Lend me your thoughts..

[ryandezz]

Hi, i'm Ryan Lee, i heard about this site from a friend of mine and would like to get feedbacks about the motion below. I'm not the type who are into debate but i would like to gain more experience for my future application after i leave high school.

'This House would place clinically obese children under the care of the state'

what do you guys think? if clinically obese children under the care of the state, wouldn't it better? healthy eating habits, types of exercise and etcetc can be taught among those children which eventually help them solve their obesity problems.if you do have more points about it or even rebutals of the topic, i would love to hear them from u.all your post are greatly appreciated! (^^)

[gela]

Taking kids away from their parents is a bad idea.
Its happened before, and it should never happen again. Google 'the stolen generation'.

Taking kids from their parents will just cause major phycological problems.

[Compugasm]

What does "care of the state" mean? The same state that has been feeding you fish sticks and pizza your entire school career, now wisks you off, Elian Gonzales style, out of your home to a fat camp?

[ryandezz]

yea the definition of the motion is important....well u could say tat cause meaning of "care of the state" is kind of wide,i could use that as a point for rebutals

[JaneDoe321]

Forgtive me if I seem cynical, but since "the state" has what a foster care and child welfare system that I consider so badly flawed to to be criinally abusive, I don't think we should allow them to have *any* additional oversight.

[ybernard]

'This House would place clinically obese children under the care of the state'

Nowadays, the clinically obese folks are often looked down by the society. 'They are fat and ugly, what can they even do?'. But they are humans as well, who by right should be judged indifferently. Therefore arise the problem of how to handle obesity. Here we are discussing whether the obese should be taken care by the state or rather the government, be it in the form of financial help, the teaching of how to have a more compatible diet for the obese, medication advice and supplement and so on. But the phrase 'care of the state' would further narrow down the scope to literally 'take care' of the obese, especially the children by forming a comittee dedicated to looking after these people and to build an 'Obese Clinic/Home' to help them, by the state (government).

I definitely think so.

Most parents do not have the appropriate knowledge or experience in handling these sensitive children. Not only these children require special attention and requirement in their diet, they also need the psychological help that can only be provided by professionals through the help of the state. These are essential to ensure that they are able to grow into a normal adult, both slimed down and psychologically balanced.

Therefore, I believe, clinically obese children should be put under the care of the state. What do you think?

[The Bacon Guy]

Most parents do not have the appropriate knowledge or experience in handling these sensitive children. Not only these children require special attention and requirement in their diet, they also need the psychological help that can only be provided by professionals through the help of the state. These are essential to ensure that they are able to grow into a normal adult, both slimed down and psychologically balanced.

Whom do you propose is going to pay for all this?

There should be sanctions against parents who kill their children with bad diets, but putting children in the care of the state is a foolish solution. It simply replaces the physical problems of obesity with the mental problems of being ripped away from one's family unwillingly.

[ybernard]

Quote Bacon Guy, Whom do you propose is going to pay for all this?

Definitely the Government of the particular state or nation, since the motion states so. Nations worldwide have been giving help in the medical field for their people since time in memory, so why not add in obese in their list as well? We, the people are taxpayers and thus are entitled to these governmental help and services, furthermore these are sick people we are talking about. I am sure the Government would not just leave them alone, without even bothered to help.

One may blame the parents for killing their own children by giving improper diets. But what if it's in the genes?

[The Bacon Guy]

Definitely the Government of the particular state or nation

But when you say the government, you really mean me, the tax payer. Why should I be forced to pay for other people's lack of responsibility?

Nations worldwide have been giving help in the medical field for their people since time in memory,

And many believe that it's about time this was stopped, but that's probably a discussion for another thread.

We, the people are taxpayers and thus are entitled to these governmental help and services,

But in this case it's not we, the people, paying for a sevice that we, the people, use. It's we, the people. paying for a service which a small minority of irresponsible fools take advantage of. Let them pay for their own bad decisions.

One may blame the parents for killing their own children by giving improper diets. But what if it's in the genes?

Genes don't make people obese; they simply predispose them to obesity. You can't gain weight without ingesting calories; that's simple biology. So regardless of genetic factors, obesity is still entirely preventable. I may have a predisposition to cancer, but if I choose to go sunbathing in Chernobyl while smoking 40 a day, the genetic excuse wears rather thin.

[adam10312]

If irresponsible parents raise their children to be obese due to poor diet and education, they should absolutely not be taking under any type of care or helped. Aside from The Bacon Guy's tax considerations, which I completely agree with, there are other issues here.

Think about the underlying question. Should we be taking from the capable and nurturing the incompetent? What will this accomplish? This will ultimately result in human extinction. By failing to let nature run its course (by letting the incompetent either learn or fail to find a mate), we will continue the natural process of improving our species.

[grandpa]

But when you say the government, you really mean me,
the tax payer.
Why should I be forced to pay for other people's
lack of responsibility?

Many people say the "government is a necessary good," but this is another among infinite examples of its overbearing nature. It's a reason why we should no longer want to pay taxes or submit to controls to help anyone else. Yes, obese children and innumerable others can use some kind of assistance, but we should try to move beyond the point where we depend on coercion to do it. This issue goes beyond the taxpayer, beyond the issue of responsibility.

Grandpa h.

[gela]

If the government is worried about fat kids, they would save more money by:
- Banning fast food and junk food adds during kids shows
- Banning junk food in schools
- Introducing a mandatory health class into all schools. Im fairly certain you might already have one - but you probably need more time dedicated to it, and it needs to be regulated what is actualy being taught. This would lead to kids being educated on bad food, and they will be forced to exercise for a certain number of hours each week.
- If teachers notice an obesity problem in a child, they could send home an educational pamphlet that spells out in nice words that they are killing their child; and how to provide a healthy diet.
- umm.. Tax cuts for companies that produce healthy foods, so they can market them cheaper
- raise taxes for unhealthy foods

Im not realy saying that all these things should be done - its just a list of things that would be more effective and less costly then taking kids from parents.

Taking children away from the family unit is always going to be a bad idea. No matter how good a phycologist and a health advisor might be for a child, they would be missing out on the love of a parent.

Since my last post was ignored, read this if you ever think taking children from parents is a good idea

Stolen Generations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(scroll down to social impact on members of the stolen generation)

Fairbridge: school of hard knocks?: Locals speak about their experiences at 'farms' - Local - General - Goulburn Post