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One way to tell the story of Johnson's "new" #obesity strategy is this: He survived a life-threatening illness. Grateful for the loving care of the NHS staff, awed by the power of #COVID19 and full of the joys of being alive, he vowed to change his ways and be healthy. 1/13
As prime minister, he wanted to help others do the same. Meanwhile he was made aware that 'obese' people seem to suffer more with Covid. So he got some experts together to come up with a plan to help everyone lose weight. 2/13
This would not only reduce their risk of getting or dying from Covid, but it would also relieve pressure on the NHS, which was groaning under the strain of an aging population even before the pandemic. 3/13
This is one way to tell the story. I think of this as the #OperationTransformation story because it's beloved of TV execs, especially on weight loss shows. The "wake up call", the new leaf, the hero whose personal transformation inspires a community to better itself. 4/13
But that's not really what happened. It never is. What really happened is successive governments slashed public expenditure, and this particular government grossly mismanaged a pandemic. The NHS is under pressure and people are dying. What to do? 5/13
What you need here, if you're a tory, is a scapegoat. Obviously you can't admit the NHS is in bits because you gutted it. No, it's because there are too many sick people. And what's the one group of sick people that everyone just loves to blame and shame? 6/13
Fat sick people! So you blame them. Of course you don't say that. You say you're helping them. You come up with this whole 'strategy' to 'tackle obesity'. The strategy is nothing new. It's basically just putting people on diets, which has failed by every conceivable metric. 7/13
Throw in some stuff about cycling to appeal to the kind of lefties who don't know any actual fat people but who presume nobody would be fat if they got up off their lazy arses and cycled to work, and Bob's your uncle. 8/13
You've tackled covid, obesity and the NHS in one fell swoop. And the best part is, when it doesn't work, you just blame the individuals for being too greedy and lazy to do what they were told. Reminds me of the Sun headline I once saw. 9/13
"Fatties to Blame for Global Warming." Not giant MNCs, not weak, ignorant governments, no: fatties. If in doubt, blame fat people. It works like a charm. Thin people enjoy the feeling that they're doing good simply by existing. Fat people are full of self- blame already. 10/13
It's bullshit to say that fatphobia is the 'last acceptable prejudice.' Sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia etc are all doing just fine. But fatphobia is a handy go-to because of the near-universal belief that "they brought it on themselves." 11/13
We're easy scapegoats. And I say "we", but honestly I'm not that fat any more. But this actually affects all of us, regardless of size. The point is to blame individuals for everything and gut all public services. It doesn't matter which individuals. 12/13
Socialise risk and privatise profit. That's the game. It's rigged and it's to the death. So maybe let's not play? Tell Boris where to stick his fatshaming, neoliberal #obesity strategy. 13/13
