Two days ago I published very popular blog entry titled “Tea partying in Ann Arbor – Waffles are delicious!!!“
In it, I had the following photo and comment:
I think of this one as “The Battle of the Bellies”. Angry-looking fat white guys at a teabagger rally. What are the odds…?
After hearing from a number of folks and then, most importantly, receiving an email from one of the men in the picture, I owe the three of them, and him in particular, an apology.
The email was from the man in the green shirt. In the email, he told me that he was not angry and was just there taking pictures and supporting a friend who spoke at that rally. He also told me that he has a medical (thyroid) condition and is undergoing medical treatment for it.
I won’t reprint his entire email here because I haven’t asked for permission to do so. I do think this bit is okay to share:
I am genetically predisposed to weight problems, and have low thyroid, which I am on medication for. Me being fat isn’t any different that someone being gay, black, or an illegal alien…and I’m sure you wouldn’t slam them for being who they are.Would you have taken a photograph of a pre-operative transgendered person wearing the clothing of the sex they are becoming, and made fun of them?
I am hoping to get bariatric surgery to correct my physical disformity…My fight is no different than that of someone born in the wrong body who gets SRS to correct their problem. I am a thin person. A fun person who likes to go dancing. Sadly, I am currently in the wrong body.
He is absolutely right and I absolutely owe him and the other two gentlemen in the picture an apology. It’s one thing to mock folks for their politics but it’s entirely another and very inappropriate thing to mock their physical appearance.
For that I am sorry.
I’m also sorry if anyone who read the blog was offended. This is just not my style and I feel crappy about it.
Signed,
Chris Savage/Eclectablog
