Woman Handing Out Letters, Not Halloween Candy (if she deems the child "moderately obese.")

[The Straight Story]

A local woman stated her intentions to take childhood obesity into her own hands during a Y-94 radio interview the morning of Oct. 29.

She has decided to give a letter instead of candy to Halloween trick or treaters that she feels are "moderately obese."

"I just want to send a message to the parents of kids that are really overweight... I think it's just really irresponsible of parents to send them out looking for free candy just 'cause all the other kids are doing it," says the author in a Y-94 morning radio interview.

That's where the letter first surfaced and started to spread through social media.

"They were chatting today and got a call from Cheryl out of the blue who really wanted to voice her opinion about obesity and that it really takes an entire community to solve the obesity challenge," says Y-94 Program and Music Director JT.

http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/23823811/woman-handing-out-letters-not-halloween-candy

[hobbit709]

1. THAT will end well.

I can see eggs and TP in her future.

Maybe she should hand out healthy alternatives instead of HFCS laden candy.

[mattclearing]

10. It's called, 'Trick or Treat,'

not, 'Go home and lose weight to suit some self-righteous child-hating asshole or treat.'

[LuvNewcastle]

2. The flaming bag of shit on the doorstep was created for people like her.

[leftynyc]

3. And this is how

her children will wind up with an eating disorder. If she feels free to tell other parents how to raise their children, I can only imagine the control issues she has with her own. They have my sympathy.

[notadmblnd]

4. I wouln't want to be her

the day after Halloween. What an arrogant woman.

[theHandpuppet]

5. There are healthier snack alternatives to candy

Why not just pass out those instead?

[hobbit709]

6. you're using logic. People like that are fanatics.

Their minds are made up, don't confuse them with facts.

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Because that wouldn't get her on the news.

[joshcryer]

15. She'd lose her sense of moral superiority.

She could hand out very tasty rice cakes if she was so inclined (and I'd bet the parents would have their kids try and eat them; which they would and they'd probably refrain from so much candy afterward), but she wants to send a message.

[MissMillie]

28. "very tasty rice cakes"

does not compute

[joshcryer]

29. disagree

have some cheese flavored ones

[enlightenment]

41. Corrugated cardboard flavored with

cheese is still cheese flavored corrugated cardboard . . . and I like rice cakes. I just don't hold any illusions about them.

[Catherine Vincent]

48. LOL

[treestar]

8. What a pompous snob

What's with the dig about "free candy?" That has nothing to do with it and is what Halloween trick or treating just is. Each kids parents are giving out candy too.

[arely staircase]

9. she must be the funnest, coolest, most laid back awesome person ever nt

[eShirl]

34. right?

[Paladin]

11. Fuck you, lady. (nt)

[handmade34]

12. advice to clueless woman in Fargo...

lock your door and turn the lights off on Halloween

or if you must answer your door, here are some ideas of things to pass out instead of candy...
apples
small toys (trinkets)
popcorn
balloons
oranges
fruit rollups (unsweetened)
nuts and raisins
etc., etc…

[tabbycat31]

40. Raisins is a sure fire way to attract eggs to your house

Even at 33, I resent when people handed out raisins on Halloween. I wish I had known ahead of time which houses they were so I could avoid them.

Waste.of.time.

[Philothea]

13. what a creep!

She must be a joy at Thanksgiving.

[jsr]

14. Attention-seeking moralizing cheapskate.

[anneboleyn]

21. Exactly. She was no doubt the one who gave out crap cheap candy before this...why not just

enjoy the holiday instead of planning to shame children ffs? This moralizing assholes seem to be everywhere these days.

[hlthe2b]

16. That is incredibly cruel...

I'm giving out sugar free bubble gum and small packets of raisins.

The "candyholics" won't be happy, but they'll get it elsewhere.

[bravenak]

17. She so awesome, I'm sure all of the kids wish she were their mother.

Why not just put a sign out that says NO CANDY like the Jehovah witnesses do?

