Oh Kevin,
Your lists speak to my very soul! I love each and every one of these and detest literally the same three you detest! That might be the only thing in the world that we fully agree on! I would only make the following slight adjustments:
I would put Jem as #1 in terms of Cartoon theme songs. Maybe I'm biased because I absolutely LOVED that show and wished for nothing more than to be Kimber. But I think it's the best.
I think I would need to add WKRP in Cincinnati to the list of favorite theme songs. I just love it. I have no real explanation and if I sit and think about it too much, I realize that you, Kevin would hate it. So I'm sure you'll fight back on this one. But I hear that song and I know that Burt and Loni are together and all is right with the world.
I also have a special place in my heart for the theme song from Perfect Strangers. Lesser known for sure. In fact, I bet you have to look it up to remember it. Let me help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdFhmRdBtno. I have so much to say about this clip too! I didn't realize that Cousin Larry was new to the big city too! He always seemed so street savvy compared to Balki. Guess not. And Balki's Mypos is clearly a park in like Clevaland or something. Also, he crossed the Atlantic on a barge? Or is that a battleship?
Okay...now onto the real story of the day: The Fat Shaming of Rob Kardashian.
I am appalled at you, America! I mean, I shouldn't be. You've been fat shaming women for years, why not move onto men? And nothing makes you happier than to see the Kardashian family struggle in any way. After all, you put them at the top so you could hate them and ridicule them and watch closely for the empire you built (or at least you were complicit in the building of said empire) to be destroyed. That's basically what we do in this country, right? But still, this time you've gone too far. I'm a big gal who's had enough.
Yesterday or the day before, Rob was photographed at the airport on his way to some country in Europe for Kim's wedding. I won't comment on Kim--that's just what she'd want me to do. This one's for you, Rob. I would like to say as politely as possible that it is clear that Rob has put on some weight, not that it's any of my damn business. In recent months, Rob has struggled publicly with dieting and exercising. And for the most part, to someone like me, a consumer of pop culture trash, it appears that people have been patient with his journey back to Hollywood-standard thinness.
But since then, the claws have come out. America is not willing to wait any longer for Rob to get it together. How dare he show his fat face in public months after he was supposed to have lost the weight and be physically pleasing to look at again? People are ringing the church bells and shouting from the mountaintops: "Rob Kardashian is still fat! Let's get him!"
I look at Rob and I see pain. I see a guy who is struggling. I see someone who is using food to cope. I spot it because I got it. He's not unlike me and so many other people in the world eating their feelings so they can appear to be normal and well-adjusted. But I get to have my suffering in the privacy of my own home with only my cat as a witness. Rob has to struggle publicly and he has to struggle surrounded by the most beautiful, most glamorous and most talked about family on the planet. I couldn't handle that pressure. He even took to Twitter to defend himself, clearly trying to make fun of himself before we do. Too late, Rob. Too late.
I don't know why I needed to comment on this. I don't know why Rob Kardashian matters. To me or to anyone else, honestly.
Except that, as a woman of a larger size, I have at various times in my life felt as though I deserve the ridicule. I've been taught my whole life that what I look like is something that is undesirable. I probably don't need to go through the most obvious signs: women in magazines, celebrities, tv, films, etc. The landscape is changing, sure, but I've had 37 (or at least 20 truly conscious) years of being told I'm not normal.
And then there are smaller ways: people love to tell me about friends who have had substantial weight loss and what diets they used. I've been asked countless times why I don't eat less and exercise more. Friends offer me clothing that they are sure will fit me because, "it's huge on me!" (Even worse is when it then doesn't fit.) I can't even tell anymore if I'm ashamed of my size or if I'm ashamed of the way people treat me because of my size. And it's no one's fault--we haven't necessarily been taught how to be compassionate with people that are different. That includes me! I am still learning how to treat myself with love and compassion even though (or, gasp!, because) I look the way I do.
Maybe I'm mad because I'm fat. Maybe I'm excited because heretofore I thought fat shaming was reserved for women. Maybe I'm just tired of Rob Kardashian's weight-anyone's weight-being important in any way. Maybe I just want people to be more sensitive and less fucking rude. I really don't know, I'm still processing and lucky for my therapist, it's probably not an easy answer. But this is MY BLOG (mine and Kevin's) and I get to say what I want. So Rob, while everyone else is saying what they're saying, I'm saying this: I hope you're okay. I hope you're getting some help. I hope you find some peace. And, sorry, but welcome to the club.
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