Content Warning: Fatphobic language
Hi readers! It’s co-editor Gail! We did it people, we made it past Halloween AND the election. Given the other issues Meagan and myself have discussed here on Ze Blog, you can probably guess that we are happy with this past weekend’s results but are also ready to advocate for more. That’s why this week I wanted to talk about a small story that you may have missed over the weekend that gave me a sprinkle of hope.
Over the past four years of the Trump presidency, my family has taken to watching CNN (often way too much). I am aware of their biases and corporate interests which I often call out while we watch when I dislike how they report on certain issues. But more or less we have come to recognize and form opinions about the various anchors on the network. Our favorite one however, is Anderson Cooper.
Heck we even knew who he was before the real Trump era even started. Here’s a picture of me at New York City’s Madame Tussauds with his wax sculpture in October of 2015:
But as Trump rose to power, we started to watch CNN pretty religiously. We enjoyed how Cooper reported on stories, interviewed prominent people and of course, when he would be humorous and make jokes that made us and himself chuckle and giggle.
Now flash forward to last week Thursday November 5th 2020. It was becoming clearer that Biden had a better path to victory and Trump had given a speech claiming fraud, Mr. Cooper made the following joke that evening:
“That is the president of the United States. That is the most powerful person in the world. And we see him like an obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over,”
Now I am a fat person, and I personally do find the term “obese” offensive even in a medical context. It is only ever used to judge, humiliate and dehumanize fat people for simply existing in their own skin.
What made this joke (that soon became a shared meme) even worse, is that it is about Trump- an objectively horrible person, and came from Cooper- a responsible, trustworthy person.
So as you may have guessed, this comment got major traction in the Fat Liberation community. So much so that respected Fat Lib. activist Your Fat Friend tweeted:
“If you’re following #obeseturtle, know that your momentary satisfaction at publicly dunking on the president for being fat is also sending a powerful message to fat people in your life.
His body isn’t what makes him terrible. It never has been.”
You can read her article on this idea here.
But basically what Your Fat Friend means is that Trump’s fatness has NOTHING to do with why he is a bad person, it is his words and actions. So when you joke about a bad person being fat, you are entirely missing the point and just demonizing fatness. These jokes aren’t sick burns, you are just revealing to the fat people in your life what you really think about them.
Here is where this story takes a positive turn and what made me want to write about it.
Writer The Bonvivante decided to send Your Fat Friend’s post to Anderson Cooper directly and explain to him why what he said was harmful and much to her surprise, he responded!
Bonvivante wrote Cooper:
“Love you Anderson but super disappointed that you used “obese” as an insult. It’s the same thing as using “gay” as an insult and is unacceptable.”
Cooper wrote back:
“You are absolutely right. I deeply regret being rude and the words I used. It is not who I am, and not who I want to be. I am disappointed in myself, and I appreciate your thoughtful text.”
Bonvivante thanked Cooper for his response and explained that the word “obese” is very much a universal trigger for all fat folks. See her video about this experience here.
This response from Cooper was wonderfully genuine. Myself and many others have greatly appreciated it. Even better is that Cooper has also apologized for his words live on CNN multiple times since.
On November 11th after Biden was officially projected to win, Cooper was talking about the results with former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. At the end of the segment, Yang brought up the turtle joke expressing how he enjoyed it, but Cooper answered him and viewers with this:
“By the way, I should say, I regret using those words because that’s not the person I really wanna be,” Cooper apologized. “It was in the moment, and I regret it.”
Cooper went on to express regret for his language on air at least one other time that weekend. My hope is that he will share the knowledge he has gained on this subject with his colleagues and encourage them to call it out when they witness others fat shaming (like Nancy Pelosi whenever she is asked about Trump).
What I love about this story isn’t just that it’s a person with power and a platform being called out for their offensive statement and actually realizing the error of their ways and showing legitimate remorse rather than doubling down.
What I love about it, is that it serves as a microcosm for what the Trump era has done to us and that there is hope that we can do and be better now that it is over.
For the past four years, our psyche’s and hearts have all in some way been tainted by the cruelty coming from the top and happening around us. I doubt even the kindest of individuals have felt like their best selves during this time.
But now that the election is over, Trump and all of his cronies will be going away soon. I am sure I am not the only one who, despite the pandemic and all the other problems we are facing both national and personal, has felt a sense of release and calm you have not felt for a long time. It’s like Trump’s hold on us, his power, is already fading away.
So yes, celebrate, bask, be a lil’ petty and enjoy some schadenfreude if you want, but also remember that brunch is canceled, we will not be complacent again.
We will strive to confront our problems head on and correct them. We will do better and be better.
Like Anderson Cooper.
Gail Bello is a poet and playwright from Waltham, Massachusetts. She graduated in 2019 with a BFA in Creative Writing and a minor in Theatre from The University of Maine at Farmington. Find her previous publications at https://thaumaturgedramaturge.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter @AquajadeGail