# The death-spike industry **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351 "2004-05-27T15:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/101 "2004-05-28T05:15:19Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Any industry that makes money off of the misery of others. **pizzabrat** , you’ve gone off the deep end, you fucking loon. How is McDonalds causing everyone to be miserable? H’uh? I don’t feel miserable after eating there. I feel quite happy. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/102 "2004-05-28T05:20:53Z")
Where can I order one of those death spike chairs? I wouldn’t want to sit on it at the wrong time, but it sounds like it might be good for annoying evangelicals, squirrels in the attic, a halloween prop, etc. I had lunch today with a young woman who wears a size double zero. She is desperately trying to gain weight. One of the few things she likes are burgers. I have this crazy theory that most people who have had an elementary school health class know the basics of which foods are healthy for them and which are not. Ignorance of fat and calorie content is not the problem. **Pizzabrat** , do you personally know a lot of people who are unaware that fast food is generally not as healthy as broiled fish and vegetables? > [@](#): > > They also serve sensible portions. Thus, I doubt that experiment repeated at a real restaraunt would have the same results. Now you are being silly. Restaurants in the USA have begun serving humongous portions over the last 30 years. It’s not just fast food places. Takeout boxes are everywhere except world class restaurants – and I wouldn’t know about them. > [@](#): > > My solution would be to allow enough negative feelings towards the entire junk-food industry to cultivate until the industry keels over due to lack of business. Then you have your wish, **Pizzabrat**! All negative feelings are allowed! No one controls anyone’s feelings at all! **Further, I don’t see a lot of people criticizing anyone for actually speaking out against McDonald’s.** What we _do_ criticize are those who want to close McDonald’s down because _some_ people make unwise and/or uninformed choices for themselves. We do still have that right, don’t we? Or is it that you want the freedom to criticize without anyone criticizing what you say? Let’s stop selling cars. Some people don’t drive at reasonable speeds or they drive under unsafe conditions. Sometimes the roads are slippery or a deer crosses the road. People die in car accidents. No more Six Flags or Busch Gardens. People get killed on the rides. No more salad bars. Some people might be allergic to an ingredient. No more public schools – too violent. No more interet chat rooms; there are predators, you know. Should the world be perfectly safe for your benefit? ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/103 "2004-05-28T05:41:39Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Let’s stop selling cars. Some people don’t drive at reasonable speeds or they drive under unsafe conditions. Sometimes the roads are slippery or a deer crosses the road. People die in car accidents. Uh, I’ve actually argued in favor of this plenty of times before, and still agree. I don’t know why we’ve come to accept a world where any idiot can invoke a massive death-machine that hurtles along the pedestrian plane at godless speeds, killing thousands every year. But after this thread, I doubt such a position would help my popularity… > [@](#): > > Then you have your wish, Pizzabrat! All negative feelings are allowed! No one controls anyone’s feelings at all! Further, I don’t see a lot of people criticizing anyone for actually speaking out against McDonald’s. What we do criticize are those who want to close McDonald’s down because some people make unwise and/or uninformed choices for themselves. We do still have that right, don’t we? Or is it that you want the freedom to criticize without anyone criticizing what you say? But all I did was speak out against McDonald’s in this thread and I was criticized. All Super Size Me did was speak out against McDonald’s and it was criticized. I’ve seen plenty of knee-jerk responses against anyone who criticizes any large corporation for anything socially irresponsible on this board. > [@Hey you!](#): > > Who is envying what? I don’t understand this part. I said “jealous” not “envious”. Jealousy is the fear of loss; people are acting like someone’s going to take their precious McDonald’s away if a single bad word is spoken of it. > [@](#): > > You speak of “any company that sells detrimental products.” Your ambiguity makes it impossible to comment accurately. Just how wide a net are you casting? How do you define “detrimental”? Is the manufacturer and the seller culpable in your eyes? How about if I had a party and I offered — free of charge — a big bowl of Ruffles® Sour-Cream and Cheddar Potato Chips? Am I culpable in your eyes? I am distributing, to use your words, “addictive poison”? Okay, I don’t really have as much vitrol towards junk food as I may have implied. I really don’t care if they exist, or are even bought and consumed. But if I pointed to a back of guacamole Doritos and said, “This is crap”, I’d expect someone who agrees to _agree_, rather than give a defensive, knee-jerk “Then don’t _eat_ them!” And I’ve already retracted the “misery” statement, **Guinastasia** & **Sublight**. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/104 "2004-05-28T05:50:19Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Okay, I don’t really have as much vitrol towards junk food as I may have implied. I really don’t care if they exist, or are even bought and consumed. But if I pointed to a back of guacamole Doritos and said, “This is crap”, I’d expect someone who agrees to _agree_, rather than give a defensive, knee-jerk “Then don’t _eat_ them!” How is that response defensive or knee-jerk? How, in fact, is it any different than if they said “You’re entitled to your opinion, but I find it boring to listen to your endless complaints, you fucked-up piece of squirrel-puke, so why don’t you stop indulging in the activity you find so repulsive (i.e. eating guacamole Doritos) so hopefully you’ll shut the fuck up, already?” It’s not _our_ fault you’re a schmuck. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/105 "2004-05-28T06:00:52Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > The guy ate three of what McDonald’s calls “meals” a day. His experiment was sound. They _are_ meals. They’re not overly balanced meals, but they are meals. No adult in their right mind - including McDonalds - thinks, or claims, that eating McDonalds for every meal, every day is a healthy, balanced diet. And if a child who hasn’t realised this yet tries to insist on it, no parent in their right mind thinks they’ll be doing the child’s health any good (unless they’re absolutely incapable of feeding the child anything else, in which case ‘unhealthy meal’ is arguably better than ‘no meal’) by giving in. Trying to prove it’s not healthy to eat nothing but McDonald’s is a waste of time (the very small adult population who don’t already realise this won’t learn), and doing it at the expense of your own health is just REALLY fucking stupid. Do McDonald’s particularly care if you decide you’d rather eat their food all the time than have a healthy, balanced diet? Not really. It’s not their job to care. Nor should it be. It’s _your_ job to take enough control of your life to not do so - or to at least TAKE RESPONSIBILITY if you do. (And it should be.) > [@pizzabrat](#): > > But all I did was speak out against McDonald’s in this thread and I was criticized. No, all you did was make moronic comparisons between moderately unhealthy personal choices (very unhealthy taken to an extreme, but still personal choices) and poison being forced down their throats, and made idiotic semantic arguments - which aren’t even approaching accurate on a cosmic scale. (See the comment I’m replying to at the top of this post.) There’s one fuck of a difference in there. Then you went on and basically called people irrational idiots for disagreeing with you. And now you’re claiming you’re the reasonable one here? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/106 "2004-05-28T06:07:54Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Not to nitpick, but I have pointed this out before in this very thread. That statement is factually wrong. One of the rules of the experiment was that he had to eat every item on the menu at least once. He did not eat nothing but the worst things on the menu. Oh come on! Since he’s eating unlimited amounts, he could eat everything on the menu once in a day or two. Contrariwise, if he _only_ ate “new” menu items until he was done, eating the minimum number of things at each meal to make a “complete meal,” then he would still be done in a week or so. But he wasn’t trying to eat the minimum by being “forced” to try everything “just” once. He was eating maximum quantities–_trying_ to get fat. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/107 "2004-05-28T06:12:46Z")
> [@passengerpigeon](#): > > Also, **Aeschines** , it’s not surprising that you didn’t know liver damage could be caused by a high fat diet. I didn’t either. Neither did the doctor who diagnosed it in the movie. I think no one knows this because it’s complete bullshit. Do the Eskimos have liver damage from eating only meat and blubber? Of course not! ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/108 "2004-05-28T06:33:12Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > And another thing. One can decide to live what will probably be a long life involving a degree of abstemiousness, or one can decide to live what will probably be a shorter life of indulgence. > > The decision between these choices is not a no brainer. There are valid reasons for adopting either. Amen! In the US we have this stupid, **dead-wrong** idea that if you do every thing “right” (and obeying the rules of low-fat, low-calories is not just seen as sensible, but as _morally_ right; it’s a kind of quasi-religion) you’re going to be happy and in great health and die at age 90 or above. If you eat right, exercise just the right amount, have abs and buns of steel, don’t smoke, drink precisely two drinks a day–well, if you do all that, you’re gonna live forever. It’s a fucking lie. People who do all the right things still get heart attacks and die in their 50s. Or they get cancer and die at age 62. Contrariwise, people who treat their bodies like shit can live to age 80. Hell, look at Brando. Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world, but you should see how these people smoke and drink and all the shit they eat. The stereotype of the good-for-you low-fat Japanese diet is a crock. The amount of exercise people do here must be a tiny fraction of the average American amount. And McDonald’s is doing just fine here, too. They’ve got Big Macs on sale here from time to time for 150 yen–about $1.35. About the only thing that can be said in their favor is that most people are not fat. Not skinny, not fit, but not obese. And I don’t know how they manage that, either. My f-i-l used to run religiously. Not fat. Non-smoker. Drank a lot. He now has heart disease, which started affecting him at about 65. Of course it’s common in Japan, like anywhere. There are no guarantees. