"A drill sergeant posted a video calling overweight people 'repulsive and disgusting'. He says he’s saving lives."

SSgt (Join to see) - there are some people who get arthritis and cannot exercise...there are some females who go through menopause and it screws them up so baldly especially their metabolism ....there are some people who have had accidents or some kind and mess up their knees or other things...there are many reasons why people cannot exercise...and it is NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE LAZY...and even if people didn't have a legitimate MEDICAL reason...there is no reason to be so condescending and furthermore if you and this guy and others like you prefer to exercise and be all muscular then great, but if there are people who are perfectly CONTENT in there lives and HAPPY and don't care to exercise for whatever reason...DOESN'T give you and others the right to be so CONDESCENDING and down right assholes....

there are some people who get arthritis and cannot exercise...there are some females who go through menopause and it screws them up so baldly especially their metabolism ....there are some people who have had accidents or some kind and mess up their knees or other things...there are many reasons why people cannot exercise...and it is NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE LAZY...and even if people didn't have a legitimate MEDICAL reason...there is no reason to be so condescending and furthermore if you and this guy and others like you prefer to exercise and be all muscular then great, but if there are people who are perfectly CONTENT in there lives and HAPPY and don't care to exercise for whatever reason...DOESN'T give you and others the right to be so CONDESCENDING and down right assholes....

Sgt Kelli Mays - I'm going to call bullshit on that one. I am going to be 47 next week and considered perimenopausal, I have arthritis in my knees and lower back from years of being so heavy. Some days my joints flare so bad, when I get out of bed I walk like an old lady, but I still get up and get moving and do Kickboxing, Muay Thai 4 times a week because I'm not going back to where I was before at 400lbs.

Sgt Kelli Mays - I certainly did not mean to sound condescending but I will touch on a couple of your points. I did mention some folks have medical issues and I also mentioned that it is not about looking the part but playing the part. I don't think everyone should be all "muscular". I am aware that some folks are content with not exercising but if you are in the armed forces where it is part of your job requirement then maybe those folks should reconsider their profession. It doesn't have to be for everyone but everyone in must be willing to do their part. If you are able, since you chose to join, you must be willing. Again it IS part of the job, not an option.

Sgt Kelli Mays - I've had people be like that towards me. I didn't like it but it woke me up.

PO3 Steven Sherrill - SGT(P) (Join to see) PV2 (Join to see)
I have a ton of funny workout tanks!! They make me laugh and motivate me. Plus as I do the main part of my workout in a busy fitness area (Bayshore Blvd, Tampa), it makes folks smile when they are passing me. I feel like I am giving back to the tortured fitness community. Haha

PV2 (Join to see) There's a big difference between being blunt/direct and being an unnecessarily abrasive asshole. This drill sergeant is being an unnecessarily abrasive asshole and basing someone's worth as a person on their weight.

CW3 (Join to see) - I can see what you are saying. A person's worth is not based on their weight at all. That to me is the same as saying a person's worth is based on their race which is total bs. I do know however, had I not had my wakeup call about my weight, I would be either dead or on my way to the grave by now as I was dangerously overweight. I recognize my own sensitivities and triggers to this as well. I also own up to the fact that I put myself in that position. While maybe not being as abrasive as this guy, I don't think we should be sugar coating weight stuff either.

SGT(P) (Join to see) - I don't know about the shortest, but he definitely made a good go at the title.

He did say that in his video. He may have only did a quick mention but he did mention it. Yeah people have many reasons they can't stay healthy but for those that just don't feel like checking their food sources and activity, this is addressed to them. I don't think he was being an ass about it like many of you do. Profanity and a rough way of talking don't make him a bully. I think we enable unhealthy lives a bit too much either way.

I wouldn't say he was being an asshole. Use of profanity and a rough way of speaking don't equal bullying or asshole. He did quickly mention those with health issues are an exception. But his video wasnt about people with health issues, it was about those that don't address their poor eating habits and lack of activity. If you want to be lazy, but don't want to be fat, that is too bad. Pick one because you can't have both. You can have a little of both but results will be slow.

We enable unhealthy lifestyles A LOT. it's sad and needs to stop. theres a difference in shaming unhealthy habits and body shaming. His words are taken out of context by people that insist he's saying fat people are disgusting. no their habits and laziness are. I think a lot of people just focused on his passionate tone and foul language, and disregarded his message.

ran out of thumbs up, but totally agree.

Exactly...and condescending is not a motivator....it's just something that causes ill feelings and disgust and disdain.

Exactly right.
https://run3freegame.com

My personal opinions align fairly evenly with Mr Burks, but I agree with you Capt Richard I P.. This seems to me to be below the level of professionalism I'd expect from an official RP source.

