Donald Trump loves beauty contests.He loves hanging around them.Or so Hiliary Clinton revealed near the end of last Monday's debate.He was asked about things he may have said to a former Miss Universe contestant,like that he may have called her "Miss Piggy" or that "she gained quite a bit of weight and it became a real problem." So far this has been sort of a sideshow being brought to light rather recently,as it has.But the incident needs a bit more consideration.
Ask yourself:Is Donald Trump simply manufacturing enemies? Because to me,he seems to be mass producing them.To that end,are his alleged Miss Piggy comments,along with his referring to Rosie O'Donnell as a "fat pig" further confirmation of his misogyny,ridicule for disabled people,racism(the Miss Universe in question is Hispanic) and just plain disrespect for anyone who does not conform to his ideals?Or is overweight the new Hispanic?
I'll have to admit,at nearly sixty years of age I've put on a few pounds.A close friend of mine calls it "well endowed."I remind her that that is the wrong choice of words,and point out that I'm generously proportioned.When my friend asked me to explain the difference I replied"I'm so generously proportioned that I can't tell if I'm well endowed.But all kidding aside,has Mr. Trump just included me in the category of enemy other? Not that I mind.I'm sure he needs to find reasons to discount 50 something white males as well.After all,it's a long way to get down to that one percent.Moreover,I am a Trump enemy,for many of my own reasons.
I must admit certain prejudices.I along with Mr.Trump enjoy looking at beautiful women,despite being,perhaps,past my prime,and committed.What I do not enjoy,and do not define as beauty is the standard typically held out in The Miss Universe Pageant,and in beauty contests generally: women who are slim,sometime in an unhealthy way,not too intelligent or self assured,and deferential to men.In fact,I like bigger,big boned women.I find feminine confidence and self assurance attractive.More importantly I find beauty contests that don't really measure beauty at all passe and distasteful.
But my question is this:can I now expect to be discriminated against if Donald Trump were elected? well,luckily I live in Canada,so it's not my biggest concern,but what about overweight Americans? Discrimination can range from simple ridicule to actual sanctions being taken against those being discriminated against.Ridicule may be the most benign form of discrimination,but it's hardly harmless.Words of ridicule can scar people for a lifetime.The best that can be said is that they are heartless and thoughtless.Discriminatory actions can limit or curtail the ability of a person,or whole categories of persons to participate fully in society,thus marginalizing them.As this might concern an overweight person,it already has occurred in the form of airlines asking larger persons to pay for an additional seat.So,in a Trump world,would such thing become the norm? Would it cost overweight persons more to purchase life insurance? Health insurance? Would it be acceptable to discriminate in the area of employment?
Here is the real bottom line on all of this.You can't really discriminate specifically.Prejudice is a kind of shotgun activity.If you hate it's because you are hateful.And,if you discriminate against anyone who is significantly unlike you,no matter how carefully you disguise the fact,what you are really doing is holding that persons non existence as an ideal.On this count,"Miss Piggy" has three strikes against her.She's a woman,she's Hispanic and she's deemed to be overweight,whether she is in fact or not.And all of these categories have been devalued by a current Presidential candidate.His rhetoric says so,no matter how hard he tries to spin it.
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