Question:
Oh My God!! Please Help!!
— ronascott (posted on July 6, 2004)
July 5, 2004
Right on Rona! or should I say Write on Rona!
— MARSHA D.
July 5, 2004
YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!(clapping loudly) That was awsome.. I am from South
Alabama.
— Vitabella
July 6, 2004
I can not believe it. If you need any help emial me. This is....I'm so mad
I can't even think. I will to write a letter and everyone else who reads
this and feel the same way should also.
— sarah C.
July 6, 2004
Rona, I'm sorry that individuals still think it is okay to get a laugh at
the expense of fat individuals. Your local paper has indeed perpetuated
the fat stereotype by putting that erroneus article in the paper. I think
it would be very interesting to see how me reporters and staff from the
paper are overweight, if they follow average statistics I would say atleast
50% are overweight. It's also obvious that Mr. Harry Lyons struggles with
his weight and is probably scared to death that he will gain again, so he
attcks what he is afraid of fat and becoming fat. I've known many of
individuals who have lost weight and then preached to everyone on how to
lose, only to gain weight in the future. I hope your paper has integrity
and writes an apology to all of it's citizens for it's poor taste in
articles.
— Debra J.
July 6, 2004
Rona, can you provide a link to the article? I can't find it using the
paper's search feature.
— Jeanie
July 6, 2004
The article is not on the paper's site because the paper is still for sale.
However, if you will go to http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com you can
click on the "opinion" section and you will see that they have
posted one reader's response. That should validate the story's accuracy.
I think it may be in the archives by later this week. Thanks!
— ronascott
July 6, 2004
I am shocked, appalled, and discusted with Mr. Lyon's attitude about
overweight people. Did this guy say he was mayor of that town? NFL Baby,
(not for long)!!
— PHYLLIS G.
July 6, 2004
AMOS MOD NOTE<P>I e mailed them asking how such pure trash ended up
on their paper and will post their response.
— bob-haller
July 6, 2004
Rona, I may get some flack for this but I don't blame the reporter or the
newspaper for printing what is obviously a newsworthy article, the
statements of an individual running for or planning to run for Mayor. I
think its important for the paper to publish such outrageous comments so
that the voters can see what a bigoted whackjob this Harry Lyon is. I also
think that if Mr. Lyon had similar comments on African Americans (remember
David Duke), those comments would have been published also. I would direct
everyone's ire to go directly to Mr. Lyon or thru the paper to Mr. Lyon.
Altho alerting the memberships and the news stations, I hope it doesn't
provide Mr. Lyon with the attention he so obviously seeks. He is not worth
it.
— Cindy R.
July 6, 2004
I do not in any way agree witht he author, however, I think the paper could
be sued for not publishing it under his freedom of speech rights..My advice
is , chalk it up to pure stupidity. big hug.
— Kathy S.
July 6, 2004
Rona~ does this piece of crud newspaper have a link? I'd like to write an
editorial addressed to both this newspaper and to the people of Pelham
County. Plus, to those that are in support of this paper publishing this as
"newsworthy" - unless it was on the op-ed page, they did not have
to publish it with such incendiary, horrible language. They should report
such things-it is newsworthy. Just as lynching was to Afro-Americans was
newsworthy 50 years ago - but I wouldn't want the people involved quoted,
such as "I hate dirty NIGGERS and they deserve to DIE". It is
attitudes that it is ok to say whatever you want without any recourse that
drive me nuts. You have rights to say what you want, but you also will have
consequences. So, as this newspaper will run behind the freedom of speech
act (and I am a FIRM believer in freedom of speech), they know that they
choose daily what to publish and what not to publish - (newsworthy things
are not published every day!) and they definitely know that the reporter
was being sensationalistic and not being an objective reporter. Reporters
don't use stupid phrases like roll to the poll! That is this current age of
marketing baloney and trying to get people's short attention spans.
Everything is written in ridiculous "sound-byte" journalism that
is a sham and a shame and a dis-credit to the very root of journalism.
Rona- you keep up the fight! In Germany in the 40's, when the Jews and the
Mentally Handicapped and the Gypsies began to be persecuted, everyone
turned the other way, said it was ok, said it couldn't get worse, etc. If
people would have united and said "Hey, that is just plain wrong and
we won't put up with it!" MILLIONS would not have died. When white
Americans discriminated and hated and killed black people because they
COULD, if people would have united then, uncounted people would not have
disappeared, been killed, been mutilated. So, FREEDOM of SPEECH? You bet! I
got some freedom of speech too. So for all of you STUPID people out there?
