Rant!
My grandfather, after a lifetime of
back-breaking work, has endured double knee replacement surgery, twice, within a
ten year span. Walking is strenuous for my grandfather, but he does the best he
can. He has a positive attitude about life and spends every moment living his
life to the fullest. Having to use a wheelchair is a blow to my grandfather’s
pride, in his own words. He chooses not to use one unless it is absolutely
necessary. My grandfather is a sweet old man who spent his entire life working
day in and day out for his family. The reality that he cannot walk on his own
breaks his heart, as well as the rest of our family’s. Walking in to Sam’s Club,
my grandfather considers food shopping a grand ole’ time, we realized there
were no motorized shopping carts available. The issue was not regarding the wait
time to use the carts, we are both patient people. However, several people on
motorized shopping carts passed us while we were waiting. The people using
these motorized shopping carts appeared to have no physical handicaps other
than being overweight. I instantly felt a fire in my belly. My grandfather needed
to use one of the carts; he couldn’t go shopping without it. The condition of
his knees would not allow him to. Many negative thoughts and judgments of these
people passed through my mind, I am ashamed to say. I was livid and counted the
seconds until a cart was returned that my grandfather would be able to use. After
thirty-seven minutes, someone who was overweight returned one. The woman
dropped off the cart and walked to her car, what looked like, quite easily.
This made my blood boil. Now, it was apparent that she could have done her
shopping without the use of a motorized shopping cart. I was so angry at this
woman for bringing attention to my grandfather’s ailment, when it is such a
sensitive issue.
The initial thoughts running through
my head were rude. “She doesn’t even need that!” “She’s only fat, my
grandfather needs to use the cart more!”
After looking more into the matter,
I saw there were other people who felt the same way I did. Why were obese
people allowed to use motorized shopping carts? Many people stated there was
nothing really wrong with them. I decided to take look from the other side.
There were many blogs written by people who had been obese and lost large
amounts of weight. On a blog written by Lyn, who chooses to keep her last name
private, she pens everyday situations experiences on her journey through weight
loss. Her blog post entitled, The Walmart
Cart, depicts her experience having to use a motorized shopping cart at her
local Walmart store. She describes her feelings of shame and embarrassment at
having to use one, but knowing she could not complete her shopping without it. Lyn
spoke of constantly dodging cruel glances and trying to ignore not so silent
whispers. Reading Lyn’s article gave me more insight into what it is truly like
to be obese. In America, there is a stigma behind being overweight. Many people
who are overweight also suffer from depression and anxiety that can ultimately
add to their weight gain. I sympathized with Lyn’s story and realized she deserves
to be treated as a human just like everyone else, based on her character, not
her weight.
References
"The
Walmart Cart." Escape from Obesity. 15 June 2010. Web. 18 Feb.
2015. <http://www.escapefromobesity.net/2010/06/walmart-cart.html>.
No comments:
Post a Comment