Thank you so much for your feedback, Capt Porter! We've taken it into account, and reposted this story from a more known source.

Earlier rhetorical sarcasm aside, I endorse credible sources. More importantly, I was commenting on topic selection. This is the third post in recent memory that smacks of the tabloids. There was one about Bristol Palin and Dakota Meyer with a deceptive title that was removed when I pointed out, there is one about marital infidelity citing a VERY un-reputable Facebook page ("JTOTS") then there is this one. I get that some members may be interested in these sorts of things and chose to post about them themselves, I don't like it, but I get it.

When RallyPoint Shared Content posts on a topic like this it degrades the RallyPoint brand and makes me less interested in identifying with or engaging in the platform. An 'Editorial' is supposed to be an opinion from a news source or website's senior leadership. The above mentioned postings are not that (EDIT: From the RallyPoint Shared Content 'profile' "Providing you with military-relevant news & articles from all over. None of the material we post reflects the thoughts or opinions of RallyPoint as a whole, or our employees." Which means essentially that these are not editorials), they are re-posted news stories from elsewhere. That's better than the alternative, that the RallyPoint Team endorses 1. The viewpoint of the article 2. Stands behind the writing and 3. Believes it to be an important topic that exemplifies what RallyPoint is all about.
I'm hoping these have been experiments, or mistakes. I'm hoping this is not emblematic of where the RallyPoint Team wants this platform to go.

I would normally message these sorts of things privately to people who might be in a position to fix them, but have had very mixed success with private messages or emails to RallyPoint staff with suggestions. I'm also interested in what other users have to say, maybe I'm out of touch and this is what is important to the community here.

Capt Richard I P. Thanks for the thoughtful response. You are accurate in a number of your assumptions. These are tests. I'll explain why:

As RallyPoint is a young network (and brand) we are known to some, but understood by relatively few. Top members like you dedicate their free time to advocating RallyPoint and managing our forums - which is truly incredible. But most members read Answers like you and I scan the news: returning frequently and hoping for something new and informative and/or entertaining.

In the mean-time there are millions of veterans and (hundreds of thousands of) service members who track issues like the one above on a daily basis. Our assumption with this test was: "If they follow these stories on RallyPoint, they might stumble upon the rest of the network, and a whole wealth of value."

I agree that RallyPoint shouldn't become some military tabloid. That is not what we are, or hope to be. I think the best thing RallyPoint could ever become is one place where every U.S. Military veteran in the world could access every service member and vice versa. I hope one day you'll be able to find everyone you ever served with right here - in your feed when you log in. To do this, we need to reach EVERY veteran and EVERY service member, and get them on RP.

One way would be for every RallyPoint member to contact every veteran and service member they know, and get them to sign up. But we haven't figured out how to initiate that yet :-). Another, would be to find every piece of content on the internet that a veteran or service member might possibly read, and post it here, so they might learn to read it here. That's why we created RallyPoint Editorials, and why we are conducting these tests.

I guess i'll end with a question. You must have have military friends (people who have advised you, helped you, learned from you, fought with you, trained with you) who follow 'shock factor' or 'click bait' type military news. If the integrity of their service, and/or value they might offer some other RallyPoint member, who they might help better than anyone else, is not compromised because of the news they follow; how could RallyPoint be faulted for using that content to bring them here, and fulfill our mission?

Nick Petros, thanks for your thoughtful reply in turn. A few points to make in answer.
1. "there are millions of veterans and (hundreds of thousands of) service members who track issues like the one above on a daily basis" Based on what source of information?
2. "I agree that RallyPoint shouldn't become some military tabloid. That is not what we are, or hope to be." Good. How do we prevent that?
3. " One way would be for every RallyPoint member to contact every veteran and service member they know, and get them to sign up. But we haven't figured out how to initiate that yet :-)" It seems like the 'recruit a buddy' program is in full swing. I have found (frequently) that the single biggest reason people I try to get joined up don't want to play is the Facebook style junk on the site. Making that a part of the policy can't bode well for recruiting.
4. "find every piece of content on the internet that a veteran or service member might possibly read, and post it here, so they might learn to read it here. " Impossible task, and inevitably dredges the least professional content of the net to a self-proclaimed professional site.
5. To answer your question: I didn't really spend much time associating with or engaging with people who follow click bait or low value internet content. It's not about questioning the integrity of their service, or that of RallyPoint, but it is about refusing to waste time.

So I get it. Facebook groups has more of the eyeballs of military folks and veterans. Their content is also so low value that people have abandoned the platform. You've got a quantity and quality dilemma on your hands. There's already line-drawing occurring, there's a lot the "JTOTs" of Facebook are providing that RallyPoint won't.... so defining what is and isn't professional can be a challenge. But its already problematic for a lot of RP users.