YOU HAD BETTER WATCH OUT. I'M LOOKING FOR YOU AND I'M GOING TO FINE YOU A
$100 A DAY AND I'LL USE THAT MONEY TO FUND EDUCATION. (and I believe the
amount of stupid people may far outweigh the obese!)
Deep breath-Rona, keep spreading the word. Jodie
— Jodie P.
July 6, 2004
A nice lady named Diana posted this to the message board about Harry Lyon.
He's the guy who wants to run "fat" people out of his city if
he's elected mayor. Anyway, just in case you missed it, here's her post:
I decided to do a little quick research on the Pelham, Alabama mayoral
hopeful Harry Lyon (the one who wants to fine fat people) in response to an
earlier thread, but it was pulled due to including links, so I thought I'd
repost some of the info here in what I think is a more acceptable form:
Since he's a "lawyer" (I'm embarrassed to say), one can look on
martindale.com and get his full name and mailing address.
And then if you look on alabar.org (the Alabama State Bar Assn.) you can
also find his phone and fax numbers.
And if someone were to do a Copernic search and one could find a few more
interesting things about this guy, especially the second one:
For example, his likely email address (which he posted himself) can be
found on deadwood.net/guestbook.htm
And perhaps this explains his carb-hating psychological issues? (from a
1998 washingtonpost.com article)
Alabama: Former Candidate Wounded in Syrupy Dispute
Harry Lyon, a former Republican candidate for state auditor, is in serious
condition after he was shot Sept. 6 and found lying face down in a pool of
chocolate syrup. Robert Lee Black, Lyon's neighbor, was charged with
attempted murder; Black said he shot Lyon in the neck after finding him
pouring Hershey's Chocolate Syrup on Black's car. The two neighbors have
apparently had previous disputes. Lyon, a Pelham attorney, unsuccessfully
has sought a number of state offices since 1980 as both a Democrat and
Republican. His most recent campaign was the June primary, in which he
sought to unseat incumbent State Auditor Pat Duncan (R).
Too funny ....
Diana
— ronascott
July 6, 2004
Rona~ I just went to the Shelby County newspaper link and wrote my first
letter to the editor. Please, all of you, go to the link
http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/letters/thanks.php. Write a letter to
the editor. Stop thinking that this is someone else's problem, or you are
just too busy, or no one wants to hear from you. They probably don't want
to hear from us - OF COURSE NOT! This is exactly when and why you should
shout the loudest. If we can't get involved with obesity discrimination,
who can? The voice of the people need to be raised. Residents of Whoville?
Start shouting now!
— Jodie P.
July 7, 2004
Ok friends, I wrote the article on obesity sensitivity that I am going to
try and demand they publish in the newspaper after they published the
scathing article on running fat people out of town. I'm sharing it with
you first. Thank you so much for supporting me.......................
The Skinny on Obesity Sensitivity.............
One might consider it “sweet” irony that a malicious,
degrading article aimed at “fat” people actually
brought about a push to make the world a better place for them. Since
World War II open discrimination of any segment of the population
considered different from the mainstream began to decline and now has all
but disappeared. There will always be closeted comments about age, weight,
race, sexual preference, etc. but our society has made it clear that it
will not tolerate derogatory remarks in an open forum. Well, society
actually made that clear about every type of discrimination except obesity
discrimination. Television sitcoms continue to make obese people the brunt
of jokes and humiliation. Children’s cartoons still reflect
overweight children as the outcasts. Nearly every magazine on the
newsstand offers diet tips from models and celebrities who are already
grossly underweight. Obese people are openly stared at in public and even
offered unsolicited weight loss advice from strangers. It appears to be a
vicious cycle that is only going to get worse because there’s no
one left who is considered politically correct to pick on.
