College Student Protests Weight Discrimination

Jennifer Ramos and fellow students plan protest in Iowa City over incident
Benjamin Roberts / Iowa City Press-Citizen

It's no wonder that America has its' share of bullies. After watching Dr. Drew last night, I was absolutely appalled by the statements made by Me Me Roth, regarding her position on student, Jordan Ramos,

Ramos, 21, was turned away from dancing on a platform at a bar in Iowa City. Ms. Roth's first name all but explains her agenda:

" It isn't like they said she couldn't drink," she said. "This is a girl who wanted the audience to find her beautiful. It didn't find her beautiful, said Roth.

Roth is an anti-obesity activist and founder of National Action Against Obesity. Does she really believe people choose to be overweight? It was reported that Ramos was turned away two-times by a club bouncer, when she approached the club's platform to dance.  Confronting the bouncer, he admitted he was not letting her dance on the platform because of her size:

"It completely made me feel like a worthless human being -- that I wasn't as valuable as somebody who might be prettier or thinner than me," said Ramos.

  

More surprising, was the caller remarks' on Dr. Drew's show. They all seemed to support Ms. Roth's position; which is, the club has a right to limit the platform dancing to slender, attractive people.


There are too many selfish, superficial people that populate this planet. I am ashamed for our country. One would think there is more to the person than what they eat or don't eat. 

I do care about my weight, I struggle like most with keeping it down. However, I would never think to play the blame game with regard to judging why someone is obese. Taking this a step further, there are those that believe  obese people should not have the right to enjoy life in the same way as thinner people. 

This is not so different from how Nazi Germany evolved. If you weren't blond, white, Aryan, Christian, you didn't deserve to live. What a travesty! I never imagined that there is so much discrimination. I gave us far too much credit, and thought we had intellectually evolved much more. 

This particular incident took place at the Union Bar, in Iowa City, Iowa. The owner, George Whitgraf issued a formal apology in the local news paper :Bar Owner Apologizes To Woman Who Felt Discriminated Against Because Of Weight

I can't help but deduce this attitude has to start at home.

What are we teaching our children? Are we instilling values that include compassionate understanding? We place so much value on formal education. I believe we neglect to address the most basic issue, regarding respecting people and their differences. 

The fact is; our morality, integrity, and how we treat others, cannot be taught at school. This has to come from parents.' Our children will mimic our behavior and attitudes. It all begins with taking an inventory of what is projected to children at home. 

If we neglect this fundamental responsibility, we are just as guilty as the offenders' because we failed to do a good job with our parenting.