Football in Texas is sacrosanct. It is a religion. New born baby Texans are given footballs as their first play toys. In Texas, there are really only two sports … spring football and fall football. Baseball is that “girly” sport meant to merely take up time between spring football and fall football. Basketball is played by people running around in their underwear and takes place between fall football and spring football.

Football is King in Texas. I am pretty sure there is a lost “Gospel of Texas Football” sitting in the same general vicinity near Nag Hammadi, Egypt where the Gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945.

This is especially true when you are a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, home of the Longhorns. And no game brings out the passion, the hatred, the joy … and yes, the stupidity more so than the annual Texas – Oklahoma football game.

The Texas – ou game has been played at the Cotton Bowl, located at the Great State Fair of Texas every year since 1929. Dallas is located almost exactly half way between Austin, Texas and Norman, Oklahoma, the town in which ou is located. Traditionally, the game is played on the second Saturday in October. Unlike all other college football games, the stadium seating is split, with 46,000 erudite, intelligent burnt orange clad alums and fans sitting on one side of the stadium and 46,000 red polyester wearing heathen … err … I mean the good people of Oklahoma sitting on the other side.

Beginning in 1978, I attended 22 consecutive Texas – ou games. I sat through 95 degree games, driving rain storms, sunny cool breezes. I saw the venerable old Cotton Bowl go from artificial turf to grass, the stadium size increase from 72,000 to 92,000. And the atmosphere of the game is like no other.

The sights, sounds and smells of the State Fair permeate game day. The smell of Fletcher’s corny dogs. Warm, Shiner Bock beer being served up in wax cups. Long lines to get on rides. Pig races. Turkey legs being sold. The laughter of children. Competing shouts of “Texas sucks!” and “OU sucks!” reverberating. You hear the clanging of bells and whistles from the Midway.

And then, when you go inside the Cotton Bowl, you are surrounded by your fellow alumni and fans. You can smell the grass field. Some years you can catch a faint whiff of whiskey in the air as flasks snuck into the game provide fortitude or whimsy. You remember past games and seeing some of the greatest players to ever play college football. And for a brief period of time, all is right with the world.

What brought that 22 year streak to a halt was an Indian Princess campout. My daughter Morgan, then in first grade at St. Monica Catholic School, had her tribe scheduled to go on a weekend campout strangely enough, in southern Oklahoma that same weekend. Well Dads, we must have our priorities. And so, the game attendance streak ended. And thankfully so. The weather that Saturday was horrifically bad, mid 40s, sleet, driving rain. My Longhorns were crushed … and when I saw my daughter’s smiling face and heard her laughter during the campout, again, all was right with the world.

And so, a new streak started the following year. As time went by, Morgan accompanied me to games. And just as she understood the opera from minute one, so too did she get Longhorn football and this game. She dressed in burnt orange as did her dad. We laughed, bonded, commiserated over the losses and rejoiced with the victories.

And then, a demon entered our lives. Eating Disorders. As her health deteriorated, she realistically could not stand up to the rigors of attending this game. On October 8, 2016, I attended the Texas – ou game by myself. My 16^th consecutive game since the break in 2000. But, the game was different. For some reason to me then unknown, a lot of the joy and enthusiasm was not there.

Thirteen days later, on October 21, 2021, I once again took Morgan to the emergency room. She never left the hospital alive. On October 30, 2021, eating disorders claimed her as yet another hourly victim.

I have not attended another Texas – ou game since. Sometimes, there were supposed conflicts or other plans made. Conflicts and plans I had always managed to work around in prior years. Perhaps I felt that whatever joy or sorrow, laughter or sadness I had previously associated with this game would be gone. Perhaps I felt I would be haunted by the realization that Morgan would not be with me at another game. Perhaps I was hiding from painful memories and emotions. Perhaps cowardice had me in its grip.

Well, I refuse to allow cowardice, pain and anguish to become my masters. This October which will mark the fifth commemoration of Morgan being taken. But, I will return to the game. Tickets have been purchased. Tickets were also acquired by an incredible local doctor, a dear friend of mine, for her adult twin sons to attend their first Texas – ou game. And so, the game awaits.

It will be those young men’s first Texas – ou game. It will be my 39^th. But, I will not be alone. I intend to take some of Morgan’s ashes with me. And by hook or by crook (and with a good bail bonds man standing by just in case), I will spread just a few of Morgan’s ashes on the grassy field of the Cotton Bowl. A place which held such significance, a place of joy, a place of bonding for Morgan and me.

A small bit of her will be left and become part of this historic, venerable setting, a place we shared and loved. And in having her become a more tangible part of our shared memories, I know she will yet again, fill my heart with love, with resolve, with purpose.

A dad with a strong heart, a heart filled with love and inspiration can accomplish anything. So, perhaps I will cheer a little louder, laugh more and find a way to embrace memories not with sorrow, but with a smile on my face.

In today’s world, we are inundated with stories showcasing the darkness of life. Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands of lives being taken by a virus we do not understand. The disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan. The 20^th commemoration of 9/11. Our political parties at each other’s throats. Extremism on both the far left and the far right dominating news channels. A hurricane devastating not just New Orleans and the state of Louisiana but slamming into the Northeast as well.

Fear, depression and sorrow strengthening its icy grip around us, strangling us, choking away our joy, our hope for the future. And perhaps we are right to wonder if hope has been taken from us.

And yet, just when you might believe that we have forgotten how to believe, how to hope, how to embrace a future of greater promise, one man comes along, one man with vision, with an incredibly naïve hope that our future can be different. A seemingly ordinary man. But, a man with vision.

That one man with vision reached out to others, others whom he thought may also dare to believe. Others who may have also been called to protect the weak and the vulnerable. This one man chose to bring his dream, his vision to life … and so, Camp Wonderment was born.

Dr. Joan Le and San Diego’s Rady’s Children’s Hospital believed in the Camp Wonderment approach so much that they agreed to be hosting experts for Camp Wonderment’s first beta camp.  Dr. Le selected 6 children between the ages of 8-12 all of whom had limb differences for Camp Wonderment’s Beta 1 – Circus Camp. 

Jean-Luc Martin, long time creative/business partner and founder of the world famous San Diego Circus Center agreed to host Camp Wonderment’s camp. The idea was to blend their “hero’s journey” approach with his existing coaching style during a summer circus camp.  This Circus was specifically selected for the physical nature of their represented “population” –  children with limb differences. 

Most of the campers were born with their physical conditions and so were accustomed to their limb differences. But as this one man spoke with the parents of each nominated child, he began to understand that they had all recently experienced an event that was traumatic.  One young boy fell at school and was knocked unconscious in front of the entire school because he doesn’t have arms.  He couldn’t catch himself.  An 11 year old girl was attacked by an adult neighbor which left her afraid to even leave her house.  

Each child had an experience that lowered their consciousness to a point where they, for the first time, began to FULLY identify with their body and its perceived weaknesses. 

So, this one man decided to move forward with resounding faith that he could raise enough money to pay for the camp and if by some unlikely reason he couldn’t raise it, then his wife and he would pay for the camp.  It wasn’t but a few weeks before several Dallas area businesses began to express interest in sponsoring. Sponsorship dollars rolled in and this man’s vision became manifest.

