Occupy CHOA —
You’ve wanted to do something about this fat hating culture for a while now, right? You’ve wanted to give a piece of your mind to the $60 billion diet industry, right? You’ve wanted to have a real and lasting impact on how our culture treats fat people, right?
Well, this is it. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Yesterday, I wrote about out the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA) has not only created this horribly shaming campaign against fat children, but they are delighting in the “controversial” status of it. They don’t give a damn about the kids who see the billboards and internalize the shame. They think that’s part of the “success” they want to see.
We need to tell them otherwise.
Yesterday, over a thousand people read that post. Imagine if a thousand people called CHOA each day and demanded that they end this campaign. You are one of those thousand and we need you to use your voice to send the message that this is not acceptable.
I have two direct contacts… the first is the PR Director, Kevin McClelland. When I call CHOA, they redirect me to him. The second is the Medical Director, Stephanie Walsh, who is handling all of the interviews for this campaign. I want you to call them and email them, flood their voicemail and email, telling them exactly what you think of this program.
Kevin McClelland
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
404-785-7600
kevin.mcclelland@choa.org
Stephanie Walsh
404-778-2400
stephanie.walsh@choa.org
Children’s Foundation
1687 Tullie Circle NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
404-785-GIVE
Fax: 404-785-7355
choagiving@choa.org
Then, I want you to share this information with one other person who you know will be pissed about this campaign as well. Give them the numbers or emails and ask them to call and support us.
Today, we are focusing directly on CHOA, but next week we will begin to target CHOA’s corporate sponsors.
If you want to change this culture, you have to take action, and this is a quick and simple bit of armchair activism that will directly impact the lives of fat children in Georgia.
Imagine driving down the highway and seeing one of these billboards with a cruel, heartless fat joke underneath. How would that make you feel? CHOA thinks it makes fat kids feel “motivated & empowered.” Do you agree? If not, call them and tell them.
The social determinants of health-including the impact of chronic stress on brain function, hormones, immune systems, etc-cannot be brushed aside as matters of individual responsibility or so-called family responsibility. The campaign against the so called evils of fat is a campaign to keep the social status quo-to keep in power the socially constructed institutions and individuals with the power to dominate and oppress-and most of all to keep the oppressed people in bondage. We must unite together in solidarity-against a world in which forces of domination keep demanding that we must all fend for ourselves and our families the best we can, even when our options shrink to almost nothing, somehow we’re supposed to simply cope as if we have equality and social justice. We’re supposed to stay healthy-somehow-as our bodies are bombarded by stress and injustice, year after year, our immune systems struggle to keep up, our brains are overwhelmed with stress chemicals to the point where many of us are in one long pattern of fight or flight-or collapse. And now these power hungry fools think they can OPENLY target our children, without fear of any consequences, and they feel confident the powers of domination will fully support them, the powerful forces that back them up with rhetoric and/or silence-including the vast support given by so called health care providers, and law makers, and insurance corporations! And we’re just gonna roll over and quiver in awe at their power? Yeah. Most folks will. Most of us have bought into the rhetoric of unlimited individual power-it makes us swallow all manner of shame and fear. I’m sick of it all. The images of those children haunt me.
Excellent comment. You never hear people talking about the Social Determinants of Health, like they do elsewhere in the world. I wonder why that is…
Peace,
Shannon
Chevese Turner from the BEDA started a petition against this ad campaign via Change .org if anyone would like to sign it, here’s the link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/childrens-healthcare-of-atlanta-end-the-stop-sugarcoating-campaign
Warmly,
Dr. Deah
Harriet Brown wrote this articulate blog piece about the Georgia campaign as well. http://harrietbrown.blogspot.com/2012/01/whats-wrong-with-georgias-childhood.html