If you want to go out to eat, consider the public interest a tax on your freedom.

[alp227]

I'll explain my subject line later.

By seeing his facebook posts I learned that one of my old friends from high school is a conservative. On a status he posted today about the Supreme Court same sex marriage case the discussion derailed into politics because someone else posted one of those copy-and-paste right-wing "humor" items. I then posted a rebuttal, then both friend & the other person responded back, with the other person (not my friend) cluelessly throwing around more cliched RW talking points.

I posted this Q to my friend:

...why are you & other right wingers so defensive about junk food whenever a government regulates how restaurants serve it? Want to drink a lot of soda? Then buy 'em in smaller cans! Want salty trans fat loaded food? Cook it yourself and feed it to you & your friends but don't profit off serving s**t to the public.

The other person responded:

Public could choose size to order or dishes to eat. People went from having a choice to having choice eliminated by narrow minded elitists who claim they know what is best for everyone. Parents can't be trusted so outlaw happy meals.

My comeback:

...no one's stopping parents from cooking their own fast food & buying their own toys for their kids. Hell I'd ban Happy Meals for selling toys made in China (and we all know how well outsourcing manufacturing in China has worked out: see pet food scandals, toy recalls...) xD

If you want to go out to eat, consider the public interest a tax on your freedom.

As I've been considering laws like the New York City soft drink size limit and other municipalities' regulations on restaurant food salt and trans fat, I find myself wrestling between "my body, my choice" vs. the public interest. And then wondering: why conservatives (even health-conscious ones) are the ones most vocally against such regulations.

Are they corporate suckers? Do they center their "FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM" based politics around people like the billionaire corporate lobbyist Rick Berman (who's behind the Center for Consumer Freedom)? Out of spite for "po' folk" who often need to get their fill at McD's? It's one of those political mysteries that's always intrigued me.

As I type this my friend now posted: "why are you left-wingers so against people making decisions with their own money?"

i respond: "There's a difference between one's choice to stuff his face with processed s**t vs. corporations like McDonald's and 7-Eleven actively marketing s**t."

[Warpy]

1. Do you always rise to the bait?

You might have reminded them the subject was the USSC Prop 8 case being argued right now, not their right to poison themselves with shitty food from bad restaurants.

Right wingers are barely smart enough to know when they are lacking in catch phrases and zingers on any given subject and will always Gish Gallop a series of red herrings across your screen in the hope that you chase after them.

I say all this advisedly. If you want to get down and dirty with screaming wingnuts, force them to do it on your terms, not theirs.

It's fun to see the smoke pour out of their ears as they reboot again and again.

[alp227]

2. Well it all started when I was compelled to respond to that RW bumper sticker logic.

Then my friend ended up making an analogy between restaurant regulations and gay marriage.

I think I fell for the bait by responding, if that's what you mean.