[msanthrope]

23. I make a point of ringing those doorbells. nt

[HappyMe]

18. What a pompous ass.

Rather than this crappy move, she should just not answer the door.

[trumad]

19. I think it's pretty funny in an evil way.

[ChazII]

49. +1

I was wondering if it was some sort of twisted humor. She wrote that paragraph about "it takes a village" and so she felt she had to step up and do her part. (The frowning devil is not showing up.)

[get the red out]

20. Shaming isn't effective

Besides the fact that she suffers from personal visions of grandiosity and is basically just a rude person; shaming does not work for creating positive behavior changes.

[Orrex]

22. A tiny news radio program with a sensational non-story? Color me shocked!

Most of all I feel bad for the radio station and its advertisers, which must now suddenly deal with an avalache of attention.

The horror! The horror!

[KansDem]

31. I like how the video operator took a shot of the professor's diploma...

...on the wall of her office!

We're serious! She's a real PhD!!

[petronius]

44. I think there's a reasonable chance that this radio station - and by

extension, the entire universe - just got trolled (maybe even some NDSU students doing an experiment on internet teapot-tempests). But on the other hand, there's no underestimating the lengths to which fat-shamers will feel justified in going...

[pink-o]

24. Yeah, cuz strident nutrional advice from non-experts is a brilliant idea...

...said Nobody Anywhere Ever.

[Capt. Obvious]

25. I wonder if she ran out of ink?

[PotatoChip]

26. With some of the elaborate costumes these days, how can she tell

for sure (in her infinite wisdom .) which child needs to be shamed?

More to the point however, what a rotten thing to do to a child. She really ought to mind her own business.

[seabeyond]

27. parents walking away from the porch will let the coming in parents and kids know... not to bother.

i imagine. parents are pretty damn protective of kids, even if not their own. and they wont be pleased.

[KansDem]

30. I think someone's screens are getting vaselined this year...

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. For the first time, this year, I am giving out full size candy bars...

One, because there was an awesome deal at Costco...
Two, because we don't get a lot of kids...
Three, because jerks like this lady, and those who aren't home (not necessarily jerks), make the candy at each door thing less of a happening for these kids. They put a lot of effort into their costumes, so why not?

[eShirl]

33. hope she's invested in a large supply of soap, windex and trash bags this year

[Arkana]

35. Hope she's wearing contact gear and a helmet, cause parents won't like this.

Stupid thing to do, if you ask me.

[ScreamingMeemie]

43. It is far easier to turn off one's porch lights and head out to dinner..

if one does not wish to participate in Halloween.

This woman is an attention-seeking idiot.

[pipi_k]

36. Not enough...

that she only "deems" them to be obese.

If she's going to go that route, I think she needs to set up a little medical station on the front porch where she can do medical exams and weigh the kids. Do the calipers on the belly-fat thing. The whole bit.

While she's at it, maybe she can even shame some of the parents escorting the kids around the neighborhood!




PS...I can never decide whether people like her are assholes "just because", or whether they're really mentally disturbed.

[Aristus]

37. Jesus.

If kids are obese, it isn't because of a once-a-year festival. Let them have their fun. It's often fun for their parents, as well.

You're not doing anybody any favors, lady...

[solarhydrocan]

38. Since insurance is now a public interest

this is just the first of the "suggestions" and it won't be long before we're hearing this kind of thing from government spokespeople

I don't want to pay extra because some fat kid or his parents can't keep his food intake under control. Since smokers have to pay more, so should everyone that costs us all more.

[moriah]

54. That sounds really classy, you know.

You want weight requirements for SCHIP, too?

[sibelian]

39. WAR ON HALLOWEEEN!!!!

Fucking nonsense.

Cos, yeah, the little fat kid's going to feel so fantastic when all his pals get cool stuff and he gets a ROCK. Poor little kid. I think it's
HORRIBLE.