In August 2021, that first camp became a reality. And as these incredible children at first slowly, and then with greater enthusiasm and courage began to embrace and overcome the obstacles before them, this one man began to see that it was not just the lives of these 6 children being changed, but their families as well. 

Watching these kids come in on the first day, he saw many hiding their limb differences. Several other campers did not even have sufficient means to bring food for lunches or snacks.  

For five days, these kids had the personal attention of professionally trained circus artists, gymnasts, dancers, clowns and coaches. Each day as this one man walked the floor he heard coaches talking with the children about how to handle fear, failure and doubt. 

This one man knows we all talk about these things with our children, but we are not the ones getting them to fall backwards from a 10 foot drop with no arms or legs… These children needed more. They needed a sense of community. A sense of being not just accepted, but embraced. They needed to find a way to trust. And this man was overwhelmed when he saw that trust beginning to grow. In his words, “THE TRUST WAS ASTONISHING!” 

Symbolic therapeutic work which was designed to mimic their recent challenges for managing fear and doubt resulted in life altering experiences.   

This one man’s vision for Camp Wonderment’s is simply this: If you are afraid of falling, then let’s go learn how to fly.  If you are afraid to leave the house, then let’s be clowns in a show in front of 150 people! Each child began to stand a little bit straighter, smile brighter and get WAY more sweaty than the day before. These kids worked hard and then came the grand finale … the show! 

Friday at 2:30 the lights went up as the campers, along with others, performed in front of over 150 friends and family. It was truly amazing.   Each parent expressed similar sentiments of shock and amazement that their children could, and would, do the things they had just done. 

This one man and his volunteers did it! In one week they were able to transmute what was potentially one of the defining moments of these young lives into a catalyst that brought them out of their shells and RETURNED to them a resolute spirit. 

Now, this one man and his vision, Camp Wonderment, are excited to announce their 2nd Beta camp will be this winter in Dallas, Texas. And this time, the focus population will include children suffering from eating disorders and children whose parents are serving 30 years or longer in prison. 

This one man embraced the power of hope, the power of one man. The belief that one person can change the world by providing hope.

This one man, this one man who has chosen to believe, who must leave the world a better place than what it was when he came into it is reaching out his hand to children facing incredible obstacles. This one man of hope.

This one man is Damian Skinner. A dear man. A dear friend. A person who embodies all that I wish I could be. This is the start of Damian’s vision and hope for the future …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJcCtzZUf4

Today marks the end of an era, an all too brief era in the eating disorder community. September 1, 2021 marks the resignation of Elissa Myers as Executive Director/CEO of the Academy for Eating Disorders. And at a time when the eating disorder community so desperately needs a selfless leader, a champion standing up for those who are vulnerable and in pain, a person of insight, humility, intelligence and grace, that very person is moving on to other and greater challenges … well, other challenges anyway.

I first met Elissa at the ICED event in Chicago in April of 2018. At first, it was a brief discussion during a break in the afternoon sessions. Then that night, after observing snowflakes the size of half dollar coins falling from the night’s sky, (in April, really?) I saw Elissa, Therese Waterhous and Bonnie Harken talking in the lobby bar of the Downtown Marriott. There was a half-filled martini in front of her and I thought, “She’s one of us!” I was prepared to just give a passing wave and move along, but Elissa invited me over to have a drink with them. Keep in mind this was less than eighteen (18) months after my daughter, Morgan had been taken and looking back, I was still operating in this fog of depression, despair and guilt.

We talked for a while. Elissa, Therese and Bonnie allowed me to go into Morgan’s story a bit. We then talked of nothing and of everything. And I walked away from that impromptu meeting thinking, feeling, there was just something different about this person, Elissa Myers. Something special.

As we continued to correspond, Elissa invited Patti Geolat and me to her spacious abode just outside of Washington, D.C. We were going to talk about all things eating disorders related and she had set up an in person and Zoom meeting with other people in the eating disorder community. And so, in August of 2018, Elissa opened her doors to us.

The initial impressions were many. First, you better immediately love “Indi” her black lab. If not, well, I’m sure there are comfortable hotels nearby. And then, you look around at the eclectic furnishings and decorations, you remember the numerous photos of her on social media always with her ubiquitous calling card, “the air bunny symbol, ok ok, the peace sign formed by her fingers,”  and then, it hits you right between the eyes, “My God … this woman is a hippie! She probably even likes Hillary Clinton!”

Well, going downstairs to our room for the next two days, at the bottom of the stairs was a life size cut out of … Hillary Clinton. Naturally, I had to get selfies with Cardboard Hillary since Real Life Hillary was not then readily available. And then I thought of all the inappropriate things that had been foisted upon Hillary by former President Bill Clinton and thought, Hillary needs her vengeance. So, Cardboard Hillary ended up in bed with me (more selfies), which of course were sent to Elissa. The next morning as Elissa was fixing breakfast, she looked my way with a wry smile and slightly raised eyebrow. Sorry about that Elissa. But, I could not resist that “Come hither” look on Cardboard Hillary’s face. And humor, tolerance for silliness and the loving nature of Elissa shined brightly.

Just two months later, in October 2018, we were hosting a screening of Lisa Sabey and Josh Sabey’s powerful documentary, “Going Sane.” Lisa Sabey agreed to fly down for the event. We extended an invitation to Elissa fully not expecting her to show up. One cannot truly fathom our joy, our elation, when Elissa graciously agreed to not just appear, but agreed to say a few words at the screening and appeared on a local radio show we had organized. What made her appearance even more significant was that, and I didn’t learn this until long afterwards and from other sources, that certain people had tried to convince Elissa not to come to Dallas. “That Steven Dunn is a madman. He’s a troublemaker! He’s the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in the ass! Don’t your go down there!” And yet, in making the decision to come to Dallas, she stood so much taller than those naysayers. For a hippie of diminutive stature, she stood so tall, the courage of her convictions elevating her to dizzying heights.

And truly, a special friendship with that wonderful, soulful hippie grew stronger. In March of 2019, ICED was being held in New York City. The week before ICED started, a federal court in San Francisco published its Wit v. UBH decision. As I reached out to one of the lead attorneys in Wit, I noticed his office was in Manhattan and we began to communicate. I immediately contacted Elissa, filled her in on who he was and the importance of the Wit case and told her I thought I could get the attorney to appear and give a presentation. (after all, it was only a few days before ICED was to begin. It’s not as if Elissa and Dawn had a full schedule!). And yet, Elissa jumped on this opportunity right away. And in a matter of days, an appearance at ICED was organized. Thanks to Elissa, Brian Hufford, one of the lead attorneys in Wit appeared, spoke for over an hour and the room was filled with a veritable Who’s Who of industry leaders. All because of Elissa’s foresight and wisdom.

On social media, Elissa’s joyous life was captured in photos she posted in from places like South Africa, Singapore, Dubai. And each time, that brilliant smile and that peace sign spread the message of AED embracing the reality that eating disorders are a global issue and must be treated as such.

When I was able to obtain speaking opportunities with Raytheon in February 2020 and Apple in September 2020, Elissa sent AED material which I gladly included in the information sent to those corporate giants. I wonder how many of those employees’ and their families’ lives were helped because of Elissa’s selflessness.

