off my chest

If you've read me for any length of time, you know I dislike "punching down" humor, or what I perceive as such.

I was slow to get going this morning and the teevee clicked over to the 7 am "news, chat, and everything else" show (I think it was CBS This Morning? Anyway, I had been watching the local CBS news first). And they were talking about the new S-Pod that was apparently debuted at the consumer electronics show.

I had seen one of these and gone, "Huh, I wonder if that would be a good option for some people who would ordinarily use a wheelchair?" and it also occurred to me that people who *can* walk, but find walking long distances/walking fast enough to keep up with others (so: like people with PAD or a heart condition) might be able to use them in some situations.

I know I wouldn't want one, at least in my current state: I like walking when I have somewhere to walk to, and thank God, my body still allows me to walk some fairly long distances (at least several miles at a go) and walk fairly fast.

But then they cut to one of the late night shows. I think it was Stephen Colbert - I wasn't watching at that point (brushing my teeth and applying make up in the bathroom) but the tone was very much "hurr hurr fat lazy Americans will want this" and a reference to the things in Wall-E (a movie I have not seen, 'cos I know it would make me sad and creep me out, but I know about the people-who-have-given-up-moving-on-their-own bit).

And it made me sad. And profoundly tired. I've seen other cases of things that could be in some way an assistive device (some of the "make life easier" "as seen on TV" things) being dragged as "ha ha, look how lazy people are" and having had a parent who, in his later years, absolutely relied on stuff like a "grabber" to pick things up off the floor (if he got down, he would not be able to get back up without much assistance) or help with things like putting on shoes....well, it's very much punching down in my mind.

But also, more: why is it someone's business whether someone who is "able bodied" chooses to use an assistive device? This is not the same as parking in one of a very few "handicapped spots" - in fact, I'd argue the more people that buy things like grabbers or things to help with putting shoes on, the more likely companies will be to keep making them, and the more affordable they may be (judging from the fact that of the scientific equipment I use, the most widely-used stuff is the most affordable-for-what-you-get and the really uncommon stuff in fabulously expensive).

(Also: I am short and my balance is not always the best, having a "grabber" to reach things off of high shelves absolutely saves me climbing up on a chair and maybe falling - which would be bad, seeing as I live alone)

And yes, yes: "People need to exercise more! They need to be more active!" but it is not your job to hound them about that, they did not hire you for that. That's what personal trainers are for.

It seems lately the mean streak that always underlaid some forms of humor has come out more. I don't like that. I mean, my brand of humor is different, true - I like dumb puns and wordplay and silly and absurd things (A shower thought last night that I shared on Twitter: "Guys. What if mermaids are really were-fish?"). And as someone who was frequently the butt of jokes when younger (and still is, very occasionally)....I know how it can hurt. And yes, maybe "Americans in general" is a different target than "that dude over there who uses a wheelchair" but still. (I also watched the infamous Ricky Gervais speech and found it mostly unfunny, and the gag about Judi Dench acting like a literal cat - well, they silenced the really offensive part of it, I guess, for broadcast, but still, I cringed heavily because one thing I HATE is seeing someone's dignity stolen, and while Dame Dench may be the sort who can laugh at that sort of thing, I don't know. I remember too many times when someone made a joke - not that offensive, but a joke that made me look ridiculous - in front of other people and I just wanted to walk out of that room and never come back and never see those people ever again, and I don't know if people who make those jokes don't understand that some people are really wounded/angered by them, or if they DO understand it, and it's a way they have of very cruelly exercising power. And yes, I know: it tells you more about the person making a joke, that they're willing to go THERE for a laugh or the chance to look "big" but that makes it no less painful to me when someone does it to me.

Get some empathy, people, is what I'm saying, I guess.

The second thing that made me roll my eyes today was on the local news: their lead "health story" was "wow, orthorexia* is on the rise!"

(*this is a disorder where you get very, very locked in - like, neurotically so - to eating "right" and doing the "right" exercise and you become very rigid in your thinking. It is actually something I have to fight against as a tendency in myself, along with the all-or-nothing thinking like "oh no, you ate a cookie, now when you have your blood tested a month from now, your blood sugar will read high and you'll get a lecture from the doctor!")

And they first acted like "but HOW could this BE" and then they blamed Instagram influencers, and yeah, while the perfection some people present online can be a problem, I think there's a bigger problem at work here:

"Health" news from about 2010 to late 2019: "Sitting is the new smoking! Demand a standing desk, or better, a treadmill desk! Carbs are bad! Eating sugar will kill you! Red meat is very very bad, don't eat it! Eggs are a heart attack on a plate! You must consume ten servings of vegetables per day or you will die prematurely! Coffee is bad - no it's good - no it's actually bad!  Wine is really good for you and you should drink a glass every day, no, wait, wine is really bad and no amount of it is safe! Avoid these five foods! You need to exercise a minimum of an hour a day! The number of hours thou shalt sleep is seven, not six, not eight, and nine is straight out! Do this! Do that! Don't do that other thing, lest you die!"

"Health" news in 2020: "Whhhhhyyyy is everyone so stressed out and why is there a burgeoning epidemic of orthorexia? It is a real conundrum! Must be that evil internet!"

I mean, yes, a lot of it is scientific research which tends to be nuanced and often older studies are found to have overlooked some confounding factor (e.g., a lot of the things about fresh foods and exercise could also be linked to "people in higher SES tend to live longer") but also, science news tends to be presented very badly and very sensationalistically. And I admit, even I, an alleged scientist, fall for some of the claims about what you should and should not eat, and the overblown risks of things.

At my best, I can follow the 80-20 rule I've seen some actual health experts write about: that if 80% of the time you are striving to be healthful and to do the things that have been demonstrated to be good (mostly plant-based diet of low-processed foods, exercise regularly, get regular restful sleep, wear a seat belt when you drive, don't smoke, don't drink excessively or do drugs, go in for an annual checkup) what you do in the remaining 20% probably doesn't matter that much. And also, from what I've read for the basic bio classes? A lot of "health risks" are strongly genetically based and while good diet and exercise can mitigate some of the risks.....well, there are still some people who can LITERALLY* do everything "right" and still get cancer. And ain't none of us going to live forever, at least not in the bodies we currently have, and it's probably bad to spend that time being miserable and worried about "OMG I just breathed when I walked past someone smoking, now I'm gonna get lung cancer!"

(*Intentional allusion there, some of you will get it. Ann Perkins.)