The "about us" section of RallyPoint talks about being professional. It also talks about data driven analytics in the marketing department so I have a challenge: Check the data on the individuals on the "leaderboards" and find out 1. How many of the leaders have cut their participation and by what %. 2. Find out when they stopped down to the month or week. 3. Cross-reference that with some of the numerous threads on the proliferation of low value content on the RP platform and see how many have already told you why they're quieting down or alternatively, survey them.

Or don't.

After all there's millions of other veterans out there to lure here with the latest tabloid headlines. And all the cranks will do is complain. Or stop playing.

Thoughts from some of the others? Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS, CPT Zachary Brooks, CPT (Join to see), SFC Mark Merino, MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca, CW5 (Join to see), 1LT(P) L S, GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad, SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4", TSgt Hunter Logan, LTC Stephen C., TSgt Joshua Copeland, LTC (Join to see), SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas, LTC Paul Labrador, PV2 (Join to see), COL Charles Williams, CPT Aaron Kletzing, LTC Yinon Weiss. (I tried tagging all the top overall leaders, but learned current tagging protocols appear to restrict tagging to contacts, and even then down to 20.)

As Capt Richard I P. said this article seemed out of sorts for the "Brand" RP is trying to present. I don't know if that is the correct phrase to convey what I mean, but I think it is close.

It wasn't my cup of tea, so I didn't add commentary on it, until I was tagged, but it just didn't seem to fit with the overall message of the site.

Although it has a tangential "Veteran" relation, I wouldn't necessarily call it veteran themed. It would be like someone linking my comic blog and and calling it veteran themed, because I'm a veteran.

This doesn't mean we can't have some outside the box thinking. Things like Duffleblog or Terminal Lance for the occasional laugh are great, because they are relatable, but I caution using the influence of the Command Post and RP Staff posting power as implies endorsement of a type of content.

I echo similar sentiments Capt Richard I P. and Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS. To me stuff like this only serves to separate people by a certain demographic or group which I find derisive and beneath what RP is supposed to be about.

On a personal level, as someone who since leaving the Army has struggled with weight issues, I see the other side. Truth be told, we are one of the richest and fattest countries in the world. We have far more conveniences for food and such as a country that many do not. But I do not think I'm disgusting because I am considered to be overweight. I have lost almost 200lbs since 2010 and let me tell you, it's not been easy. It's a constant struggle daily. I choose to make healthy choices and what I think are the right choices because I don't want to be almost 400lbs again. While I get his tough love approach, that doesn't work on everyone and can frankly cause more harm to some. In the end much like any other addiction, you have to realize and own up to the fact you have a problem and take steps to solve it. Weight doesn't solve itself. It takes discipline, determination and drive. We do need to become more active to stay healthy but it's a balance along with anything else.

I cosign on to what my esteemed colleague Capt Richard I P. is talking about. When a member does it, it is bad enough, but when the formal paid staff does it, it sets up the expectation that this material is what is expected on the site and what is considered "professional" by the RP staff.

RallyPoint Shared Content --- I'm onboard with Capt Richard I P. as well. For sometime I have been questioning the need, value, etc. of these "RP Editorials" but this particular one sunk to a new low. There is quite enough drivel posted to RP everyday (just check out the Caitlan section) ... we don't need RP management to start doing it as well.

CONGRATULATIONS CPT L S!!!

With that attitude CPT L S, I am sure that you will do just fine! Semper fi ...

Thanks CPT L S, I don't feel very senior.

Not that I mind the good purpose of the hijack, but I'm going to re-focus this thread back to where it was. To those who've weighed in in concurrence with me ( GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad TSgt Joshua Copeland Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" PV2 (Join to see) MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca COL Charles Williams) I was reminded by the CEO LTC Yinon Weiss that RallyPoint has given us powerful tools to ensure we don't see junk like this. We can opt in to only topics we want or we can opt-out of content by un-following or blocking users (including RallyPoint Shared Content). I intend to make use of these tools by un-following people who generate junk.

To Nick Petros and the rest of the RallyPoint Team I'll take advantage of those tools in place to better tailor my experience, but I will caution that you don't want to post so many 'Veterans raging against the President', 'marital infidelities caught on tape', 'DIs saying mean things about people' and other tabloid controversies that you become associated with the site that one of your stories already cited as a source (JTOTS) . Because then articles like this get written: http://taskandpurpose.com/sexist-facebook-movement-marine-corps-cant-stop/

I recognize there are more robust community standards in place here, and member admins are ever-vigilant, but it is a slippery slope, and being associated by apparently similar stories or reference in citation can degrade a reputation, of an individual, or of a website.

