Fatty

The fattest man in the world died of pneumonia last week. Keith Martin was 44 years old, weighed 980 pounds and reached that dubious record by voluntarily consuming 20,000 calories every day. Not surprisingly, he was also unemployed spending his days in bed playing video games and watching TV.

His excuse: “I was depressed.”

“I started eating to ease the pain, and before I knew it, I was bingeing every time something upset me,” Martin said in a documentary about his life before he died. “I’ve always been depressed. I am an agoraphobic— I’m afraid of public places— but it was never treated... I just want to be happy, without needing food to make me happy.”

Martin’s typical daily diet consisted of six fried eggs as a first course for breakfast, followed by lunches and dinners featuring pizza’s kebabs, Big Macs and lots of other kinds of takeout fast food. He washed it all down with 3.5 liters of coffee and 2 liters of carbonated drinks.

To say that this man exhibited a severe eating disorder would amount to a gross understatement.

“Keith, like many people, had some emotional issues, and he turned to food for comfort,” explained his doctor, Kesava Mannur. “That type of behavior is nothing new, but what is new is how easy it is for people in that situation to buy a lot of cheap food,”

The doctor’s proposed solution: The British government should impose a fast-food tax to help the morbidly obese.

Leave it to the deluded statists of this world to come up with a bird brained idea like that. This doctor actually thinks that his patient would not have become morbidly obese if only the collective would have taxed everyone for eating at fast food restaurants. The responsible people should pay for the irresponsible people’s problems. The skinny guy should sacrifice for the fatty.

Now, I do sympathize with people like Keith Martin. There are far too many folks like him today. I feel sorry for them, but the reality of the matter is that they’re doing it to themselves. It’s their fault. They alone are responsible for their depression; their morbid obesity; their wasted lives, and finally their own demise. They got where they are by being irresponsible.

Martin and the rest of the morbidly obese should have rejected the stagnant philosophy of statism and embraced the life enhancing philosophy of libertarianism. He should have learned how to love himself. He needed a healthy dose of self esteem. With that he would have realized that he alone was responsible for his life. Personal responsibility is the hallmark of libertarianism.

This may seem insensitive, but had he taken personal responsibility for his depression and obesity he would have looked in the mirror long ago and called himself “fatty.” The people around him who knew and loved him should have called him “fatty.” What they definitely should not have done was enable him by bringing him Big Mac’s with which to stuff his fat face. Strangers on the street should have called him “fatty,” and he would probably still be alive today enjoying himself and weighing far less than half a ton.

There is no excuse for becoming morbidly obese. I can speak from my own personal experience. That’s how I know. Once in my early 40’s I allowed myself to bloat out to 210 pounds. It was disgusting. My waist size exceeded 40 inches. I looked in the mirror and called myself “fatty.” Why? Because I was getting fat, that’s why. And I sure didn’t want to become obese.

I was a libertarian then and the first thing I did about it was to take personal responsibility for my problem. I was “Mr. Fatty” and it was solely my responsibility to do something about it. So I went on the Atkins diet and followed it meticulously. In my mind while eating every meal I called myself “fatty.” I started exercising on a treadmill and each time while doing that I called myself “fatty.” I kept telling myself how disgusting it was to be obese and how it was my own stupid fault. I purposely shamed myself for my own good. I quickly lost 55 pounds.

Learn how to love yourself. Be scrupulously honest with yourself. Accept the reality of existence. You can control it. That’s how to stop overeating, quit smoking, and avoid becoming an alcoholic. It’s the solution to any addiction. If I can do it, anyone can. Keith Martin could have done it. He should have done it. It was solely his responsibility to do it.

The morbidly obese should be the first ones to call themselves: “fatty.”