I didn't click on the link because whatever, but honestly gyms can do whatever they want just like restaurants can.

If no gym anywhere will serve skinny people, well, sue em I guess. I feel like a lot of out of shape people dont go to the gym because they feel the gym is populated by beautiful people and they are ashamed. Often they are right, gyms where I am are populated by good looking fit people, but my gym is a university gym. Still, I am sure there are out of shape people at my college that want to go to the gym but would feel judged.

I know for myself that every time I do see a large person at the gym I am secretly impressed that they had the stones not only to try to do something about their health but to work out in front of all the model-like people at the gym.

I say this in solidarity with them because I use the weight room to work out which is populated by meat heads whereas despite my best efforts I'm perpetually wire thin. Idc, I'm stronger than I would be without it, but my roommates (who share my body type) for instance partially don't go to the gym because they know they're weaklings.

So I see nothing wrong with this

I think you're overreacting here. Banning thin people from a gym isn't a symptom of the West's decay. I don't even think Pat Buchanan will get behind you on that. The whole business model of this particular gym is to focus on the business of fatties. If some 250 pound lady has to be on the treadmill next to a gorgeous, thing goddess then fatzo will just stop going. The gym markets itself as a place fat people can workout without feeling humiliated. It sounds like a great idea to me.

I mean COME ON...

You might think I'm being unfair and looking down on people with that, saying "But you just say that because you're snooty and think anyone who hasn't read as many Old Dead White Men's books as you have deserved to be mocked."

But it's not that at all--

I'm a self-proclaimed liability when it comes to mathematics--I FINALLY passed my last class, Stats, so I NEVER need to take another math class again, ever, for the rest of my life (oh what a joyous day!) but still...

STILL--on my worst math day...
When I failed about as miserably as you can fail a math test (and I got into the 20s on some of those Algebra II tests, I could be pretty abysmal, sad to say)...
Even when I felt my worst about it--

I'd NEVER think to myself "Damn, I wish all the GOOD MATH PEOPLE were out of this class, all the folks that actually GET this stuff are making me feel badly about myself, damn it, they should go so *I* can get a morale boost!"

I mean...how selfish and illogical is that?

*I* am the one that fails miserably...but those with ability must be the ones barred?

What's more--and maybe everyone won't agree with me here--I'd say, from all those times feeling badly about doing so poorly on a math test and failing--

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FEEL THAT WAY...FAILURE ISN'T *SUPPOSED* TO FEEL GOOD...YOU PICK YOURSELF UP AND TRY AGAIN AND PASS AND THAT IS HOW YOU SHAKE THE BAD FEELING...GOOD FEELINGS AND FEELINGS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE *EARNED!* YOU DON'T GET THEM HANDED TO YOU BECAUSE THOSE WHO ACTUALLY *ARE* SUCCEEDING MAKE YOU FEEL BAD, FAILURE IS SUPPOSED TO KICK YOU IN THE BACKSIDE AND SPUR YOU ON!!!

OK, rant over. :)

But really, how absurd is that?

I love how self-satisfied anorexics like Obi feel like they have some kind of moral superiority over the so-called "fatzos". Obi admittedly doesn't eat, yet thinks he's the 'smart kid in class' when it comes to health. No, you're probably more unhealthy than most of the 'fatzos' you love to hate.

" how absurd is that?"

Not really absurd. You're a walking explanation for why people like you should be banned from gyms.

It is truly astounding how all super thin people feel like they're something special for being super thin, and feel the need to mention all the time how 'thin' they are, as if that's impressive, especially when you're a chain smoking, junk food eating emaciated bony corpse of a human being bragging about your thinness.

Putin I just did Ctrl+F for "fat" and it only came up in Invictus' post. Obi didn't say "fatzo"

Also I would like to politely submit that calling someone a "chain smoking, junk food eating emaciated bony corpse of a human being" is at least as damaging to someone's body image as calling them "fatzo" might be.

"I love how self-satisfied anorexics like Obi feel like they have some kind of moral superiority over the so-called "fatzos"."

Ummm...where did I derive moral superiority from there?

