There is a lot not to like about New Jersey governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie. He’s sexist, dishonest, illogical, and a pretty big bully. He’s trying to convince the country that he can be a good president even though his own state can't stand him. He's shut down one of the largest bridges in New Jersey as a political move, and he’s infamous for getting into screaming matches with teachers because he thinks they make too much money. That’s a lot of fodder for comedy right? Well, apparently not enough.
A google search for funny Chris Christie jokes turns up listicles such as 10 Best Chris Christie Jokes on humorpedia.com. Want to guess how many of those jokes were about Christie's horrible political record and corrupt administration? One. What were the other nine jokes were about? Well, he's fat. And that's hilarious.
There's a similar list on politicalhumor.about.com--by just opening the page and seeing the photo of Christie eating a sandwich (scandal), it's pretty obvious what the theme of the jokes are going to be. A compilation of around 85 Chris Christie jokes, and want to guess how many had something to do with his actual politics? Nine. I'll let you guess what the other seventy-six were about. Here are some of gems in case you're looking for insightful and well thought out comedy.
A Google Images search for "chris christie political cartoons" turns up similar gems.
I get it--it's funny because he's fat. But is that really the worst thing about him? Is the fact that he's fat really worse than the fact that he's a corrupt politician? Worse than the fact that he's exceedingly sexist? Or that he has denied funding healthcare for millions of women across his state? Or that he wants to track immigrants as if they were FedEx packages?
The message here is that, according to the media, the worst thing someone can be is not corrupt, selfish, or prejudiced, but fat. If someone is fat, that is without a doubt their most horrendous trait. And if that person causes immense harm to other people? Well that's bad, but still not as bad as being fat.
Whatever you think of weight and obesity in America, there is no denying that size discrimination is a pervasive problem in our country. It is totally legal to fire someone because of their weight, even if they are stellar employees. Overweight high school students are significantly less likely to be accepted to the same colleges as their thin classmates with comparable grades. And overweight people of all ages and backgrounds are perceived as lazy and repulsive.
People like to say that Chris Christie is a school bully who always resorts to immature tactics such as name calling and shouting to get his way. But if we as a country are more interested in his physical appearance than his corrupt and faulty leadership, who we to judge?
