# Fluoridation cancelled in west Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816 "2011-10-06T19:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/41 "2011-10-08T08:31:46Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > So - to the posters who are laughing at the stupid tea-party people - are you also laughing at the stupid Germans, Swedes, Dutch, Finns and Japanese? I live in a country that has, as far as I can tell, _never_ added fluoride to the drinking water. However, it is also a country that has free dental care until the age of 18. And when you take your kid to visit the dentist, one of the first three questions you will be asked is, “Is he/she taking fluoride tablets regularly?” If the answer is anything but “Yes, every single night before bedtime!”, expect a lecture. In other words, the health authorities absolutely recognize the importance of fluoride in preventing cavities and building healthy teeth in children. They have simply chosen a different vehicle for getting it into the kids. Of course, they also recommend giving small defenseless children cod liver oil, so I’m not saying they’re perfect, here. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/42 "2011-10-08T18:01:43Z")
Our city council members who voted to take fluoride out of our city water (I’m guessing) think that the kids will be getting their fluoride from toothpaste and mouthwash now. Well, my sister and brother-in-law have an immigrant family living next to them who can’t afford _food_ (my sil and bil quite frequently feed the kids themselves) - I can’t imagine that people who can’t afford food are buying a lot of toothbrushes and toothpaste. So what these so-called socially conscious people have done is removed the one route that poor kids had for getting fluoride - nicely played. ETA: Dental care isn’t covered under our universal health care; the really poor kids might have coverage under welfare, but I grew up working poor - I didn’t see a dentist until I was an adult, and it is the same for modern working poor kids, I’m pretty sure. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/43 "2011-10-08T18:33:44Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Okay. Florida was originally populated with a type of redneck called a “Florida Cracker” (there are also Georgia Crackers that are similiar but also a bit different being more inland based than coastal based). > > Then, all these retired Yankees started moving down there to live (with a large fraction coming from the NYC area). And having nothing better to do in the oppressive heat they often get involved in politics (but senility is starting to take its toll so reasoning with an impaired hard headed Yankee with strong opinions is a lost cause). Note that Florida Crackers often ain’t nearly as educated or sophisticated as the Yankee imports but they do generally keep to themselves and don’t care about others business (unlike the Yankees). > > But here’s where the real trouble comes in. The bored, lonely retired Yankees convince their offspring (who also have the same mindset but aren’t senile) to move down their because its “so great” (though its really because they are lonely). Then these offspring start mating with the Florida Crackers. > > Now many folks think that genetically if you cross thing A with thing B you get something that combines the best of both worlds. Ain’t so, you usually get the WORST of both worlds. So you’ve got the uninformed and not interested in getting informed Crackers crossed with the buttheaded and interested in everybodies business Yankees and these horrible hybrids go on and get involved in politics. > > Simple really. The offspring are known technically as “Floridiots” ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/44 "2011-10-08T19:03:20Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > If the answer is anything but “Yes, every single night before bedtime!”, expect a lecture.. Even if the answer is “Yes, every single morning right when s/he wakes up!”? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/45 "2011-10-08T19:12:25Z")
West Florida? That’s next to Alabama, right? Where the ‘tusks ah loosah’? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/46 "2011-10-08T19:29:48Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > So just out of random curiosity, did Soviet Russia fluoridate its water? > > (And the first person who responds with “Soviet Russia fluoridates you” is getting sent to the Gulag) In Soviet Russia, Gulag gets sent to you! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/47 "2011-10-08T21:36:11Z")
In America, water is fluoridated. In Soviet Russia, the fluoride is watered! ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/48 "2011-10-08T23:50:28Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I may start a separate thread on this but seriously what the fuck is wrong with Florida?! Upon first seeing the title of this thread I read the first two words and automatically assumed it was going to be about Florida and lo and behold, of course it is. Anytime I hear about anything really fucked up I fully expect it to have something to do with Florida and almost every time it does. What the fuck is wrong with people there?! This is related to a quote below, but I’ll explain my theory here: there are a ton of retirees whose children and families did not move with them. They want the money they’ve got to last as long as possible, and also don’t care about the local population outside of other retirees. This means that they vote against things that cost them money that doesn’t directly benefit them. No grandchildren living nearby? Why should they care about whether schools are properly funded, or fluoride is in the water to prevent tooth decay, or social services are rendered for those who need them? Add restrictions or vision exams to drivers past a certain age? Hell no, that’s unfair and discriminatory! Add age-based restrictions for drivers under the age of 25? That’s just common sense! :rolleyes: I see more retirees causing major accidents in my area due to not being able to see the road between that small patch of window between the dashboard and the steering wheel than I see 18 year olds causing major accidents. Why yes, Snowbird Season did just start. I’ve already seen my share of mental midgets on the road, vacationing from other parts of the country, and more than a few French Canadiens; they seem to all like our beaches and shoe stores. 😉 > [@flodnak](#): > > Of course, they also recommend giving small defenseless children cod liver oil, so I’m not saying they’re perfect, here. My grandfather lived in one of those countries where children were fed cod liver oil on school days when my mom was growing up; he used to leave a bottle of the stuff in the fridge every time he visited (it was rare, as travel was expensive to/from Iceland). It sat there, unused, for months or years until we finally gave up and threw away the bottle. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > West Florida? That’s next to Alabama, right? Where the ‘tusks ah loosah’? That particular part of west Florida happens to be a retirement mecca, so the population is unusually high with retirees and poor folks. It’s south of Tampa, IIRC, which is about halfway up the Gulf Coast of Florida. You’re thinking of Pensacola, etc, which are located on the Panhandle of Florida. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816/49 "2011-10-09T00:41:18Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I live in St. Petersburg so I dodged this bullet. I still don’t understand how, though. I live downtown. I though it includes all of Pinellas county? Who’s actually being affected then? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluoridation-cancelled-in-west-florida/598816.md?page=2)