Especially due to my being skinny (and not skinny and toned, mind you, pencil-neck white-'n-nerdy skinny) where was the moral superiority there?

The ONLY superiority I claim is over those who quit because they feel badly about failure.

And, you know what, Putin...

Yeah, I'll take that superiority--I might write shit, but if I never get a thing published, at least I can look myself in the mirror and say I tried.

I'll still count myself a failure, and not feel good about being a failure (because you shouldn't feel good about being a failure, and if you have some defense for that and think you SHOULD feel good about failing, I'd love to hear what it is and why) but at least I could say I submitted work, the same as the Cormac McCarthys and Alice Sebolds and Toni Morrisons of today, and they were (obviously) better than I was and hey, I lost fair and square.

Also--I never called these people "fatzos," nor did I get on them for BEING fat, if you'll notice, ONLY for being so insecure as to bar those who ARE fit from their presence because the sight of what they'd seek to be--someone physically fit--makes them feel badly.

"yet thinks he's the 'smart kid in class' when it comes to health."

Don't believe I said that either, I was talking about barring those who were successful to make the unsuccessful feel better--

If you'll notice, I did NOT count myself as a physical success (because, again, a strong breeze can knock me out in a fight...or maybe even a slight breeze...or maybe a leaf falling from a tree...the tree's shadow itself could probably put up a good fight against me...)

"No, you're probably more unhealthy than most of the 'fatzos' you love to hate."

1. I NEVER said I hated them for being fat, and that's just slanderous and beneath even you, Putin, and

2. I don't doubt it, hence my asking you now--can you read? Did you read? Did you read me calling these people "fatzos?" YOU seem to be the one calling them that, not me...did you see me call myself a paragon of physical brilliance, a Hercules amongst Big Daddys? Nope.

So, I have to ask, Putin--

How's YOUR health, because judging by how poorly your eyes must've been to have misread all that so poorly, you clearly should seek out a pair pf glasses and a doctor immediately.

The doofus is comparing people of size to people who are bad at school, and saying they deserve to feel like shit because they're failures. He's an arrogant bully who is looking down on others because he decided to starve himself.

"It is truly astounding how all super thin people feel like they're something special for being super thin, and feel the need to mention all the time how 'thin' they are, as if that's impressive, especially when you're a chain smoking, junk food eating emaciated bony corpse of a human being bragging about your thinness."

1. I don't smoke, nor do I plan on smoking, I have enough health problems as it is,

2. I'm sorry, FIRST you say I don't eat, and then (assuming your "you're" is directed at me/people like me) call me a "junk food eating emaciated bony corpse"...

How can I be a McDonald's guzzler if I don't eat?

Be consistent with your slanderous lines of attack, please...

Dunno, brings parallel to not employing tattooed folks because the customers wouldn't like it. I mean, it's a good business model that self-promotes itself and builds on "my house, my rules" policy but that's how discrimination works, it's the building block. This form is harmless like gender separated restrooms but instead of "skinny", you could insert "Jewish" and you get the picture. We are not really racist but our core customers are not comfortable around black people, you see? Still, this seems OK.

But since you wanted to direct the discussion in another direction: it was always present. It's the equivalent of lowering the bar so more people would succeed. Most people do not particularly cherish people who make them realize their own defficiencies. Especially if those people achieve more because of hard work. If the smart kid always knows the answer because it's really smart, it might pass as cool but if the kid knows the answers because it studies hard than it's simply a nerdish smartass, a lightingrod for all those lazy to study. True, it's not something commonly associated with the way Americans roll but around here, I see it quite often. In fact, the other issue you mention, "fear of failure", is often mentioned as a widespread trait of Czech students by visiting American teachers. If you don't know, you pretend like you're somewhere and hope that you won't have to answer because guessing wrong is much mopre humiliating than not guessing at all. Bullshit, but that's how we're wired. And I don't believe people change that much over time, more likely the ancient scribes thought it was so natural that it didn't even deserve mentioning. So, while we might think that the "West grew strong" because it overcame this attitude, more likely it made it despite this attitude.

lol why dont we just create like a medical history thread where we just post our health issues and critique each other

"The doofus"

Really, Putin, how are you claiming the moral high ground when you're the one who resorts to grade-school name-calling?!

