It's the first step in a wave, y'all. And here comes the fucking wave.
Change the bill to read that kids can't eat in a fast food place without a parent or guardian, and prohibit them from getting the most fattening, unhealthy items on the menu. Yep, start with the kids, and then you can hit the adults.
Public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who filed the first of ten now-successful fat law suits, and counseled on others as well as inspiring and appearing in "Super Size Me," has been called "the Ralph Nader of junk food," "the man who is taking fat to court," "a major crusader against big tobacco and now among those targeting the food industry," and "the man big tobacco and now fast food love to hate." He has written to the bill's sponsors asking them to refocus the bill.
Didn't take long at all, did it?
Banzhaf suggests that the bill be focused exclusively on children, arguing that "While most people have a very strong and almost visceral objection to any governmental restrictions imposed to protect their own health from their own bad judgments, we have a long tradition of protecting children from the own inability to make mature judgments."
Yep, the government needs to do this for TEH CHILDRENZ because, obviously, their parents aren't. And WTF do we know about raising kids anyway? We've only been doing it just fine, for the most part, for how many thousands of years now?
The rest of the article is just so much bullshit that I can't bring myself to quote it. All I want to do is rage and swear and throw things. I just used up a couple of years' worth of Sanity Watchers points reading that garbage.
I had a feeling something like this would happen... they will try to get as much as they can out of this "for our own good". Because what was once an awful bill will turn into something they think is going to save some future fattie.
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck is wrong with people that they actually believe this CRAP?
I hope anyone who thought that removing junk food from schools was great idea now sees the danger in letting the system start to take control over what anyone eats... even teh childrenz.
What we eat and what our children eat is OUR business and our choice.
Fat people are more than likely going to produce fat children it's genetic. No matter how "good" they eat they will be FAT.
And for those "fictional families" who apparently live on big macs that we hear so much about, that is NONE of anyones business either.
cynth - Didn't take them long at all, did it. And I hate to tell that asshat professor, I'm fat and I eat healthy, I have to in order to help DH's blood sugar under control (he's type 2 diabetic for the last 14 years). I saw that article where kids in Florida aren't getting enough calories in their meals at school, but they're still fat, so they're talking about cutting more fat. Yep, keep the kids from growing and having fully-developed brains, that's the way to make this country smart and strong, yes sirree bob.
ReplyDeletenice. so fast food is only bad for obese children now, is it? This is SCARY. more scary than the original bill, because people will agree with this one.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't be so bad if they said 'make it so all under 16's cant eat at a fast food resturant without a parent/guardian present', because thats all inclusive, like alchohol or smoking, and not being prejudice against the obese. Sure its unreasonable and a bit 'nanny state' but its not geared only towards fat children. it doesnt suggest only fat children cannot make reasonable choices.
and at the discretion of the employee, and 'appears to any reasonable person to be obese?'
how can he not see how this would be abused? ugh.
maria - The whole point is that it's not the government's business to tell us where we can eat or what we can eat, no matter if we're thin or fat. We've already had the dad-gummed gubmint telling us to do this, that, or the other because it's for our own good, do you really want them running every aspect of your life? I sure as hell don't.
ReplyDeleteAre you effing kidding me???
ReplyDeleteOnce again, how glad am I that I live in a small, rural state where it's possible to get fresh - and local! - food from farms in the area...
Maria said "It wouldn't be so bad if they said 'make it so all under 16's cant eat at a fast food resturant without a parent/guardian present', because thats all inclusive,"
ReplyDeleteTHAT is exactly what they want, for you to say well gee a version like this SEEMS more reasonable.
Don't you see the danger in that line of thinking? Once they get their foot in the door into being able to control what people eat we are all fucked.
cynth - that's exactly it. Propose something outrageous, then modify it to something less outrageous, get it passed, and then all fat people are fucked for sure. What's next? Who's next on the discrimination list? I don't even want to go there.
ReplyDeleteThis legislation is utterly pointless. If there are certain elements present in fast food that can be scientifically shown to negatively affect health (like some of the initial research showing trans fats being linked to heart disease) then by all means take those ingredients out of the food. But otherwise trying to legislate fast food seems like a legal mess. I mean, is it a certain combination of foods or will anyone under 18 not be able to order a starch and a fatty protein at the same meal anymore?
ReplyDeleteBut the fact is the government already has a huge hand in everyone's food choices. The reason some foods are cheaper than others, the reason that some ingredients are so pervasive, the food available to people on food stamps and WIC... it's all down to where the government is putting its monies. And that often comes down to a lot of lobbying and special interest groups.
Which, for me, is another reason why this kind of legislation is such bullshit. The government is a big part of the reason that fast food is so cheap and plentiful, but now they're going to legislate our access to it as well?
Apparently this assclown does not imagine in a million years that someone could never -- or seldom -- eat fast food as a child OR as an adult and still be fat. Hell, you can even be vegetarian or vegan all your life and still be fat.
ReplyDeleteHaven't these people ever heard of genetics? Or, for that matter, the concept of forbidden fruit? I think most fast food is gross-tasting and it certainly would not be anywhere near first on my list of things to eat, but I'm sure I'd feel differently about it if I was never allowed to taste it and decide for myself that I didn't much care for it.
