More of the same, or "It's good for you, stupid!"

[cryowizard]

Once again, our do-goodie liberal friends are trying to legislate personal choice.

This time, it's fast food. They are seriously contemplating using zoning laws to lessen the number of fast food joints "to combat obesity".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5169234.stm

Everbody and their mother knows that gulping down greasy shit you buy at McDonalds on a regular basis is going to kill you. Yet if people choose to do it, they should be allowed to do it until they all fucking die of heart decease. Unless fast food is illegal. Which it isn't. Blah blah blah.

Same argument as with smoking: the concept of freedom includes freedom to be stupid and die of a coronary at 40 because your dumb fat ass was living in McDonalds.

Today it's smoking and greasy food. Tomorrow I won't be allowed to drink alcohol (that shit is baaad). And I will be forced to exercise every day for two hours (not looking well is baaad). And eat only vegan shit (killing cows is baaad).

No brain-dead liberal politician may stand in the way of me eating a nice juicy steak, gulping down a glass of White Lightning, smoking a Cuban cigar and watching nastiest porn ever, all the while comfortably resting my fat ass in a chair made of fresh cow skin and doing absofuckinglutely nothing good to my health. Should such be my choice.

Comments

[baffled-pumpkin.livejournal.com]

Dim, speaking of adults, yes (even though I still disagree about smoking -- it is not a self-contained act that can be compared to consuming a hamburger. It affects other people around you.)

The problem is that most of those fast-food joints target children, and children do tend to listen to commercials. I agree that parents should take responsibility for educating their kids about nutrition instead of "outsourcing" the solution by eliminating fast food joints. But they have vending machines in schools, they advertise, children absorb, and I don't want to spend a lot of my time fighting that. There are more interesting things to concentrate on...

Also, you forgot one important thing. If you look at the statistics, most of those "obese" people who are consuming fast food are not working and are on welfare. Just look around -- the number of fast food joints in upscale or upper-mid class neighbourhoods is close to none.

The freedom of choice, first of all, comes with responsibility. Meaning, if I want to be obese and sick by choice, I am the one who must be responsible for myself, and be able to deal with all consequences by myself. However, it is not the case here. At the end of the day it is not them, but you who is paying their hospital bills where they treat their obesity related issues (and there are many, believe me!)

So, in this case, I am not sure if this issue is "liberal". Liberals are for the freedom of choice (and liberals are actually even willing to pay for somebody's irresponsible "choices"). But in this case, the whole matter looks quite republican to me: "We do not want our tax money to be used to cover your medicaid bills, and if you are not responsible, we'll have to take care of this crap somehow" :)