Why can't people get their stupid priorities straight and curb their cruddy attitudes?

Bah!

[Vashta Nerada]

42. Oh I hope her house gets egged by one of the "moderately obese" kids.

[Nine]

45. This is so over-the-top I wonder if it could be a hoax.

I could only read the transcript. The video wouldn't play for me.

[alphafemale]

46. I think the woman is definitely trying to make it look like she is a Liberal.

This statement especially raised hmmmtenna-

"their kids are everybody's kids. It's a whole village."

Crazyass rightwingers can't get over that children's book by Hillary Clinton.

And that was what...at least 15 years ago I would guess.

And since it is something they obsess over, they think it is a comment that WE would drop in a statement.

I can't imagine being so mean.

I can't imagine a true Liberal being so mean. They don't call us bleeding hearts for nothing.

[watch the sky]

47. she sounds like a big ball of fun

A big thing for her, I guess. If I was like that, I'd just hand all kids an apple or other piece of fruit.

[Jenoch]

50. With the exception of Petronius,

you guys are all suckers.

Petronius, the station did not get trolled.

It was a radio bit.

The same woman called the station last year about this time complaining that the highway department would not move a deer crossing sign to a less busy location along a highway.

[tblue37]

51. SO MEAN!!! I disapprove of the way our ENTIRE social and cultural pattern

shovels unhealthy food into kids and totally warps their eating habits so that by the time they have real control over their own choices, their tastes have been geared toward what is most unhealthy.

BUT I deplore the sheer MEANNESS of her approach!

I don't buy candy--for any reason. And I have no desire to give even more junk or sweets to kids who already get way too much of it. But instead of deliberately disappointing or HUMILIATING the poor things, I simply make a habit of turning off all my lights and being elsewhere during our town's 2-hour trick or treating window from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Yes, it is sometimes slightly inconvenient to have to go somewhere else for those two hours, but I would rather do that than have some little kid ring my doorbell even though my porch light is off (that's our town's signal that the house is not giving out treats). Some parents might not be aware of the signal, or some older kids might be out there without adults and also unaware.

I really treasure children, so I could not bear to see some child's face fall in disappointment if he rang my doorbell only to discover that I had no treats for him.

Certainly I could never subject a child to something as mean as a fat-blaming note instead of a treat!

BTW, one DUer gets Halloween themed mini comic books to hand out instead of sweets. I just might go that route next year, since he says they're genuinely popular with the kids that trick or treat in his neighborhood.

[Jenoch]

52. Read post #50.

[tblue37]

53. Oh. Never mind. nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

56. They (comic books) would probably be tossed in my yard.

One night of candy hunting isn't so bad.

[moriah]

55. Guess this person never heard of a "cheat day" in dieting....

... The candy at Halloween isn't what makes someone fat, and taking a day of fun away from kids for their weight is wrong.

Tackling obesity is far more of a day-to-day struggle, not an excuse to be cheap on Halloween.

[Jenoch]

57. "This person" is imaginary.

[moriah]

59. Do you have linkage for that? I saw you say something....

... but sadly this one is something I can picture people doing, unlike the troll call of the radio station in Florida to complain about dihydrogen monoxide in the water system....

[Jenoch]

60. I have three links.

The first one is to the Fargo Forum newspaper.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/416910/

The second is to the telephone call from "Cheryl" and her story about giving letters to fat kids.

The third is to the telephone call from "Donna" to the same radio station last year about her complaints about the location of deer crossing signs.

If you listen to both calls, it is the same woman. It's a radio bit.

[moriah]

61. Thank you! Very helpful to have the actual calls for both.

Appreciate you helping us keep up with the Snopeses...

[Warren DeMontague]

58. Just turn out the lights, lock the front door, and bask in the soul-sucking stench of your own

self-righteousness, lady.

Don't give anything to anyone. Better than making random kids feel bad about their weight.