in one moment of madness eating a cake doesn't result in a BMI of 40 - it takes literally years of training to get that big. Secondly, the paraplegic can't just reverse his condition by changing his lifestyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhtred Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30529791 So the EU have ruled that obesity could be considered to be a disability, so that with equality legislation meaning employers have to make reasonable accommodation for, amongst others, disabled employees, we could now see employers being forced to widen doors, buy bigger chairs etc. Airlines may have to offer double seats at no extra cost, the obese may get blue badges so they can park in disabled bays etc. Personally I think this is wrong. Too damn true it's wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 its an insult to real disabled people because they have no control over their disability whereas obese/overweight people can miraculously cure themselves by eating less /more healthily and exercising You're right - you can't grow a new arm or leg, or get out of a wheelchair. You can, however, decide to eat less and stop being such a fat lazy fucker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 ok i will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgarian Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Uh, setting fat-prejudice aside, isn't anything that severely impairs someone's physical or mental ability called a disability? If you are so obese that your mobility is seriously impaired then you are disabled, non? Bringing in exogenous factors like 'intent' 'blame' 'fault' into whether someone should receive medical care or social support, or deciding whether its ok to discriminate against them, is surely not the way a caring society should act. Do we use this reasoning for people who have injured themselves while engaged in extremely risky activities of their own free will? In any case, nobody simply chooses to be obese. It's obviously far more complicated than that and this should be recognised. An expression like 'they chose to be that way' is naive. I must admit to feeling a slight sense of unfairness about the extremely fat being given "special treatment" but disabled is disabled isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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