As Covid a/k/a “The Zombie Apocalypse,” sank its insidious claws into all aspects of our lives, the pressure and demands on business entities and organizations continued to increase and engulfed us all. Some organizations failed. Many leaders of organizations faltered and failed. Retailers with decades of serving customers shuttered their doors. And eating disorders as well as all mental illnesses were reported in never before seen numbers. Sources of revenue and donations to not for profit entities plummeted.

When some organizations were bereft, their very existence in question, that is when our diminutive, peace loving, “Kumbaya my Lord,” hippie stood tallest. Guiding AED with a firm hand as she was confronted on all sides by a deadly virus, fear within the AED membership, pressure from others outside of AED and uncertainty about the future. Pressures, fears and uncertainties that would have, and did, unhinge others.

And yet, for Elissa Myers, it was surely her finest hour. You see, it is easy to be the captain of the ship when the sun is out, the winds are comfortably blowing, the seas are relatively calm and the jagged rocks seem so far away. But, the true test of a captain takes place when the night time clouds are illuminated only by hellfire and lightening, when the winds are howling, when the sea is rough and unforgiving and the jagged rocks are just ahead.

There is no doubt that Elissa is leaving us at a time of great unrest in the eating disorder realm. Private equity owned treatment centers having to expand or merge as debt obligations come due. The Wit case illustrating the deficiencies in the treatment of eating disorders. Will NEDA survive? What of the fat activists who are a very small minority but yell loudly? Racial tensions. People in the past who were once regarded as leaders but who are now being exposed as anything but, as more information comes to light regarding their egos and self-important motivations. Who will AED select to replace Elissa? For that matter, will they replace her at all?

Elissa has this incredible life essence which commands respect from both university based professors and treating doctors alike. And yet, this respect does not come because she has an over-the-top, outrageous personality, or an egocentric need for self-recognition and personal accolades. No. In fact, if one were to ask Elissa if she was fully aware of what an “icon” she became, and is, in the eating disorder community, she would sincerely laugh it off and steer the praise to others.

For people like Elissa, the respect due her, what will surely be her legacy,  comes from a place of humility, of listening, of extending grace. It comes from wisdom and courage, kindness and love.

I could go on ad infinitum. Instead, I know for at least me, I am a better person, a better father, a better man, a more reflective person because of Elissa Myers.

And so my friend, know that when your incredible soul is released to explore other universes, there will be no doubt at all that you left this world a better place than what it was when you first arrived. Is there any greater legacy than that?

Well done good and faithful servant. Well done indeed.

2020 saw most organizations in the eating disorder community dive head first into political correctness to see which could virtue signal the loudest. Some chose to include pronouns after their names believing that illustrates how enlightened and inclusive they are. (Quite frankly, that messaging seems a bit contrived and perhaps reflects more a sense of self-importance.)

Some organizations publicized how they were going to expand their membership and committee involvement to include greater representation among African Americans, Hispanics, LBGTQ and other minorities. (I can’t help but wonder why it took a tragedy to spur these organizations into this type of action and, even still, if this “action” ignores the fundamental issue.)

Some treatment centers, in order to show their “commitment to wokeness,” chose to display “Black Lives Matter” signs and postings about how “All Persons are Accepted Here.” (Again, I can’t help but wonder if those signs should have read, “All Persons Who Can Pay Our Daily Rate of $3500 are Accepted Here” ?)

Some therapists, specifically those who identify politically with the very far left, fell on the, “self-loathing, white guilt, white privilege, the world’s problems are all caused by white cis, straight, conservative men” sword while self-flagellating with pleas of mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. These therapists want to bring this self-loathing and apologies for our forefathers’ lack of sensitivity and vision into the counseling room and in a prime example of countertransference, are asking the few African American patients in that room to give them lessons in how to treat black persons as human beings. 

All words and promises. And yet, merely all words.

One year later where are we? Where is the white paper illustrating how pervasive racism is in the eating disorder industry, how and why it is perpetuated and what possible solutions must be explored? Where is the action? Now that over a year has elapsed, and US society is focused on the delta variant, the horrific scenes playing out in Afghanistan, a president whose fall into mental confusion appears to be escalating each day, trillions of dollars being proposed to be spent on anything and everything except for mental health, where is the hard, difficult action supporting those noble words and intentions expressed just one year ago?

How do we take action to support those noble words? What are the eating disorder organizations and foundations and treatment centers doing to insure that more black Americans receive the highest quality of care? Where is the action proposed by the ED Coalition on this issue? Where is the Residential Eating Disorder Consortium? Where is iaedp? Where is AED? Where is NEDA? Where are the treatment centers? Where are those individuals who stood up this past year and promised that things must change? Why is the silence on this issue so deafening? Who has any answers? For that matter, who even has a clue as to where the path begins to find possible answers?

As for that last question, perhaps the answer is found in the unlikeliest place, as it often is. In my journey the last 4 years, I have been so incredibly fortunate to have encountered people demonstrating the noble qualities of strength, inspiration, resolve and soulfulness in the least expected places. From a mother who sends me a message saying she believes I saved her child’s life. To young people who tell me that my daughter still inspires them. To sitting on the floor with young people in treatment and laughing with them, crying with them. To seeing the fear and exhaustion in a parent’s eyes and yet still seeing a fighting spirit. Seeing grace and strength when society and the eating disorder community has kicked our most vulnerable people when they have been down.

Often the path to enlightenment, the path which leads to answers lie in the unlikeliest of places. A few months ago, I was contacted by a patient who had just discharged from a treatment center. The story she told me seemed so fanciful that it could not possibly be true. And so, investigations began. Questions were asked. Sources were consulted. And the dominos began to fall. The Chief Clinical Officer resigned and is allegedly getting out of the eating disorder community. The Chief Operating Officer resigned. As questions continued to be asked, answers began to become in focus. And now, litigation is all but inevitable and looks to be filed in federal court in Los Angeles this week.

Litigation which has the potential to rock the eating disorder industry to its core. Litigation which will pull back the curtain of racism which has oppressed Black Americans and prevented them from receiving quality medical and mental health care. Litigation which will call into question the foundations of eating disorder organizations and treatment centers. Litigation which could lead to many, many more African Americans receiving life-saving treatment when the case reaches its inevitable and foregone conclusion.

Litigation which will happen because one person decided to stand up and be counted. One person who still suffers from her eating disorder. One person who found the courage within her to stand up and say, “Enough. No More. No More.”

This one person, this one incredible soul. This person is a forty-three (43) year old, single African American mother, who has two (2) children, who is classified as obese under the BMI, who has suffered from an eating disorder for over fifteen (15) years, who has a commission only paying job at which she excels when she is not in treatment, who is a lesbian. And the manner in which I just described this Soulful Warrior only describes her shell, her physical body, her corporeal existence, an existence which cannot possibly contain the incredible Heart of a Lioness and Soul of a Warrior which shines so brightly within her. This one incredible soul coming to me in an unlikely way and yet, who became a bright beacon and reminder of that which inspires me and keeps me on a path of helping the vulnerable.  

And maybe, just maybe, this one incredible soul will be the catalyst for action which brings life and meaning to the empty platitudes from last year.

One incredible soul.

One particular Seinfeld episode shined a bright, comedic light on the phrase, “It’s not you, it’s me.” (Who among us have not used that line at least once, especially in our younger years, when we were “redefining the nature of our association” with our then girl/boyfriend?) It is classic. But, George Costanza elevated this term to a new height during this episode:

Gwen: I’m sorry, George.

