Saturn In Virgo In The News: No Health Care For The Unhealthy!

14 Responses to “Saturn In Virgo In The News: No Health Care For The Unhealthy!”

1. seekingzen says on 9/4/07 at 11:49 am:
   

   Also, I’ve been noticing an increase in the number of tv shows about super-morbidly obese people. I watched one in utter horror last night… These people stuffing themselves with enough calories for a normal person to live on for a week, all in one day!! The focus was on food addiction and how out of control they are… Really made me think more about what I eat.

2. kashmiri says on 9/4/07 at 2:43 pm:
   

   I was raised by farm kids.
   I resented having my diet so controlled when I was young (no junk in the house, veggies from the garden, forced to play outside all summer etc). But it gave me a good start in life and as a result as an adult I have no issues with food, health (aside from injuries to my body from accidents) or body image.
   It seems extreme, and I hate the nanny-state, but…

   BTW why don’t they just ban the production of such shitty food in the first place? Okay everybody, pick your vice! I pick poutine. Fries and cheese and gravy…mmm!

3. isthmus nekoi says on 9/4/07 at 2:52 pm:
   

   That’s really sad to read The issue is more complicated than just personal responsibility. There are also historical, environmental and socioeconomic reasons why people from the working classes in developed nations tend to struggle more w/stress, obesity, mental health problems etc. Native American populations in Canada provide a very extreme case in point.

4. kashmiri says on 9/4/07 at 3:49 pm:
   

   Isthmus–very true. I was just being hyperbolic–it’s my mood today, forgive me:)
   Native Amercian populations in Canada, especially on reservations in northern Canada, have an especially hard time getting access to healthy, fresh food. The prices are astronomically high. There have also been links to excessive consumption of dairy products and diabetes in aboriginal Canadians. Studies are finding a link between biological make up and intolerance to certain foods.

   As for the UK, I only know that when I lived in London for 3 years, there was a grocer, a market with cheap produce, and fishmongerer all within walkig distance in each neighbourhood I lived in. I still think food was cheaper there than in canada–to eat in, anyway. And more accessible, just by sheer numbers.

   Personally, cooking for myself always makes me feel better. I tend to eat out more if I am down or stressed out.

5. SaDiablo says on 9/4/07 at 4:46 pm:
   

   I’ve been silent on these posts so far, but this. . . Argh! Watch out for profanity from here on:

   I have Saturn in Virgo (hello, Saturn return!) and I absolutely cannot stand all this whiny micromanage-everyone-else bullshit! Do what you like, but for chrisakes leave me the hell out of it! Let me do what I damned well please, and I’ll extend you the same courtesy, okay? If I want to eat fast food until I weigh 1200 pounds and ~just moving around in my bed makes me sweat~, then let me get on with it. Tsk, if you absolutely must, but leave me alone.

   Butt. The fuck. OUT!! In other words.
   My life, my rules, and, perhaps most importantly, mine to screw up.

   I think this might be my Aquarius moon talking here.

6. isthmus nekoi says on 9/4/07 at 6:26 pm:
   

   kashmiri, no worries! I wasn’t trying to criticize anything you said, I just meant that I thought the article Elsa posted was sad.

   I feel pretty lucky to live close to a large independent market and far away from any fast food restaurant. Makes a big difference!

7. Gem says on 9/4/07 at 8:52 pm:
   

   I am fearful that there is already too much intervention from gov’t on this very personal issue/topic amongst many other such topics, but I also feel that as much as is possible and within our sphere of ability, we should all take care of our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. It should not require gov’t intervention and what does it say that it’s happening? Scary stuff….

   My opinion is that it is our responsibility to do no harm and not just to ourselves but also to our family and community, as this health issue is something that is proving to take it’s toll financially, emotionally and obviously physically.

   I try my best to be healthy, stay healthy and that doesn’t mean I won’t get sick or worse, but I will keep trying. I don’t know why I feel this way, something in my chart?? but I just feel that society is so gluttonous…in consumption of products, food, tv, exercise…everything is done to excess…where is the self moderation. What’s wrong with a little bit of that?

   jmho and coming from a triple leo.

8. tinkerer says on 9/4/07 at 9:59 pm:
   

   SaDiablo, I don’t like the ever growing social climate of micro-managing everyone, either (OMG, you would SO hate my boss, the micro-manager control freak from hell! lol!) It’s like, “stupid bunch of busibodies, quit pressuring me to fit YOUR mould!” (Moon opposing Uranus, heh)

   But it boils down to resources. Resources as currently provided ARE finite–there is only so much to go around. Therefore, people object when one subclass of population uses up more than another subclass. In this case, it is a war between folks who indulge in unhealthy lifestyles (and therefore need more medical resources on average) vs. folks who live healthier lifestyles (and therefore need less). And where there is conflict, there is going to be a quest for control. *Sigh* (And it isn’t just food, but also drugs & alcohol & tobacco).

   There are other spins to this story. The above article is the NHS in the UK, and in socialized programs it is pretty obvious–the fatties and boozers are hogging up all the clinic time! Here in the US, though, medical resources are often paid for by private insurance, and since private insurance costs and coverage varies a great deal more than socialized health coverage, you have to look at it differently to see the inequality in allocation of resources.

   For example, I have two co-workers who are extremely obese and have multiple chronic health issues needing ongoing care (several of these issues are directly related to their weight/lifestyles). Their private insurance is 100 percent paid for by our employer. I, on the other hand, am normal weight and am active and have no health issues whatsoever. My daughter (teenage) is the same as me, healthwise/lifestyle. So we require almost no medical resources at all. And my portion of insurance coverage is also paid 100 percent…BUT, my daughter’s coverage is covered partly through my employer and partly through *me* (I pay part of the extra she costs to have her insured via my employer).