CPT L S - at the risk of allowing a re-hijack- It probably was the war, my promotion speeds were right on par with my peers, the Corps promotes to 1stLt at exactly 2 years, then boards people competitively for Capt, most made it around 2 years +/- during the wars. I amended my deployments, thanks for pointing that out, my flawed memory and fat fingers made it look like there was no dwell and an extra month, but there was dwell.

hmmmm AF promotion to Capt meets a "Board" but it is pretty much automatic since the selection rate is usually 99.x% and sew on is right at 4 years.

CMSgt (Join to see) - Only cow you are 45!?!?! I would have never thought that. I always thought you were young to be a CMSgt. I though you were much younger. Now, I know.

CPT (Join to see) -
Well, thank you, Sir! I thank my Mom, lots of water, and sunscreen. Lol

1SG (Join to see) -
I upvoted you but didn't thank you! Thank youuuu! :)

CMSgt (Join to see) - ;)

Exactly right.

this guy (John) is nowhere near a glib talker, he is a motivator to people that need that type of motivation. it's simply a style, a method, and it's needed and required for a certain type of person. more importantly it's not bad or wrong to be a "know it all" in the physical fitness and/or bodybuilding community. good for him for knowing what he does know about it and sharing it. good for him for not only talking about it, but for living it every day and night.

SPC Sean O'Sullivan - yep, exactly!

Cpl Toby Dodd - We could have some conversations about that. I've had the same problem.

CPT (Join to see) we sure can

exactly...CHOICE..and just because someone chooses not to exercise...if someone is perfectly happy and content with their size...who is anyone to knock it? I ran out of thumbs up...darn it. lol
there are some people who get arthritis and cannot exercise...there are some females who go through menopause and it screws them up so baldly especially their metabolism ....there are some people who have had accidents or some kind and mess up their knees or other things...there are many reasons why people cannot exercise...and it is NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE LAZY...and even if people didn't have a legitimate MEDICAL reason...there is no reason to be so condescending and furthermore if you and this guy and others like you prefer to exercise and be all muscular then great, but if there are people who are perfectly CONTENT in there lives and HAPPY and don't care to exercise for whatever reason...DOESN'T give you and others the right to be so CONDESCENDING and down right assholes....

its not always about choice. I didn't choose to have thyroid cancer, I didn't choose to have arthritis in both knees that resulted in knee replacements at 40 and 43, I didn't choose to have my metabolism permanently screwed up by medication choices my mother made when I was a kid... I've fought my weight since childhood and continue to fight today. I eat very healthy and exercise 4-6 days a week, but by appearances the ass in the video would call me fat and lazy. Condescending and unacceptable!!

America may not be number one but it is on its way to becoming number one. Junk food is made extreme accessible (drive thru). Outdoor activity has to be forced.

SSG (Join to see) - with all due respect ma'am I don't think junk food being made accessible should be an excuse. Drugs are also easily accessible yet we don't let that fly if a service member pops hot on an urine sample. (Extreme analogy I know just trying to prove a point) It is part of the job so it is our duty to overcome the temptation and remain fit.

SSgt (Join to see) -
Very well said, SSgt! Not extreme analogy at all. I think you hit it right on the head.

No, the truth does not hurt. He is not telling it like it is. He is being intentionally as harsh as he can to draw attention to himself. He is also a liar. He is not about motivating people. He is about his own ego. You are right we have a huge obesity problem. The problem is not about laziness. Laziness is a symptom IN SOME CASES. It is true that in our modern society, it has been pretty much morphed into a situation where everything from pizza to toilet paper will be delivered right to your door. The only walking a person has to do if they so choose is walk from the couch to the door. Genetics plays a part in it as well. Cost, cost is a huge factor. For a person on a budget, it is difficult to make healthy choices as the healthier foods are higher in cost. So to just make that blanket statement is ridiculous.

couldn't agree more - and it excites the hell out of me seeing that statement come from a female in contrary to what most males are saying about it. you impress me.

Thank you but the truth is the truth plus I was raised with guys and highly Competitive.

your attitude (which i'd like to compare to my own on this matter) is what many men on this website need to adapt to. it's a pathetic and sad situation when active duty and veterans in our military (which are in great number on this website) are getting their feelings hurt and throwing all self discipline and physical fitness out the window. shows great lack of leadership, self confidence, and noble integrity. maybe we should line up a class for fat bodies and non-disciplined yap mouths for you to motivate and take charge of. show these non-hackers how easy for a female it is to accomplish giving them no excuses.