George: I don’t understand. Things were going so great. What happened? Something must have happened.

Gwen: It’s not you, it’s me.

George: You’re giving me the “it’s not you, it’s me” routine? I invented “it’s not you, it’s me!” Nobody tells me it’s them, not me! If it’s anybody, it’s me.

Gwen: All right, George, it’s you.

George: You’re damn right it’s me.

Gwen: I was just trying to…

George: I know what you were trying to do. Nobody does it better than me.

Gwen: I’m sure you do it very well.

George: Yes, well, unfortunately you’ll never get the chance to find out.

[SCENE: Jerry’s apartment.]

Jerry: But I thought things were going great.

George: Yeah, so did I.

Jerry: Did she say why?

George: No. She tried to give me the “it’s not you, it’s me” routine.

Jerry: But that’s your routine.

George: Yeah. Well, apparently word’s out.

That episode and the phrase, “It’s not you, It’s me” recently came into my consciousness.

This year marks the 20^th commemoration of 9/11. A date that changed this nation’s vision, if not our very soul. As we observe and remember that dark day years ago, we are also struggling with the global, mental health pandemic that has impacted so many of us.

And so, along with other mental health advocates and organizations, we are organizing a mental health resource fair to take place on Saturday, September 11, 2021.

Some of these organizations and philanthropists include Something for Kelly Foundation, Grant Halliburton Foundation, Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Camp Wonderment, Center for Change, Mockingbird Pharma, Francisco Ayala, PhD and other mental health organizations, individuals and companies.

At this event, we will showcase a local band, yoga, singers and entertainers. The atmosphere will be light-hearted, joyous with a promise of hope for the future. Located in the heart of Addison, Texas, Prestonwood Pond, the site of the event, is a spring fed pond and is stocked with fish. The intent is to have an upbeat, fun “Morning in the Park” vibe. What there will not be is a “fun walk.” Fun walks long ago stopped being “fun.” A “Fun Walk” is an anachronism destined to take its place next to hula hoops, lawn jarts, beauty pageants and poodle dog skirts.

With in-person school in Texas having just started, we are reaching out to many schools and school districts, churches, temples and places of worship. With many Fortune 500 companies which call North Texas home, we are reaching out to them as well.  Our incredible volunteers are motivated, experienced and involved with the mental health field and are doing incredible work.

Over 30 exhibitors with mental health, medical and holistic specialties including most aspects of health in general have committed to appear and be the face of people dedicated to helping others. Our financial sponsors have been generous.

The VIP event the evening before has musical entertainment, special guests, laughter and incredible food. Indeed, this event promises to become an event that families will be able to embrace every year.

And yet, there have been some medical and mental health providers, respected professionals, professionals who are rightly admired, who when approached about this event, when asked to send representatives to this event, have responded with a statement along the lines of, “We are at the breaking point. We already have too much work, too many people reaching out for help. Our waiting lists are long. Our professionals are working themselves to the bone and are exhausted.” How can we possibly take on more? Their position is completely understandable. In order to provide the highest quality of care, our medical and mental health providers must take care of themselves. That is crucially important.

And yet, in response to those dedicated, hard-working professionals, [and that was said with sincerity, respect, and admiration for all they do … my God, they save lives. Is there a higher calling?] … imagine, if you will, a family of limited financial means, a BIPOC family perhaps, a family who is struggling. Their life, already so difficult before Covid-19 hit. And then, the fear, the isolation, the anguish, the pain, their very mortality strangles them in an icy grip of life or death as Covid-19 spreads globally. The parents, one or both of them, perhaps losing their jobs. Revered retail outlets permanently closing their doors. Unemployment nationwide sky rocketing.

Their children, not knowing if they will be at school in person, or virtual, are masks required or not, are we safe or not … trying to not only learn the lesson plan for the day but to try to make sense of this pandemic that even their parents cannot figure out. Imagine the fear. Imagine their need for help. Imagine … them living in such darkness searching for that one source of light. Desperately needing … hope.

Embrace that vision. And then those poor, anguished souls hear … I would like to help, but I am just too busy.

Look that heartbroken mother in the eyes. Look that depressed, forlorn father in the eyes. Look that innocent, fearful child in the eyes and then, listen to their words, as they look you in the eyes and you hear them whisper, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

We are facing such incredibly trying times. Times that test the very essence of who we are. There truly is a tsunami of mental health issues, of people lost, who believe they have been forgotten. Those people who need a hug, a smile, to share a tear with someone, who need soft tender words, who need to hear they have not been forgotten. Who need to hear they are important. Who need to hear they matter.  Who need to hear even if you cannot immediately help them, you know people who perhaps can.

It is not you, it is them.

That is what On Mindful Pond is about. It is not about making money. It is not about egos. It is not about our self-importance. It is not about going to San Antonio and hob knobbing with fellow addiction professionals knowing that while you are there you are not directly helping those who need you the most.

It IS about kneeling down and hugging a child. It is about looking a parent in the eyes and telling them they are not alone. It IS about sending a message that we are all God’s children, and we are there for those who most need our help. It is about looking past our exhaustion, and fatigue, and waiting lists. It is about giving a hug, looking a fellow human in the eyes and telling them, “You are loved. I am here for you, right here, right now. We are one.”

It is about telling those who need us the most, “It is about you, not me.”

That is the essence of On Mindful Pond.

That is the essence of our heart and soul.

That is why and how our life path directs us to help others.

That, is who we are.

So, today is the 28^th birthday of my beloved daughter, Morgan.

And without this article, very few people may remember. Certainly her mother, Martha and her significant other. Me. My significant other. (I really don’t like that term. We must think of another one more succinct and fitting). Her brother, my incredible son, Hanford and his wife. We remember. And then …

Without a reminder, there may be very few.

And now for the difficult part… the realization that that is how life is meant to be. And yet, for a parent, when a child dies, their birthdays and their transition days are dates that are seared into our hearts. For us parents, our child going before us will always be a personal tragedy. We never get over it.

But, there is another reality that is also very real. As parents of children who transition before us, we must find a way to acknowledge that harsh reality. Life and death are absolute realities of our existence. The world moves on. Society moves on. Glorious life moves on. As parents who are living through the gut wrenching tragedy that our child was taken before us, that is the harsh reality we must face. And face it we do in different ways in accordance with our own individual strengths and weaknesses.

And for this one man, this one daddy, I would not want it any other way. For it surely must be, will be, and has been that way since time immemorial. (Or until that mad genius who lives down the street succeeds in devising AI capable of performing all job tasks and work for humankind allowing us a life of leisure. [Or to be eradicated by the Frankenstein of our minds]) The talks we have had and will continue to have on sentient beings, ethics, the soul and Skynet becoming self-aware have been epic. But, I digress.

Morgan being taken scarred me on a deep level. And yet, it also filled me with incredible drive and inspiration, substance and strength, hope and resolve. I have had to endure the greatest fear a parent could possibly face. And yet here I stand, “Stoikiy Muzhik.”  Through tragedy, my soul connected with me … and its path was revealed. In realizing that, instead of being mastered by that pain and anguish, I certainly must acknowledge the presence of that pain, but I also must acknowledge to a much greater degree hope for others, and inspiration that Morgan brought and brings to others.

