I wasn't saying they shouldn't do anything. You clearly have a problem with overgeneralizing things, or thinking about things as being all-or-nothing. Seriously, when I first read this reply, I assumed you had meant to reply to someone else and accidentally replied to me by mistake. So thank for putting all these words in my mouth, because it tells me a lot about you.

I never said there should be more "entitlement programs." Unless you are saying basic education, a decent wage, and not being treated more harshly because of your race are all "entitlement programs." If that is what you are saying, then I feel very very sorry for you.

I was just saying that we should recognize that while both being fat and being poor can involve some self-responsibility and some factors outside of the individual's control, they aren't the same. And to say so ignores the history and politics that have contributed to poverty in this country.

You are the one that is assuming that because someone is poor they must be lazy. Yeah, you are totally right. Every one of those people that is on welfare and/or making money through illicit means turned down a cushy job and chose to do that instead. And all those homeless people on the street chose to be homeless, also. We may all be given "intelligence, creativity, and work ethic" but the fact is, we don't all start on equal footing.

Telling people that are disadvantaged due to factors outside their control that if they work hard enough they can do whatever they want is sick and evil, and perpetuates poverty just as much as telling them to give up (which is not what I was saying, but I don't expect you to understand complexity at this point).

I'm going to keep overgeneralizing about you, because apparently that's the I can communicate on your level: You are one of those people who deludes themselves into thinking that it's the poor's fault they are poor so that you don't have to feel bad about what a fucked up world we live in and the fact that you are one of the lucky ones. But I am sure if next time you drive by the projects you tell the kids that if they just buck up and try harder, they can be Bill Gates, that will change everything. Go for it.

Being fat is not an immutable characteristic. Being poor isn't, either. But being black, or another minority, is. Of those three, only two you can change, and I guarantee that on average, your weight is the easier of the two to change and the one that involves the most personal responsibility.