I do treat this issue, -the issue of becoming whole in FatLand after a life spent in dieting and being harassed and hated on the Other Side- somewhat in FatLand: The Early Days and in FatLand. But it is interesting to think about and exciting to write about just for the sheer joy of imagining it.
Imagine that you emigrate from The Other Side/USA while the Pro-Health and Diet Laws are still very much in effect. You have just escaped the probability of being sent to the Re-Education Center or were actually in it before someone bribed your way out. You have been told all your life on the Other Side that you are undesirable and that your eating must be monitored very closely, and that you cannot eat more than 1000-1500 calories a day, and nothing that contains certain substances. You have been told all your life that people have the right to make fun of you and harass you and sometimes torture you.
Then you reach FatLand, where you are allowed to eat anything you want, any time you want. You just don't know how to take this new freedom. At first you just eat a little more than you were allowed. You don't even go out much at first because you were so used to being harassed when you went outside, sometimes even assaulted.
The Block Counselor comes to see you and suggests activities you might enjoy. You agree to try one of them. You enjoy it very much, and also enjoy the new found camaraderie. On the way back from the activity, a couple of your new activity mates decide to go out for coffee or something stronger, and they very definitely include you in the invitation. You go with them, drink your first coffee with cream or beer in ages, and that feels incredibly good. The cheese pretzels accompanying the beer are out of this world.
When you get back to your place, you feel as if you are living in a dream. Then you realize that maybe, just maybe, the other side was a bad dream. This is reality. You have to pinch yourself to believe it.
Here's to the day when we can all live in FatLand...
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