Like so many parents who have had their child taken, I wanted her death to not be meaningless. I wanted an industry to stand up and take notice. By God, I would have people rise up and understand and embrace her legacy in a grand and mighty way and then go out and do great and mighty deeds! In Morgan’s name, we were going to save so many others. She would be remembered.

But, that is not the way of things. That is not the true path to salvation and remembrance. Great and mighty deeds? No. Instead, it is the small things. Salvation and soulfulness are found in the small things. The very small things.

We remember Morgan’s friend who gave her first child, her daughter, Morgan’s name as her middle name. Her friends, her sisters in treatment whom she inspired and helped, today may briefly remember her smile. Or the way she laughed. The way she pushed them to rise up and conquer. It will be those precious few who shake their heads remembering when Morgan did or said something incredibly … “out there,” or let’s face it, stupid. It will be those few who remember how good they felt when they were in Morgan’s presence. And yes, it will be those who swore they would not succumb as Morgan did. They will remember that it took Morgan falling so they could lift their own life. It is within those gentle souls who find the strength within themselves to heal that we find our successes, our joys, our true love in life.

And so, for those who remember, or who choose to remember, I ask them to do what I choose to do today, what I surely must do not just today but every day … remember her laughter, her smile, her love, how she inspired and yes… it’s ok to recall her many flaws and weaknesses. Like her father, she did have flaws and weaknesses. Sometimes in abundance!

For parents who have children, call them today. Talk to them, tell them you love them. Laugh about a great, shared memory. And allow yourself to feel love and hope for a much greater future that is surely before you.

Today, on Morgan’s birthday, I choose to laugh, to live, to love, to embrace a better tomorrow. For in doing so, if I can give even one person hope, a chance at a better tomorrow, as Morgan most surely did and would want me to do, is there any better birthday gift to give to your child? And yet, whatever birthday gift I ever gave to her in the past and give to her today, pales in comparison to what she gave to me. You see … she gave me the recognition of and connection with my very soul. Being inspired by my beloved daughter to seek out that seedling of hope and love in a forest of tears and pain.

So, for those who loved Morgan, yes, it’s ok to feel a bit of pain. But then, rejoice in the laughter she brought to you. The joy. The life. The love. Hold your head higher. Raise your glass. Remember and celebrate a life that yes, was cut far too short, but so well lived. Remember and smile.

As I surely will.

“If I’m making an impact, I’m not aware of it. People who make impacts don’t know. They are not thinking about, ‘Oh, how will I look from this angle.’”

         Ruth Sharp Altshuler

Some people are just naturally “larger than life.” They instinctually rise above the fray with courage, strength and dignity. They look upon obstacles as opportunities. And when we are touched by them, when their paths cross ours, we instantly know that our lives are so much richer.

So were the lives of Ruth Sharp Altshuler and her husband Dr. Kenneth Altshuler. To go into all of their achievements, to detail the lives they saved, to articulate the many ways in which they left the world a better place would take far too many words and would involve reams of paper. So, I can only summarize the many ways in which they improved society.

Ruth Altshuler was born on March 10, 1924, and raised in a home on Swiss Avenue.  At an early age, Ruth found her calling to help those less fortunate that herself. During one interview, Ruth credited her acts of compassion to one simple thing: “Guilt!” She stated, “When I joined the Junior League, I realized how privileged I had been my whole life. It was fortunate because it made [volunteering] a career for me.” And so, she became one of the most tireless and influential volunteers and civic leaders Dallas has ever seen. Through her decades of philanthropic work, she raised millions for area charities.

In addition to raising millions of dollars, Ruth also donated millions of her own. She served as chairs of both the Carr P. Collins Foundation and the Sharp Foundation. She helped SMU’s students by creating the innovative Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center and helped recognize the university’s outstanding faculty by establishing the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award. 

For nearly 50 years she served as an SMU trustee and was the university’s first female board chair. In fact, Ruth’s lifetime of service was filled with many firsts. She was the first woman to serve on a grand jury in Dallas, the one that indicted Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald. She was the first woman on the board of First Republic Bank of Dallas. She was the first woman elected Chairman of the Executive Board of Highland Park United Methodist Church, and first female Chairman of the Board of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. She was the first lifetime member elected to the National Salvation Army Advisory Board, and was a founding board member of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She was also the first woman to serve as a board member of the Salvation Army of Dallas, Goodwill Industries, and the Dallas Citizens Council. 

President George W. Bush appointed Ruth to the Library of Congress Trust and she served on the board of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.

In 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell named her to the United States Commission to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2011, she became the first person in the U.S. to receive all three national service honors: the Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year Award from the National Society of Fundraising Executives; the national Alexis de Tocqueville Award of the United Way of America, and; the Distinguished Service Award given by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. She was one of three life members of the Salvation Army’s National Advisory Board. 

Ruth was undeniably a tireless and selfless champion for those suffering from mental health issues. And, she will forever be memorialized through her induction into the State of Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.

Toward the end of her life she ended every speech with her favorite quote by Albert Schweitzer, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”  She left us on December 8, 2017 at 93 years old. And her passing left a void that cannot be filled.

So too, her beloved husband, Dr. Kenneth Altshuler also impacted countless lives and saved many more.

Over the course of a twenty-two year career at Columbia University, he became a pioneer in studying mentally ill patients with profound early deafness, and creating services for them. His work was made part of the State services for the mentally ill in New York, and was duplicated in several countries overseas. His awards for his work at Columbia University are too numerous to list.

He left Columbia University in 1977 to become the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Charged with building an outstanding Psychiatry Department from one that was virtually defunct, he recruited outstanding faculty, raised fifty-two million dollars in departmental endowments, and increased the full-time faculty from five to over one hundred.

He received the Texas Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association, the Outstanding Psychiatric Award from the North Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians, and he was a two-time recipient of the Prism Award for community service from the Dallas Mental Health Association. On the national scene, Dr. Altshuler served as a Director of the National Board of Medical Examiners, as President of the National Association of Chairmen of Departments of Psychiatry, and as a Board Member and then President of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

In 1999, Governor George W. Bush appointed him to the Board of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (1999-2004). Dr. Altshuler left us at age 91 on January 6, 2021. According to those who knew him best, Dr. Altshuler was always a source of clear thinking and deep wisdom, a person to be counted on for kindness and intelligent support.

To recognize the tremendous impact Ruth Altshuler had upon the mental health community in North Texas, Mental Health America of Greater Dallas started the “Ruth Sharp Altshuler Prism Award for Community Service.” This award is given annually to persons or organizations who have made a significant contribution to improving the mental health of the Dallas community. Past recipients have tenaciously fought for years and sometimes decades to improve the mental health of the Dallas County community.

Approximately two weeks ago, I received a call from the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas. During this call, I was told I was to be the recipient of the 2021 Mental Health America of Greater Dallas Ruth Sharp Altshuler Prism Award.

I was not even aware that I had been nominated. And then, after conducting research into the rich lives of Ruth Sharp Altshuler and Dr. Kenneth Altshuler, and after discovering some of the past recipients, I seriously wondered if a mistake had been made. These people were giants. I became involved with the mental health community only after my beloved daughter, Morgan was taken on October 30, 2016. But for that personal tragedy, there is a substantial likelihood that I would not be actively involved in the mental health community. I also believe that whatever meager accomplishments I have managed pale in comparison to past award winners.