   Technically, *MY* total insurance benefit is costing our employer slightly more each month because I am actually insuring two people with it, while my co-workers are only insuring themselves. So they are all pissy about the “fact” that I am getting “more” than they are in benefits, and like to squawk about how unfair it is that just because I chose to have a child I get a “bigger share”. (They both are very upfront that they chose to not have children because they “didn’t want the work and expense of raising one.” Nor, apparently, do they have any sense of future as they clearly expect people like ME to do all the work and pay all the expenses to provide the healthy & educated & productive laborer of tomorrow–aka my kid–who will be taking care of THEIR sorry asses when they are too decrepit to do it themselves anymore!!!)

   But…and here is the hidden twist…either one of them ALONE is costing the insurance company thousands of dollars more per year in medical costs (and resources) than me & my kid TOGETHER.

   Who is actually getting “more”? Especially when you consider that the reason insurance premiums cost so much is because of the total consumption of resources that the insurance pays for keeps increasing???

   So. SaDiablo. By all means, be as unhealthly as you want. *I* won’t try to micro-manage you–*I* don’t believe in it. Live and let live. Or die. Whatever.

   (Plus, I am quite used to sacrificing everything to anybody, and being taken advantage of. And I’m just SURE you will realize the undisciplined damage you do–to yourself as well as those around you–if I just keep enabling you while you struggle out of your darkness of mind and destruction of body…)

   Must be my Pisces moon talking here.

9. SaDiablo says on 9/5/07 at 4:41 am:
   

   Tinkerer,
   Sounds like your co-workers are not only inappropriate but also very rude. What right do they have to complain about the insurance that ~your boss~ pays for? It’s not like it’s coming out of their paychecks, right? They need to butt out as well.

   Having worked in a doctor’s office, I understand more of the underpinnings here than I felt like writing about. I write enough long comments here as it is to start adding long, angry commments to the list! And I do get riled about this subject. To me, it’s an attack on personal freedoms, not just a matter of how resources are distributed. I feel the same way about seat belt laws for adults and anti-smoking bills, to name two others. Now, granted, neither smoking nor refusing a seat belt are the healthiest of choices, but it should be up to the individual whether or not to do the safe thing. It’s his/her life at stake, it should be his/her decision.
   Not only that, but if we start penalizing fat people for the unhealthy choices that they make, are we going to start penalizing anorexics and bulemics that tie up our hospitals with their malnourishment? After all, most people with anorexia/bulemia require hospitialization, sometimes multiple stays, and extensive therapy to recover. What about addicts? Suicide attempts? The mentally ill? I’ve known people who are hospitalized for mental illness at least three times a year, usually because they’ve stopped their meds without doctor’s advice. Do we require them to pay for this by themselves, since a disproportionate number of the mentally ill are on Medicaid?
   It starts with the obese. Where does it end?

   I realize this is a UK issue, but it seems inevitable that the US will implement a socialized healthcare system eventually. When/if we do, we’re going to look at the other countries that have socialized healthcare to see what works and what doesn’t — and you know that, if this truly cuts expenses without a riot, we’ll probably do it too. Which is sad, sad, sad to me.

10. JChiron says on 9/5/07 at 6:07 am:
    

    I hope I’m not the only person who’s happy about Saturn in Virgo. I’m ready for a good shape up as far as health and cleanliness goes. I’m tired of seeing so many obese children here in NYC. I do believe that the focus needs to be on making healthy food more affordable and educating the masses about what they’re consuming. But it’s easier said than done. I think it’s ridiculous that some children and adults have never eaten or cooked fresh fish, or eat fresh fruits & veggies on a regular basis.

11. SaDiablo says on 9/5/07 at 6:09 am:
    

    Maybe the reason this hit a nerve for me?
    From Astrodienst, my spotlighted transit for today:

    “Sun Sextile Uranus
    … You are not very tolerant of restrictions under this influence, and you will look for ways to get away from them. … You feel that keeping your individuality is more important than living up to other people’s expectations, and you let others know this.”

12. SaDiablo says on 9/5/07 at 6:51 am:
    

    I’m on the fence, JChiron.
    I’m in the middle of a Saturn return (exact sometime on the 24th). Saturn is also the last planet in my Sun/Venus/Saturn conjunction. Although I don’t understand the astrology behind it all, I’ve been very cranky for a over a year and I’m getting tired of it. “This is not my usual me!” I want to shout, all the time.
    But I’m also hoping that Saturn-coming-back-to-Virgo will help give me the extra willpower to finally kick some bad habits for good, because just having it natally is apparently not enough for me.
    So I’m looking forward to hopefully turning over some new leaves and getting my genial self back, but still annoyed in general at the moment by the whole thing.

    P.S. How many times can I comment today, especially on this post? Sheesh!

13. Neith says on 9/5/07 at 8:16 am:
    

    Me!! I’m very happy to have Saturn in Virgo!!

14. Dina says on 9/5/07 at 10:25 am:
    

    This is ridiculous. Who are they to designate who gets treatment and who doesn’t? It’s like the people who are supposed to help the person with bad habits are suddenly throwing down their arms. This is not a friend who gets tired of supporting you if you don’t change your ways, this is a system whose job it is to make you healthy and you shouldn’t get punished by being denied treatment.

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