Are you going to call me a "Big Ol' Meanie" next?

xD

But Obi, when you sit in class and take a test no one can tell by looking at you that you can't do the math with ease. And your math class isn't tailored to math dummies. The heavy set folks stand out unlike you and the business has a right to market to whoever they want. Speaking as one of the heavy set (5'11" 260 lbs) I can tell you it is hard to get motivated when the folks around you are all Adonises and Venuses. That is why my workouts are off peak hours. And if you are going to go off on that then why not go off on Curves who bans membership by men so the women don't feel like pieces of meat?

So much for enjoying the right of the first response!

You called them failures, akin to people who do badly in math class. And thin people are the 'smart kids'. That comparison was made explicit, so don't try to deny it and claim I need glasses.

"Banning skinny people from a gym...because it "brings down morale"...
Isn't that sort of like getting rid of all the smart kids in class"

The skinny people are the 'smart kids in class'. Nothing about health, and how healthy these 'skinny people are'. No mention made of larger people being healthy, just a different body type. No, large people are 'failures'. Skinny people are the 'smart kids in class'. GFY

@Putin

Even by your standards, you're grasping at straws here...

"But Obi, when you sit in class and take a test no one can tell by looking at you that you can't do the math with ease."

I don't know about that...

I know I could always tell who, like me, was sweating it out and miserable during the test, shaking their heads and giving long sighs and clenching their fists...

And those people who breezed through in twenty minutes and skipped out with a smile.

And in class, you DEFINITELY can tell...

Those kids raising their hands over...and over...and over...

And those kids praying they teacher doesn't call on them like some shrimpy Little Leaguer playing right field praying "Please don't let the ball come to me, please don't let the ball come to me...!"

As a skinny person, I can see the reasoning behind the decision but the gym is targeting the wrong people. Get rid of the meatheads and jocks that hog the free weights and popular machines so the little guy can get a turn.

Fuck skinny people claiming they have it bad. Last I checked every clothing store had reams of clothing for people who look like something out of Nightmare Before Christmas. While the handful of stores who cater to larger clientele jack up the prices because they know people have no alternatives, and the clothes are all mono-color and look like badly made drapes. Nor do skinny people face healthcare discrimination on a daily basis, where every health issue they have is blamed on weight, even if weight has nothing to do with it. Society is rife with fat-hate, which is deeply rooted in misogyny.

I'm not a person of size, but that doesn't prevent me from recognizing their being treated like absolute shit by society. Fat-hate is the last socially acceptable form of bigotry.

Show me where I misunderstood the claim that skinny people are the smart kids in class.

Putin get off the soap box.

I'm overweight and, honestly, no one has given me a hard time since elementary school. Save your pity for someone who needs it.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2009/10/glutton_intolerance.html

Who needs evidence when you have abgemacht's anecdotes.

This is just another example of Putin making himself the figurehead of a group he has no claim to, demanding everyone acknowledge that they are horribly disenfranchised, even when members of the group say they aren't, and then decrying anyone who protests as heartless perpetuators of injustice.

"Get rid of the meatheads and jocks that hog the free weights and popular machines so the little guy can get a turn."

There you go. However I was assuming that muscular people would be included in this particular gym's ban. Only fat people allowed.

Also Putin is right that fat-hate is everywhere and isn't okay. However, just as a side note on the clothes - it's not just fat people who had it rough about the selection. As someone who is part of the "tall" in "big and tall" I know the travails of trying to find the trifecta of:

1) clothes that fit
2) clothes that look okay
3) clothes I can afford

sometimes i give in on one or more of those just because im sick of looking

The Curves gym near my parents' house is women-only. Same type of restriction idea.

Fact: a business has a right to recuse service to anyone for any reason. Fact: Many gyms are meat markets for the pretty people.

I applaud this gym for serving the people of size and providing a safe and judgement-free environment for us.