And yet perhaps the obstacles, opportunities, twists and turns presented on our soul’s journey are not meant to be fully understood. Perhaps we are only meant to persevere, to keep our egos and selfish wants and perceived needs on the sidelines and continue going forward.

As surely we must.

Today, June 2, 2021 is World Eating Disorders Day. For the most part, mainstream society does not know it exists. But, for those who have been devastated by eating disorders, it is one more significant day, a reminder of that which was taken from us. One more noted day in which we remember. A day to remember how parents like me, frighten so many of those involved in the eating disorder community.

But for today, we choose to not mourn the fallen but to embrace the future. For it is only by embracing a future with hope, with compassion, with strength and with resolve, that we can hope to save the lives of others. And so, let us embrace hope by first looking back at the recent past. At an event which occurred that gives us hope for the future.

Thursday, May 20, 2021.  A date the eating disorder community should celebrate. For on that day, an eating disorder bill was approved by a House of Representatives and a State Senate and sent to that state’s governor for signature. And it happened in one of the most unlikely of places. On that date, Senate Bill 184 (SB 184) was sent to Governor Greg Abbott for signature. What was that state? Texas.

What is SB 184?

SB 184 is embedded here:

https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB184/2021

First, SB 184 was overwhelming approved with support from both Republicans and Democrats in the Texas State House and Senate.

So, why is SB 184 important?

It is axiomatic that when you build anything, a house, an office building, a relationship, an organization, you MUST first build a strong foundation. Without a strong foundation, you are building a mirage, a castle on sand. SB 184 builds a strong foundation. This bill states in material part:

(a)       The Department of State Health Services, in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Commission, shall prepare a report on the prevalence of eating disorders and eating disorder-related deaths in this state. The report must include:

(1)       A regional and statewide statistics regarding the prevalence of eating disorders and eating disorder-related deaths in this state;

(2)       An overview of national trends in eating disorders; and

(3)       An overview of state-funded behavioral health treatment options available to persons with eating disorders.

From that Report,  no later than December 1, 2023, the Department of State Health Services and the Health and Human Services Commission is required to prepare and submit to the legislature a copy of the report and any recommendations for legislative or other action to reduce the prevalence of eating disorders and eating disorder-related deaths in this state.

That’s it.

There is no demand for state funding. No education requirement. No nutritional teaching mandate. No demand for social engineering. Instead, the message of SB 184 is fundamental and clear, that is, we must first thoroughly understand this disease, how prevalent it is, how deadly it is and what current options exist to treat it. For it is only by thoroughly understanding the problem that we can hope to find real life solutions.

Further, this process of analyzing problems has a history of success in the State of Texas. A past legislature mandated a comprehensive white paper on overall mental health services for children in the State of Texas. In December of 2018, a 145 page paper was distributed to all of the incoming Representatives and Senators in Texas. This white paper resulted in SB 11 which created the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium which organized a collaborative entity among the health related institutions of higher learning, state agencies and private organizations to study and then find solutions for increasing access to mental health care on a state-wide basis.

On this World Eating Disorders Day, at least in Texas, we choose to not look at mistakes of the past. We choose to not question past decisions or eating disorder organizations or entities. Instead, we choose to embrace hope. We embrace vision. We embrace wisdom. We embrace the opportunity to strive forward, to look toward a brighter future. In Texas, a foundation is being built. A foundation that will support a mighty house upon which we can save lives, one precious life at a time.

Contrary to the belief of a certain eating disorder organization:

Weight stigma and weight discrimination are not the same and in fact, are different in many important ways. There is no “chicken or the egg” argument with regard to weight stigma versus weight discrimination.

Some of the material differences are best illustrated in the following, simple definitions:

Weight stigma involves negative attitudes toward people who are obese. Weight stigma is social devaluation and denigration of people perceived to carry excess weight. This type of stigma is more often than not, a precursor to weight discrimination but does not rise to the level of negative conduct and is not actionable in court. And  yet, it is serious.

Weight discrimination is defined as unequal treatment resulting from stereotypes, rejection or prejudice towards people because they are obese. The unequal treatment is associated purely with a person’s weight. Discrimination is manifested conducted directed toward a person or group of persons.

The judicial system in the United States only considers weight discrimination. Cases filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) address conduct constituting possible weight discrimination. Despite research demonstrating that negative attitudes are having an impact on how obese people are treated in the workplace, weight discrimination in the workplace is still legal in forty-nine states.

Essentially, this means that due to the long-recognized practice of at-will employment and termination of employment, anyone who is classified as obese may be fired due to weight discrimination in the workplace. This sets a dangerous precedent, one in which employers can body shame their employees. Furthermore, based on the fact that women report more incidents of weight discrimination in the workplace, it reinforces the cultural ideation that women are valued more on how they look, than they are for their skill set.

Why is weight discrimination not illegal?

So, how does our judicial system look upon weight discrimination in the workplace? The laws governing weight discrimination are based on constitutional prohibitions, and on state and federal statutes.

The U.S. Supreme Court has established certain tests for determining whether disparate (different) treatment of a group is discriminatory and illegal. If the treatment is based on what the law refers to as a “suspect classification,” the disparate treatment will be subject to “strict scrutiny.” A suspect classification is some characteristic of the victim, typically immutable (one that cannot be changed, such as age, gender or race), that has no bearing on the person’s ability to perform his or her job. Under current Supreme Court rulings, there are four traits that are considered suspect classifications: race, national origin, religion and alienage (the status of being an alien).

Courts have also identified what are known as “quasi-suspect classifications,” including gender and legitimacy of birth. Actions based on either of these characteristics are subject to “intermediate scrutiny.”

If the basis for the disparate treatment is neither suspect nor quasi-suspect, the court will only concern itself with whether or not there is a “rational basis” to treat the group differently. Disparate treatment based on disability, political affiliation, age, wealth or status as a felon—all are subject to the rational basis test.

Since obesity is not a suspect or quasi-suspect classification, courts will only consider whether there is a rational basis for an employer to treat obese persons differently. But first, the fundamental question, “Is Obesity a Disability?” must be asked. If the answer is always no, the analysis ends at that point. And that is where the Militant Fat Activists (“MFA”) hurt the very cause they are advocating.

Is obesity a disability? If it is not, then for the most part, employers can discriminate based on weight no matter how vociferously the MFAs argue, protest, harass and harangue. If a litigant cannot show that obesity is a “protected class” under the ADA, they will lose.

The ADA protects employees and applicants with disabilities from discrimination, and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. The ADA states that height and weight, within normal parameters, are not disabilities. However, some courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have found that obesity may qualify as a disability, at least in limited circumstances:

• If an employee or applicant has an underlying physiological impairment that has resulted in obesity (such as diabetes), the employee may be protected. The employee would have to prove that he or she had a disability as defined by the ADA. In other words, the employee would have to show not only that he or she had such an impairment, but also that it substantially limited a major life activity or major bodily function.
• The EEOC has said that “severe” obesity, defined as weight that is greater than twice the average weight, is itself an impairment that could be a disability. Again, the employee would have to show that it substantially limited a major life activity or major bodily function.

