Just received this email from Jon Vogel - Till the fat lady sings...Really why the "fat lady"?

[1776Forever]

Received this in email today...From DCCC Executive Director Jon Vogel:

You can't sit on the sidelines when everything we have worked so hard for is on the line -- what will you tell your children you did when the going got rough? I can tell you the fat lady hasn't sung, and this race is not over. If you can give a gift of even just $5, it will go a long way to making sure our sophisticated Get Out the Vote operation in races nationwide gets the job done.

I have to have this money in the bank tonight to wire to my campaigns for tomorrow -- there is no time to waste. Victory is on the line. Contribute today.

Onward to Victory,

Jon Vogel
DCCC Executive Director

...................

I don't know why "fat" people are the brunt of so many jokes or comments that seem to go unnoticed by so many people. I know that a lot of people think "fat" people are just lazy and I did too at one time until I found out there are a lot of people with so much stress and medical problems that they don't have a true choice in the matter. I think Mr. Vogel you could have chosen your words better. I would never say until the "black" lady sings or the "gay" person sings.......Just wanted to vent!

[gateley]

1. It's because Opera Sopranos were generally heavy and buxom, that's all. It

doesn't mean anything and I don't think most people even give it a second thought. I'm sure he meant nothing by it.

[1776Forever]

5. Maybe not to you but to someone who is fat it is a big thing - I think you need to understand that.

A lot of people think "fat" folks are just lazy and they can say anything they wish about them! That is why a lot of overweight children are bullied!

[gateley]

11. I'm fat. Just because it doesn't bother me you assume I'm not?

I know what a lot of people think of fat people, I've seen how I'm treated since I gained all this weight. But this is just a saying, it's not judging or implying any of those beliefs you cite. Sorry, it still think it's a non-issue.

[1776Forever]

16. Just wonder if you are a woman? If not it is much deeper to me because of that.

I have had a lot of stress in my life in the last 10 years and I have thyroid problems and it isn't fun! I also have a great voice and I had lessons in my earlier life but now I would never get up in front of people and have them shout this comment back at me! It isn't something we need to hold on to and it needs to go away with all the other offensive colloquiums!

[gateley]

19. Yes I'm a woman, and I do understand what you mean by peoples' perceptions

of us. I used to be -- seriously -- a size 4 for pretty much most of my life (small boned, flat, short) so I never thought about what it would be like to be overweight. Then, I had to have my thyroid removed it was so trashed, and what's really hurt me is I have Hepatitis C which just doesn't allow me to do anything (it seems) other than gain weight. I've gained over 100 lbs, so I'm not just whining because I'm a size 12 or something. And I understand how you would be too self conscious to stand up in front of a crowd to sing -- I would be, too. But really, nobody meant anything by it. They're not thinking "fat" they're thinking "it ain't over 'til it's over" -- that's all it means.

Speaking of thyroid, do you have a good endocrinologist? And here's a wonderful source that keeps up with all the latest developments (I'm on their mailing list, too)

http://thyroid.about.com/

And the bottom line is, it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks, although I know that's hard to really "live". :pals:

[oswaldactedalone]

2. It's just an old saying

stemming from the bored kid forced to sit through opera performances with his parents. He finally realizes that they don't end until the fat lady sings. I mean you had to know that didn't you?

Well really that's the way it was told to me, but wikipedia says it stems from an old Southern saying that, "Church isn't over until the fat lady sings." Who knew?

[oswaldactedalone]

3. dupe

[Swede]

4. It's a colloquialism.

It ain't over till (or until) the fat lady sings is a colloquialism, essentially meaning that one should not assume the outcome of some activity (e.g.: a sports game) until it has actually finished, similar to a common proverb. It is a perception of Grand Opera, typically overweight sopranos, and perhaps Brünnhilda's final arias from Die Walküre or Götterdämmerung in particular, from an American working class cultural perspective of the early 20th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_ain't_over_'til_the_fat_lady_sings

[1776Forever]

10. Time to put it out of our colloquialism! Everyone seems to think it

is just a saying - well it is a crappy saying and it shouldn't be used any more! I am sick of it being tossed around like it was nothing while a black person hates the N word I hate this one for all overweight women! We are made jokes about all the time and no one hardly seems to think it makes a damn bit of difference!

[Swede]

20. I always listen when someone tells me a word or phrase offends them.

1776Forever,I will make a conscious effort to never use it again.

[givemebackmycountry]

6. It's an opera reference that was adopted as a sports metaphor years ago...

Because in every opera I have seen in my life sooner or later a fat woman is going to sing.
Probably, very beautifully too!

But then, the operas over.

It's not widely used in these times.
Mr. Vogel should know better.

What the fuck, did all the proofreaders in this country get out sourced too?

[Divine Discontent]

13. I think they did get outsourced, as I've never seen so many poorly written articles as I have the

past year. The spelling on many articles also leaves plenty to be desired.

[Divine Discontent]

7. I correct my overweight friend when he says how "fat" some lady is that he sees, and it's not

a positive thing to keep saying in our modern times. Obviously you know what it means, but it's the point of continuing to use it. It's an offensive word. I have two friends who are women who are both very obese, and they hate hearing people say "fat girls" or something along that lines, and I agree.

[oswaldactedalone]

8. Yeah but fat women

have no problem commenting on how thin another woman is, often in a derogatory way. I work with some attractive and quite trim ladies, and they complain about this frequently.

[Divine Discontent]

14. I've heard that, too.

[Zoeisright]

21. Oh please. There's institutionalized hatred of overweight women in this society.

There is no way anyone is going to feel sorry for a thin woman.

[sarge43]

9. How about "It isn't over till the diva dies" ?

That's when it's over, not when the soprano sings.

[1776Forever]

12. I can live with that ....... A diva can be any size! Thanks!.......n/t

[sarge43]

26. You will get funny looks if you use it.

or you could use "It isn't over until the formidable lady sings."

[Demeter]

15. Then you deprive Rudolpho, Pinkerton, and Other Tenors of Their Greatest Arias!

That's why as a soprano, I prefer operetta. No dying needed, happy endings all around.

[sarge43]

25. True, but the boys will just have to cope.

Operettas are much more fun.

[MindPilot]

17. I agree.

If I were fat I would deeply offended at being associated with something as physically painful and mind-numbingly boring as opera.

[1776Forever]

18. Doesn't have anything to do with Opera to me - it has to do with using "fat lady" as a comment! n/t

[Kaleva]

22. Originally a southern proverb,

"Church isn't over until the fat lady sing."

[Silver Swan]

23. A few years ago

A friend hosted a party for a Bears-Packers game.

I don't even remember how the game turned out, but I said at one point late in the game, "It isn't over until I sing."

One guy said, "What?" So I said, "I'm the fat lady, at least I am certainly the fattest lady here."

Being a kind young man, he declared that I was not fat.

Well, I am fat, at least by all the obesity panic standards. Still it was nice of him to deny it on my behalf.

And I am always willing to sing, if needed.

[givemebackmycountry]

24. I like you...lol

:toast:

[snooper2]

27. "Beat you like a red-headed step child"

So is that offensive to red heads, step children, or both?

:P