These are the facts: 65% of Americans are overweight. Mississippi is the
most overweight state in America followed by Alabama in the number two
spot. As many as 17 million Americans are morbidly obese (at least 100
pounds overweight). Obesity, technically defined, is “A
life-long, progressive, life threatening, genetically-related, costly,
multi-factorial disease of excess fat storage with multiple co-morbidities
(obesity related health conditions).” Obesity is not a
reflection of lack of discipline or poor self-control. While often
considered a self-inflicted condition in reality it is best described as a
self-influenced disease. Genetics loads the gun while environment and poor
nutritional choices pulls the trigger. Our society applauds the alcoholic
or drug addict who seeks treatment. However, when an overweight individual
seeks treatment, whether through behavior modification, exercise programs,
medication or surgical weight loss there is very little societal support.
It is typically viewed with a “You never should have let yourself
get that way in the first place” attitude.
Once considered lazy, dirty, stupid, slovenly and low class, obesity is now
recognized as an addictive disease that affects people of all professions,
education levels and socioeconomic levels. Attorneys, housewives,
physicians, truck drivers, accountants, sales clerks, business owners and
more feel the sting of obesity insensitivity on a daily basis. It might be
something unintentional such as a waiting room with only normal size chairs
with arms that won’t accommodate a person of size. It could be a
restaurant with only booths for seating. Or, it could be more hurtful
things such as walking up to an unknown woman, possibly patting her tummy
and asking when her baby is due only to have her say
“I’m not pregnant”. Even worse, many
overweight people have been approached by strangers and told “You
have such a pretty face” leaving them to wonder “does
that means the rest of me is really ugly.?” In 2004 one would
not imagine that the overweight would still have to endure people mooing at
them in public, having someone yell “call 1-800-Jenny
Craig” from a passing car or suffering humiliation when a flight
attendant literally shouts from the front of a plane “Who was it
that needed a seat belt extender?”. But these things and worse,
much worse, happen every single day to the overweight and obese.
Perhaps society is inflicting the greatest injustice upon itself by
distancing itself from a segment of the population who are kind, well
spoken, generous, loyal, funny and, as we say in the south, just plain
good folks. Obesity is not contagious. Obesity is not a sin. Obesity is
not a reflection of one’s moral fiber. Obesity is a disease and
the people who suffer from it are also forced to suffer from
society’s ignorance. The demand for obesity sensitivity
doesn’t have to be a fight. Simple good manners will suffice.
Avoid mentioning a person’s weight unless they mention it first.
If a woman is pretty then she should be told she is simply pretty
– not just her face. When dining with a person of size give
consideration to seating. If you are of normal weight and choosing seating
for yourself in a public area such as a waiting room, choose a chair with
arms over a loveseat or bench thereby leaving the larger seating available
for larger individuals. Business owners consider purchasing only love
seats, armless chairs or bench seating for all common areas. Reconsider
asking a woman if she is pregnant – if she is she will joyously
share that information with you. NEVER use the word
“fat” and teach your children not to use this hurtful
word.
America has long been considered a great melting pot welcoming all who long
to be here. Lady Liberty beckoned: Give me your tired, your poor, your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 65% of Americans are yearning to
breathe free; to be accepted, not just for who they are on the outside or
just for who they are on the inside but to be wholly accepted without
ridicule. Progress to stop obesity discrimination starts with one step.
Progress to stop obesity discrimination starts today.
— ronascott
July 7, 2004
I wrote a letter to the editor. What a nasty little human being this Lyons
guy is. I think the article is appalling, but at least people have the
opportunity to see what a low-life he is. Thank you for posting this,
Rona.
— Linda S.
July 7, 2004
Rona,
I just emailed a letter to editor of the paper. I don't think he knows the
meaning of discrimination? I live in KY, but wrote the letter anyway.
— jko
July 8, 2004
I can't believe in this day and age someone can get away with printing
something as evil as this, and then get away with it because of free
speech. I am so mad. I am writing a letter as soon as I get off of here. (I
live in Ky0 I hope that they get inundated with letters DEMANDING AN
APOLOGY. This was RAG MAG (magazine) publishing at it's very best. It is a
shame and criminal that obese people have to put up with people STILL
cutting on them day to day, and then pick up the newspaper and read trash
like this. I somewhat hope/think this mayor just signed his deathwish. It
seems someone tried to OFF him once, and he is really going to Tick someone
off with this one. What a true idiot. I guess I will quit raging and get on
to my letter. Let us know in the future whta youn find out further on this.