"This is just another example of Putin making himself the figurehead of a group he has no claim to, demanding everyone acknowledge that they are horribly disenfranchised, even when members of the group say they aren't, and then decrying anyone who protests as heartless perpetuators of injustice"

This is just another example of a hater proclaiming himself to be the spokesmen for all members of said group, who can then unilaterally declare himself to know the experiences of all members of said group, while resorting to nothing but personal attacks because he knows his argument is totally ridiculous.

Many members of my family are people of size, so I've seen this first hand. If you want to resort to silly anecdotal arguments instead of actual facts, then let's go.

"Dunno, brings parallel to not employing tattooed folks because the customers wouldn't like it. I mean, it's a good business model that self-promotes itself and builds on "my house, my rules" policy but that's how discrimination works, it's the building block. This form is harmless like gender separated restrooms but instead of "skinny", you could insert "Jewish" and you get the picture."

I disagree with the last part for a simple reason:

You can't help being Jewish/black/white/straight/gay...those sort of things...

That's barring not based on who you are as a person but WHAT you are, which you have no control over.

The case here isn't like that, unless you (as some folks do) have a glandular or medical condition, you CAN control to a great extent how fit or unfit or skinny or otherwise (to avoid the "F" word for fear or Putin's trolling along saying "HA! HE SAID "FAT," *CLEARLY* HE HATES FAT PEOPLE!!!")

So I don't see being skinny/otherwise as a form of discrimination on par with being white/black/straight/gay/whatever...

Sure, in school you CAN get picked on for being fat, and that's discrimination, but it's still not, for the most part, on par with, shall we say, the "spirit" of discrimination...

Generally, when someone pulls the "discrimination" card it's because someone's discriminating based on race, religion, orientation, something of that nature, not based on personal preference or body shape.

You can argue it, sure...just saying, it's not as if the KKK are seeking out Burger King patrons, or that the WBC posts on their website "God Hates Fats!" (Gotta love puns.) :p

"But since you wanted to direct the discussion in another direction: it was always present. It's the equivalent of lowering the bar so more people would succeed. Most people do not particularly cherish people who make them realize their own defficiencies. Especially if those people achieve more because of hard work."

...Which is why I hate that and this gym thing annoys me...

I have friends who go to the gym every day...and I've never thought to say "Gee, it's not fair how *insert name* is able to impress women with his biceps or can throw a football farther than I can"...

My father actually has a weight room in the room next to --

He's up at 2am every day working out and enjoying his Bible, I'm up at 2am reading whatever author I'm reading at that point and writing.

I choose not to work out, and my father chooses not to write--

And for all the many things we DO dislike about one another, I've never been angry at him for his being able to bench-press 200 lbs., and he's never been angry I type 20 page papers...

So I just don't get that animosity--it's a free choice in that regard, so why should I be bitter when, with equal opportunity to work out as someone else, I'm completely without tone, and with as much access to a library as me, those friends of mine haven't read Milton or Eliot or any of those authors I prattle on about here.

And no one gets sore about it...what's more, I can't imagine them being assholes to me if *I* suddenly wanted to start working out, and I wouldn't get on them if they tried reading Shakespeare and didn't understand the language entirely...

Being good, or even adequate, at anything takes time, so yes--

You WILL be the unfit person in the gym or the poor student in the class for a while...but you realize that and use that as incentive to get better and become another of the fit people you are trying to emulate or else gain the ability to retain what you use the quadratic formula for and how you go about using it.

Isn't that part of the fun of becoming excellent or good or decent at anything--the fact you start as nothing and build your way up?

To use--gasp!--a pop culture reference for a change...

Isn't that why they show Rocky out of breath and totally exhausted just a little bit up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art when he does his famous training montage BEFORE he finally and triumphantly makes it to the top with his arms held high?

Isn't that what makes it iconic and relatable--going from unfit and unable to tackle your challenge to finally conquering it?

And people calling Rocky a bum throughout the movie spur him on...

Isn't cheating that experience, of facing people thinking you're no good or unfit to the task and proving them wrong and proving yourself to be worth something...isn't cheating that for the security of an environment built upon insecurities lacking in some of that?

No.

*YOU* are the one who unilaterally declared that *all* fat people were disenfranchised and, worse yet, that *all* thin people were worshiped by society. It simply isn't the case.