But, according to the MFAs, obesity is never a disability. They believe that if you even use the biomedical word “obesity” you are “fat-phobic.” You can have health at your size! Medical community be damned … ignore your science, research and facts and listen to our anecdotal stories! If obesity is not ever a disability, then the MFAs who espouse that position are undermining themselves, obesity can never be the basis for a violation of the ADA and companies will be permitted to continue to discriminate at will based on obesity.

Corporations and Weight Discrimination

However, a corporation has no emotional incentive to engage in weight discrimination. From a public relations perspective alone, if a corporation was found to be engaging in overt acts of weight discrimination, the financial and societal ramifications could be devastating. In these times of “The Great Race to the Top of Woke Mountain,” many corporations seem to be vying to be the king of that mountain. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the wokeist one of all?”

So, what incentive does a corporation have to combat weight stigma in the workplace to lessen the likelihood of weight discrimination? We can perhaps find the answer to this question in the February 2020 edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

In that Journal, an extensive multi-year study on the economic costs of obesity was published. Its findings showed that when compared with a lower BMI, obesity was associated with higher direct healthcare costs and indirect work loss-related costs, including costs related to disability, absenteeism (absence from work, such as sick leave), and presenteeism (reduction in productivity while at work). This report cited The Milken Institute report. The Milken report estimated a total cost of $1.72 trillion associated with obesity and its related comorbidities in 2016. 

Of this $1.72 trillion, $480.7 billion was incurred in direct health-care costs and $1.24 trillion in lost productivity. This study drew on research evidencing how being obese (as that term is defined by the biomedical community) elevates the risk of diseases such as breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoarthritis, and estimates the cost of medical treatment and lost productivity for each disease.

To combat this loss of revenue, numerous studies indicate that corporations which have an aggressive employee wellness program tend to be more employee friendly places to work. These corporate wellness programs result in improved employee health behaviors, reduced elevated health risks, reduced health care costs, improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improves employee recruitment and retention.

Corporations attempt to address obesity issues and weight stigma through extensive employee wellness programs. Corporations, people and organizations have financial incentives to encourage wellness programs. Weight discrimination lawsuits are not likely to succeed. Further, the MFAs continue to sabotage the ability to succeed in courts. So, we are justified in questioning why the MFAs continue to fight losing battles in the eating disorder community when an established fat acceptance community exists and would be far more welcoming.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (“NAAFA”) was founded in 1969.  It is a non-profit, all volunteer, fat-rights organization. It is dedicated to protecting the rights and improving the quality of life for fat people. The NAAFA seeks to eliminate discrimination based on body size through advocacy, public education and support. MFAs and the NAAFA would seem to be a match made in … well somewhere.

The MFAs may argue that weight stigma and weight discrimination are as important as any other issue because they dramatically impact eating disorders. They argue a Zero Sum Game and detract and distract from all other issues which plague persons afflicted with eating disorders. But, MFAs tend to be primarily “Fat Acceptance Advocate Wolves” first and foremost merely dressed in the sheep’s clothing worn by the eating disorder community.

This is especially true when we consider that not all people who are defined as obese have eating disorders.  With all of the fundamental dysfunctionalities inherent in the eating disorder community, why would any responsible eating disorder organization solicit donations ostensibly for eating disorder advocacy and research and yet then turn around and apply those donated funds to attempts to have weight discrimination laws implemented in various states?

In 2019, one now disgraced, former officer of an eating disorder organization disclosed, “[XXXX] is currently working with five other states in anti-weight discrimination legislation around the country, but there is still plenty of work to be done.”  Weight discrimination? Not eating disorders research or treatment?

And yet as shown above, since this same organization in 2019, demonstrated that it did not understand the significant differences between weight stigma and weight discrimination, it is not surprising that it would pursue its off mission agendas.

Weight stigma is a serious issue. Weight discrimination is a serious issue. Weight stigma can be a triggering element leading to an eating disorder. And yet …

No federal bills on research into eating disorders have been filed since 2013.

There are no generally accepted standards of care in the industry.

There is very little federal or state ethical oversight over therapists and counselors.

There are no agreed upon standards regulating marketing of services provided.

The mortality rate for eating disorders continues to escalate.

Covid-19 has resulted in increased eating disorder issues amongst all populations.

So called eating disorder community leaders refuse to support collaborative studies because of “personality differences.”

Intolerance and animosity have run a number of highly respected mental health care professionals out of the eating disorder community.

With these tremendous issues and problems plaguing the eating disorder realm, are weight stigma and weight discrimination the cross upon which we want to hang not just our future, but the future of our children? After all, NAAFA has 52 years experience in handling fat acceptance and weight discrimination. There is no doubt that the NAAFA would welcome Militant Fat Activists with arms akimbo.

It is long past time for fresh thinking, new ideas and rational, intelligent solutions to be presented. Just as it is long past time for bad actors, charlatans and frauds to be exposed and removed from the community.

Lives depend on it.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

            Edmund Burke, Irish Statesman and Philosopher

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”

            Robert Kennedy

“… once evil is invited in, tremendous effort is required to show it to the door and kick its cloven hoof off the threshold.”

            E.A. Bucchianeri, Author, Vocation of a Gadfly

For a number of years, Militant Fat Activists (“MFAs”) have been allowed to infiltrate and wreak havoc in the eating disorder community. This is particularly perplexing since obesity, in and of itself, is not recognized nor treated as a mental illness. Whereas, research studies seem to indicate that people at a higher weight are at increased risk of disordered eating compared with the general population, living in a larger body (or “obesity” as it is referred to in a biomedical context) is not an eating disorder or mental disorder. And yet, MFAs have engaged in reprehensible conduct without consequence or ramifications in the eating disorder community.

MFAs have verbally abused, interrupted and harassed medical and mental health experts giving presentations at national and international conferences.

MFAs have demanded that the medical and mental health professionals stop using the terms “obesity” and “overweight” because they are allegedly terms of derision which do not accurately describe a health condition. According to one MFA, “the medical community has it all wrong.”

MFAs have demanded that weight stigma and weight discrimination be elevated to the highest level of importance in the study and research of eating disorders.

MFAs have looked upon the research and treatment of eating disorders as a “Zero Sum Game” in which the eating disorder with the highest mortality rate, anorexia nervosa, must be minimized because anorexia is traditionally represented in the media by thin, white women.

MFAs have taken HAES, a principle that was designed by very few people and which has no research based origins, to address their own, one sided perspectives on social justice and healthcare. They moved it away from  their self-proclaimed, “new, peace movement.” Instead, MFAs have turned it into an angst filled, antagonistic, sordid battleground as they bask in their own self-loathing. If you disagree with any of their positions, you are “fat-phobic.”

MFAs uncompromisingly promote their own positions as superior to all others and thus betray their own core values of inclusion and equality whether you are on the privileged or disadvantaged spectrums.

MFAs refuse to intelligently discuss the obvious medical and societal shortcomings of HAES and instead attempt to denigrate and back stab any persons who do not slavishly adhere to every nuance of HAES no matter how extreme, illogical or ignorant of medical knowledge those positions are.

MFAs make blatant misrepresentations to the general public in order to solicit donations ostensibly for eating disorder advocacy when in truth and in fact, those persons are soliciting donations for “fat-centric” weight discrimination laws.

MFAs utilize and bastardize eating disorder organizations to further their own agendas, agendas which emphasize obesity and fat acceptance rather than eating disorder research.

