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I’d Rather Be Fat….

Sometimes I am truly dumbfounded by the things people allow to fly out of their mouths and what they will post on the internet, from the incredibly obtuse to the blatantly ignorant. This, falls somewhere in the middle…I guess.

Ernestine Shepherd

A friend posted this picture of Mrs. Ernestine Shepherd on his Facebook page. “Ernie”, as she is called by those who know her, is a 75 year old female body builder who looks FANTASTIC! Given her slim frame, she is not bulky, masculine looking, nor hard like the majority of her female counterparts in the sport. She is, however, toned, well defined, and above all else, an inspiration to every African American woman whose goal is to get in shape.

According to the CDC, 51% of non-Hispanic Black women, age 20 years or older are obese. Non-Hispanic Black females aged 2-19 – 24% are obese. These statistics are both staggering and frightening. [Source]

Over half of my sisters are obese and run the increased risk of the following health conditions:

  • Coronary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Cancers, such as endometrial, breast, and colon cancer
  • High total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides
  • Liver and gallbladder disease
  • Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
  • Degeneration of cartilage and underlying bone within a joint (osteoarthritis)
  • Reproductive health complications such as infertility
  • Mental health conditions

So when you say “I would rather stay fat than to look like that.” what I interpret that to mean is:

  • I would rather have high blood pressure and suffer a stroke…
  • I would rather have Type 2 diabetes, rely on insulin, and end up blind and in renal failure…
  • I would rather have cancer…

…than to be physically fit and healthy.

And that…is just profoundly sad.

 

Belief and Fear

I accepted Christ at the age of 13 under duress and the looming threats from my mother. No one was going to live under her roof and not believe in Christ and not be a member of a church.

It was laid out to me like this by my mother, “either walk up to the alter and join church or I will take you by the hand and walk you up there myself“. The easiest way to motivate a teenager is to threaten to embarrass them in front of their peers. Given the options presented to me and the fact we attended a neighborhood church with children whom I went to school, I went to the alter on my own accord and professed to believe Christ as my savior.

For years I attended church, eventually joining the choir as an adult all while having serious questions about Christianity. The more I sought answers, the more questions came. When I began to approach my religion from a logical perspective very little made sense to me nor could I reconcile what I felt tin my heart with what I was taught. (I wrote about this before – HERE)

  • The Bible is the word of God. – According to whom? Men from 2,000 years ago whose intent was to control the masses? Men, who by all accounts, had their own agendas? This word of God has been revised, re-written and interpreted again and again. You can take one verse from the Bible and ask ten people what it means and you will get just as many answers. so it is the word of God to be interpreted by man depending on his/her views.
  • The only and only way to see God, and thus “heaven”, is through Jesus Christ. Even if you live a life in service to others, don’t lie, cheat, steal or commit any of the sins as outlined in the Bible, you will go to Hell (if these places even exists). If you’re Jewish, you’re going to hell. Muslim? Hell. Hindu? Hell. Buddhist? Hell. If you have no religious beliefs? Hell.
  • Creationism vs. Evolution. I do not believe the earth was created in 6 days. There is far too much scientific evidence to the contrary. I believe the prophets attempted to explain Earth’s creation the best way they knew how given their limited knowledge at the time.

Some may wonder if I believe in a deity at all. I really don’t know if God exists or not and I refuse to debate that with anyone, specifically Christians. Hell, just writing and posting this is enough to make some believers’ heads explode and break out the oil and holy water to begin praying over me while speaking in tongues.

It has taken years for me to find the courage to take a step back, and away, from Christianity and I am still breaking free from the shackles of its indoctrination. I know there are more people out there like me. Many of whom are still holding on to those beliefs out of fear and under duress and the threat of an eternal life in hell.

Beliefs and fear are real. If strong enough, both can make the most illogical and  irrational…real.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. ~Buddha

 

Ten Random Facts About Moi

I have foolishly decided to take the 30 Day Blog Challenge. So here goes it….

I have a penny-sized circular scar on the bottom of my right foot and I don’t think any man with whom I’ve ever been intimate has ever noticed. But why would they, right? 🙂

I have a fleshy mole on my belly button.

I don’t have a college degree and that bothers me.

I think the Feminist movement may have done more harm than good for women – Black women in particular.

I don’t believe God exists in the form or manner in which I was raised and taught to believe.

I love the fact that I have re-discovered my inner “lone wolf”.

I lost my virginity at 19 years old but didn’t experience my first orgasm until age 31.

I prefer working with men. Less drama.

I’m afraid of heights but I’m planning on sky diving this summer.

I tried out for the Atlanta Hawks dance squad when I was 28 years old to get past my shyness.

 

NO GIRLS ALLOWED! Ladies, Have A Seat

Estrogen Free Zone

When IBM appointed Virginia M. Rometty as the CEO last year, none of us gave any thought about the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club. But here we are at the end of the tourney and the media, feminists groups and the general public are anxiously waiting. Waiting to see if The Masters will depart from its long standing tradition of a men’s only membership and extend and invitation to Rometty.

The Master’s also has a long standing tradition of offering memberships to the CEOs of its sponsoring companies. Billy Payne, the golf club chairman, firmly refused to answer questions regarding the topic during last Wednesday’s press conference.

This had women’s groups and feminists salivating and hoping to get their Jimmy Choo clad feet in the door, publicly proclaiming it’s time to be let in the “good ol’ boys” club.

To which I say…Have a Seat girlfriends!

First, a question. Why are “some” women clamoring and fighting to gain entry to a place where they are not wanted? Seriously, why?

For those would argue it is the last bastion of the good old boy network that women have yet to infiltrate, I would agree, it is one of the last. But as the saying goes, “everything ain’t for everybody“. Let me clue you in on something…being a woman does not entitle you to anything just because you are a woman. (I include myself in that also.) Let the men have some peace of mind…their own place of solitude where they can gather and do shit that men do without worrying about offending your “delicate constitution”.

If you present the argument that their men only membership policy is discriminatory and infringes on your civil rights, again, I say NO it DOES NOT. Barring women from a private club does not inhibit your access to employment, housing, voting rights, education, nor access to PUBLIC facilities. (See the legal definition for discrimination HERE.) The Augusta National Golf Club is a PRIVATE club ladies. PRIVATE!

We have our women’s only organizations. Why isn’t this enough? There’s the Junior League, Daughters of the American Revolution, the National Woman Suffrage Association, Girl Scouts, Brownies, numerous sororities, fitness clubs tailored for women, and of course, lesbians. As far as I know men aren’t banging down doors and demanding membership into these groups, well with the exception of lesbians. I don’t know of one red blooded man that doesn’t want in on some G.O.G. action. But I digress.

Remember how the little neighborhood boys formed their own clubs in tree houses, abandoned sheds, and dark dingy basements where they loudly and fiercely proclaimed “NO GIRLS ALLOWED!”? Same concept, except we’re all adults now.

So put on your big girl panties, take off those pumps, and sit all the way down….cause I know those shoes are killing your corns!