Thanks for the observation, basically about exercise and a healthy lifestyle, no disagreement there, but there is much more to it than that. It's fine for the well informed, moderately able financially people to have access and motivation, it is a choice they can make.
Unfortunately, I worked with people, (thousands of them over 40 years) who very often never had a chance from the moment they were born, (or conceived). I worked in Mental Hospitals, And Psychiatric Hospitals!, as well as many years in prisons. Most of these people had no choice OR awareness/knowledge, about their predicament.
To a large degree, they were given medication or sequestration(prison asylum), some occupational therapy, and then left to their own resources, guess what, they had none! Angry, confused, grinding poverty, lonely, and directionless. I started working in the large 'Bins' in Melbourne such as Larundel, and the like in the 70's. It wasn't pretty, but at least they had regular good meals, a bed and relative security and safety.
The Neoliberal/ managerial mindset was even then beginning to take later in the 70's and it was decided to de-institutionalise the bins, to smaller community houses, with promises of support and services. Guess what! There was very very little support, these eventually became sub-standard and squalid. The 'residents' were no longer Patients receiving care, but 'Clients'.
As a Client of a Professional, you and I would probably agree that if we didn't like the service we could take our business elsewhere. These poor bastards, can't do that, there is nowhere else to go. Just as there is a perversion of language from Patient to Client, there is also a perversion of care and responsibility and morality. So much more I could go on about Pinto, but that's enough for now. Apologies for the rave, but it's one of my enduring passions about injustice.