Rona, I think bot of your letters are excellent, and hope tey get
published. Hopefully someone from a news show or main TV sttaion will call
and do a Special on this awful situation. This could be a major learning
experience and some good COULD come out of this if enough people write and
get involved with this article. LIke we've all said before, WEIGHT
DISCRIMINATION is the last ok discrimination in America.
— bufordslipstick
July 8, 2004
You know....we have had WLS and we can lose weight and with help we'll get
better. What's wrong with Mr. Lyon, he'll never get over--bigotry and
permanent stupidity. It's a shame people like this get a voice in our
society, but the right to speak out is what makes America great. We all
just hope that the sane voices get the greater audience. Sometimes we're
all too prone to get our feelings hurt. We should just innundate this
paper with letters, speaking out just like Mr. Lyons did and see what
voices win out. I'm betting that our voices will. Too many times in our
society small, self-centered special interest groups get the attention
while people get their feelings hurt and don't speak out. That's why we
have every strange special interest group in the world screaming during an
election. Make the voice of reason heard in this issue. Don't let this
issue be seen as just another fringe lunatic effort. Let Mr. Lyon be seen
for what he is--the lunatic fringe talking when he should just shut up!
— Cathy S.
July 8, 2004
Has ANYONE gotten a reply to their e mail? I know I havent and am
considering calling them on the phone. I wouldnt mind speaking to mr lyon
himself. Are they ignoring our mail?
— bob-haller
July 9, 2004
Rona I applaud your efforts may they be worthwhile. I will be writing a
letter as well to the newspaper. Now on the comments of free speech that
"this is what America is made of " well, you know it is what
America is made of for each individual to express themselves, HOWEVER, a
newspaper is independent and is under no obligation to print any such
garbage. I hold the newspaper, the reporter and My. Lyons all responsible.
They should not have given any justification to Mr. Lyons by printing his
letter. I find it ridiculous that someone would cop out and hide under the
freedom of speech and for anyone to suggest that this is ok, is ludicrous.
I do not know if I am more upset by what Mr. Lyons said or by what some
people are suggesting that this is just freedom of speech. Our fore
fathers, my dad, grandpa, and several other people and all the people
serving our country right now did not and do not serve to let this crap
happen. I am outraged that people would even suggest that a newspaper
printing such outrageous material is considered ok. Anyway that is my two
sense using my freedom of speech in an ok manner, by writing myself. I
will probably get some flame mail but that is ok.
— Virginia D.
July 9, 2004
Let say this law gets passed and Mr. Lyon himself becomes overweight(ie:
car accident that leave him immobilize, homebound and he put on a gross
amount of wieght) Would this law also applies to him. Remember, Alabama is
known for their racism, they led the nation in race discrimination against
blacks in the 50's and 60's the irony of it all was Gov Wallace who made
every effort to prevent black from going to white schools,when he was shot
and in a wheelchair quess who had to swipe his @##*** Black people. you
never know who you going to need on your way down. What if one of his kids
had a weight problem would his dislike of obese people be so forceable. I
would applaude him if he was trying to help by promoting healty lifestyle
and making sure that every insurance company in his state approve wls, but
to criticize and discriminate against us, who by the way don't want to be
overweight and trying everything not to be, is downright discrimination.
Lord I can see the lawyers eyes light up because of all the lawsuit that's
coming. Every obese and skinny person in Alabama should go to his front
lawn and pig out... Take that Mr. evil.
— Rebe W.
July 9, 2004
I can't beleive you are all giving this small little man so much attention.
If you read his brief little bio another poster previously posted, you can
see that this is the kind of crap he craves, and he is sitting back and
loving every minute of it. As far as the newspaper goes, I don't see why
you are all so up in arms over this. They are covering a local election,
and telling the constituents what this "mans" platform
is....maybe I missed it, but I don't see where they condone or agree with
his beleifs...just reporting it. It is their right to print whatever they
want...that is why this country is so great. If anything, we should be
thankful to this newspaper for printing Mr. Lyons garbage, otherwise we may
never have known what an ignoramus he is. And I guarantee you that both
the newspaper and the idiot are loving every email, letter and phone
call....no such thing as bad publicity.<p>
I think it would be better to just ignore this jerk....ignorant people like
that will never change...and they love the fact that you are all so up in
arms over this. It's just like my Dad used to tell me, "they tease
you because you react to them, stop reacting, and they will stop
teasing" <p>
Write a letter? I think not, I have exercising to do......
— Danielle M.
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