Do I think it's a good idea, healthwise, for anyone of any age or size to be eating this stuff every day, or multiple times a day? No. But neither are a lot of things we allow or even encourage people to do. Spending too much time in beauty salons is not healthy either. Neither are tanning beds. Neither is sleeping only 4 or 5 hours every night. Neither is working 80 hours a week. Neither is watching or listening to hate-filled talk shows. And so on, and so on, and scoobydoobydooby. But just how much of people's lives do we want to legislate?
This is completely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI agree with cynth about the "Big Mac Families" being a myth.
Also, if children are eating at fast food restaurants every day without their parents, being fat is NOT the thing people should be worrying about. Why are they running around unsupervised all the time? Where are they getting the money?
But all that is beside the point. If a parent has the freedom to bring their kid up in weird religions, homeschool them, and teach them abstinence-only education, then they certainly have the freedom to decide what their kids are eating.
I hate all this "for the children" bullshit that is used to push through programs and legislation that really have nothing to do with children.
Well Damn....you already heard about it!
ReplyDeleteNo. No. No.
ReplyDeleteHas the whole world gone mad?
So, according to this "professor," fast food is only "bad" for obese kids? What about thin kids? They don't have to take care of their bodies either?
And what about adults? Will it be proposed to ban obese adults next?
Where will it stop??
We all know it's ridiculous, and bigoted, but look how long it took some of us to get to the point where we could recognize that and not buy into the blame/guilt that's thrown at us for being fat. This kind of shit just reinforces the idea that it's okay to discriminate against people just because of their size. We know health doesn't have a damned thing to do with it, it's aesthetics all the way. Health is just a cover-up for aesthetic bigotry.
ReplyDeleteIt absolutely breaks my heart--picturing that kid, out grabbing a burger with his friends, and having the clerk say to him--"sorry, you're too fat to eat that." How horribly, incredibly humiliating would that be? Like kids who don't conform to the right body type don't have ENOUGH cruelty to contend with? YOU CAN'T SHAME PEOPLE THIN! AHHH!!!!
ReplyDelete*head smashes keyboard repeatedly*
Yeah, that would suck big time. Some how, I don't see that a revised bill would have much chance of passing either. I really don't think many parents would want their kids humiliated like that (and if they do, they're idiots).
ReplyDeleteNote to self - print picture of Banzhaf to throw darts at.
ReplyDeleteOk, so how long will it be before the parents who *do* accompany their children to the McDonald's are slammed with charges of child abuse and have their kids taken away from them? MeMe Roth was *thrilled* to report last year that authorities came "this close" to taking a child away from his parents for being fat. (Of course, she claimed that the Mom "ignored" all the mandates about nutrition that were given to her to abide by - which there was no reason to believe.) She sadly reported that they gave the mom "one last chance." To what? Starve her child? How soon will it be before busybody clerks are telling the parents "Do you think he really needs that?" and ringing up child protective services to conduct yet another one of their intrusive and often unconstitutional fishing expeditions.
We need these laws like we need billy clubs shoved up our asses.
AnnieMcPhee
This whole thing is outrageous. What happens to the people who are fat and own the restaurants. I just came back from MS visiting family and the majority of the persons I saw were over weight, from the patrons to the owners. I see some juicy lawsuits arising from this. MS better get their check book out.
ReplyDeleteI THINK IT'S REDICULOUS THAT GOV CAN STEP IN AND TRY TO PASS THIS BILL, JUST LIKE SMOKING, I LIVE IN UPSTATE N.Y. BASICLY JUST A BUNCH OF FUNLOVIN' BBQIN' 4 WHEELER RIDIN' BEER DRINKIN, BUNCH OF REDNECKS, I DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHERE OUR STATE SITS AS FAR AS RANKING IN THE "FAT SCALE" BUT I'DE HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST 40% OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY, SO WHAT !!!! THE THING THAT BURNS MY ASS IS THAT NYS ALLOWS WELFARE RECIPIENTS TO PURCHASE MCDONALDS FOOD AT THE COUNTER W/ THEIR MEDICAID CARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW STUPID IS THAT ????? TALK ABOUT UR LIBERAL STATE. I AM A SMOKER, OUR STATE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO OUTLAW SMOKING IN REST AND BARS, FOLLOWING CALIFORNIA. IT'S THE SAME THING MISS IS TRYING TO DO W/ THIS STUPID PROPOSAL. I LIKE MY BEER, I LIKE MY BBQ, I IT EVER COMES TO LAW HERE THEY ALL CAN KISS MY FAT ASS, AND I'LL EAT @ HOME LIKE I ALWAYS HAVE W/O PERSECUTION, OH, DIG THIS, MY BETTERHALF'S WORK BANNED SMOKING ON THE COMPANY GROUNDS LAST MONTH, EMPLOYEES CAN'T EVEN SMOKE IN THEIR PERSONAL VEHICLES !!!!! OR THEY WILL BE GIVEN ONE CHANCE THEN TERMINATION. SORRY FOR RANTING, I JUST HAD TO VENT, FIRST TIME @ UR SITE, I WILL VISIT AGAIN.
ReplyDeletePROSPECT MOUNTAIN DINER IN LAKE GEORGE NEW YORK IS THE BEST GREASY SPOON ON THE PLANET !!!!
POT BELLY :)