There are many other ways in which MFAs have caused an incredible amount of harm in the eating disorder community. MFAs cause this harm without regret, without remorse and without apology. And yet ironically, MFAs cannot grasp that they are the very authors of their own destruction.

For with a more reasoned, intelligent, rational approach, “obesity” could have been elevated into a protected right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). As a practical matter, this means that employers could not discriminate against people who are fat, obese or “morbidly obese.” People who provide housing not only could not discriminate but would have to provide special accommodations. Through intelligence, guile, wisdom and collaboration, MFAs could have already reached one of their main goals. And yet even using the word “obesity” is tantamount to waving a red flag in front of a charging bull… a bull which is heedlessly running to its own demise.

So, let’s explore how the MFAs have self-sabotaged their own movement.

There is no Constitutional right to Health Care.

MFAs have argued there is a constitutional right to health care for fat persons or obesity. They are incorrect.

First, the U.S. Constitution does not set forth an explicit right to health care … unless you are incarcerated. The Supreme Court has not interpreted the Constitution as guaranteeing a right to health care services. While the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court interpretations do not identify a constitutional right to health care for those who cannot afford it, Congress has enacted numerous statutes, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which establish and define specific statutory rights of individuals to receive health care services from the government.

So, any type of argument alleging there is a Constitutional right to health care for obesity or fat people will fail in the United States court system.

Civil Rights laws do not apply to obesity.

Sadly, one now disgraced, former officer of an eating disorder organization stated, “It’s a civil rights issue because people are discriminated against and harmed by their body size.” To characterize that statement as foolishly wrong and misguided would be charitable.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing. The Act prohibits discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs.

But, Title VII does not include obesity as a protected standard. This means it does not prohibit employers from discriminating based on weight or obesity. In fact, there is no federal law protecting persons who are overweight or obese. Only 1 of the 50 states  has passed legislation protecting overweight or obese people in the workplace.

So without the protections of the Constitution or civil rights laws, the MFAs logically should be turning towards the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) for statutory protection and expansion of their mission. And yet, MFAs stubbornly refuse to pursue that option.

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA protects employees with disabilities from discrimination, and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. The ADA states that height and weight, within normal parameters, are not disabilities.

Under the ADA, “disability” is defined as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” In 2008, Congress amended the ADA to provide a broader interpretation of the definition of disability, and added a “regarded as” disabled component of disability discrimination.  Thus, under the amendments, employees who cannot show they have an actual disability within the meaning of the ADA may nonetheless prevail if they can prove their employer regarded them as disabled.

The EEOC issued interpretive guidance explaining that the definition of the term “impairment” does not include physical characteristics, including weight, that are within “normal” range and are not the result of a physiological disorder.  Applying a “natural reading” of the EEOC’s interpretive guidance, four federal courts of appeal (the courts just below the US Supreme Court) have all held that obesity alone, without evidence of an underlying physiological condition, is not a physical impairment amounting to a disability under the ADA. In 2020, the Fifth Circuit in dicta, also made this determination.

Therefore, the law appears to be settling on the principle that obesity only qualifies as a disability under the ADA if it is caused by an underlying physiological disorder or condition (such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or a thyroid disorder) and that obesity is an ADA impairment only if it is the result of an underlying physiological disorder or condition. In addition, the EEOC has said that “severe” obesity, defined as a weight that more than twice the norm, is itself an impairment that could be a disability. Again, the employee would have to show that it substantially limited a major life activity or major bodily function. So, why is this so important?

If the MFAs were willing to intelligently discuss the benefits and drawbacks of HAES and their views on obesity in an objective manner, working with the medical community to further a “severe obesity as a disability” agenda in the court system, that could have resulted in unprecedented progress in advancing their objectivities in the courts, before legislative bodies and in mainstream society. Yet, MFAs cannot get out of their own way.

Hoisted With Her Own Petard

Instead of engaging in a lucid, thoughtful strategic plan emphasizing positivity and long term goals and objectives, the MFAs blindfold themselves and attempt to play a game of checkers using bottlecaps for some of the missing pieces on Funk & Wagnall’s porch.

MFAs do not trust evidence base medical or mental health care for the reason that it allegedly did not help them. They openly state that there are people who are publicly chastised and harmed continuously by the medical profession. They believe that public health in this country is getting it so wrong and that there is a better way. And all people need to do is ignore science and medical professionals and be willing to actually listen to those being harmed.

MFAs seek to play the ultimate Zero Sum Game by stating, “We must also be centering and supporting BiPOC, LGBTQ+, fat therapists and professionals. This is no space for white, straight and thin folks to jump in.”

We even have examples of how MFAs have sabotaged their agenda in court. In the case of Gena Powell vs. Gentiva Health Services, Inc. filed in a federal court in Alabama, Powell worked for the defendant for about one year. Powell alleged that the defendant terminated her employment on the basis of her disability, “morbid obesity,” in violation of her rights under the ADA.  Powell was 5’3”, approximately 230 pounds.

With respect to her weight, Powell testified, “I know I’m overweight, I’m not an idiot.” And then, despite the fact that she sued on the basis that her disability was caused by morbid obesity, she claimed then not to be disabled, that her weight did not impact her job or her daily life activities. No medical expert testimony was offered to refute Powell’s statements. Naturally, the court made short work of Powell’s case.

One can only imagine how differently the case would have turned out had Powell been open to embracing the medical community to assist her claim and lack of self-awareness. A positive decision in the Powell case could have been a springboard for other cases and the precedential value of that decision would have been utilized to further greater knowledge and acceptance of obesity. Instead? Powell is the poster child for the MFAs, destroying her own case and negatively impacting others because she stubbornly turned away from medical science.

That is the perfect characterization of MFAs.

MFAs can no longer be permitted to bellow their angst and anguish to the detriment of those suffering from eating disorders. No longer. The line in the sand must be drawn.

Ramifications

No more. No longer. The lives of far too many children have been offered as sacrifices on the altar of eating disorders.

The MFA’s days of being allowed to poison the messaging of the deadly nature of eating disorders must be over. The MFA’s days of causing dissension, of bullying, of harassing and abusing medical and research professionals are over.

Instead of simply identifying issues and problems and hoping that a solution will “magically appear,” [as is characteristic of MFAs and others in the community] there are practical solutions to address the wrongdoing perpetrated by the MFAs.

Universities which may employ MFAs have ethics committees. Tenure at most universities simply means “due process.” Even tenured professors can be fired for acts of incompetence or unethical or unprofessional conduct. Complaints to those ethics committees can be made.

Every state has oversight boards for counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists. Some professionals have malpractice and general liability insurance policies. Well worded complaints with evidence of gross conduct will start the process and impose accountability.

Eating disorders are a deadly mental illness. The community does not exist for Militant Fact Activists to spew forth their venom, gross incompetence and to parade their injured psyches and fractured egos.

If that is not sufficient then I can arrange for any Militant Fat Activist to meet, face to face with a number of parents whose children have died from this disease. And MFAs can try to convince them that whereas it may be unfortunate that their child died, the fragile egos and self-loathing of the Militant Fat Activists are far more important.

The time of the Militant Fat Activists is over. It surely must be. For the sake of those suffering from eating disorders. And for the sake of those who have died from eating disorders.