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/109 "2004-05-28T06:42:03Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > No, all you did was make moronic comparisons between moderately unhealthy personal choices (very unhealthy taken to an extreme, but still personal choices) and poison being forced down their throats, and made idiotic semantic arguments - which aren’t even approaching accurate on a cosmic scale. (See the comment I’m replying to at the top of this post.) > > There’s one fuck of a difference in there. > > Then you went on and basically called people irrational idiots for disagreeing with you. > > And now you’re claiming you’re the reasonable one here? I’m…not quite certain if you’re referring to the right thread. I didn’t make any comparisons between personal choices and forced poison, and I didn’t make any semantic arguments; I, McDonald’s, and you all agree that they’re meals. I put them in quotations because they’re not balanced or nutritional meals, and thus hardly should be considered a meal at all. That’s not a semantic argument, that’s just a snarky slur. And I definitely didn’t call anyone irrational idiots for disagreeing with me. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/110 "2004-05-28T06:54:40Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > I’m…not quite certain if you’re referring to the right thread. I didn’t make any comparisons between personal choices and forced poison, and I didn’t make any semantic arguments; I, McDonald’s, and you all agree that they’re meals. I put them in quotations because they’re not balanced or nutritional meals, and thus hardly should be considered a meal at all. That’s not a semantic argument, that’s just a snarky slur. And I definitely didn’t call anyone irrational idiots for disagreeing with me. I’m certain that \*\*Tengu \*\* is referring to the right thread. You’re steadfastly failing to see that your analogy was utter crap and your “point” is horseshit. You’ve failed to notice that people aren’t defending McDonald’s, they’re attacking you. Clue time: they’re not attacking you because they love American Consumerism or Ronald McDonald – they’re attacking you because your argument is worthless. We fight ignorance here. Stop helping the opposition. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/111 "2004-05-28T07:04:19Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > I’m certain that \*\*Tengu \*\* is referring to the right thread. You’re steadfastly failing to see that your analogy was utter crap and your “point” is horseshit. > > You’ve failed to notice that people aren’t defending McDonald’s, they’re attacking you. Clue time: they’re not attacking you because they love American Consumerism or Ronald McDonald – they’re attacking you because your argument is worthless. Oh, yeah? What’s my argument? ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/112 "2004-05-28T07:07:26Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Oh, yeah? What’s my argument? If you don’t know, how do you expect anyone else to figure it out? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/113 "2004-05-28T07:25:39Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > I’m…not quite certain if you’re referring to the right thread. I didn’t make any comparisons between personal choices and forced poison, and I didn’t make any semantic arguments; I, McDonald’s, and you all agree that they’re meals. I put them in quotations because they’re not balanced or nutritional meals, and thus hardly should be considered a meal at all. That’s not a semantic argument, that’s just a snarky slur. And I definitely didn’t call anyone irrational idiots for disagreeing with me. And NOW you’re being actively dishonest. You _are_ using the supposed non-foodness of junk food as an argument, and KEEP arguing that it isn’t food - this is the first time in this thread you’ve tried ‘but I don’t mean it’s not food, I mean it’s not healthy’ - every other time someone’s pointed out your little trick you’ve tried to argue the accuracy of it (actually, to be perfectly accurate it’s ‘Meal’ that seems to get the most argument, rather than ‘food’. Same deal though.). (Hmm. Nope, that’s not a semantic argument, nope, nope - and of course, you’re doing it again.). You actively used the word ‘poison’ to describe junk food, and if you can come up with some reason why the responsibility is on the COMPANY rather than the person who KNOWINGLY and WILLINGLY made the choice that ‘the pleasure of a McDonald’s meal/bag of Fritos/pack of M&Ms gives me is of higher value to me than the health detriment it will cause’ without the company forcing them to buy it… Well… You have a unique worldview (to put it politely). And while you didn’t use the exact phrase ‘irrational idiots’, your repeated use of > [@pizzabrat](#): > > “Can somebody explain the jealous defensiveness people have about these companies?” is the samn damn thing. [On preview] As Braniac said, your argument that there’s something morally wrong with McDonalds, Hostess/Frito Lay, or whichever purveyor of junk food you wish to villify making their products, is nonsensical, and what we’re arguing against. And the idea that anyone thinks there’s anything morally wrong with making the choice to buy these products is also ludicrous. It’s not the healthiest choice in the world, but it’s not a WRONG choice. The only people in the wrong are the ones saying the company has some responsibility for the people’s choices. (This is where you come in.) ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/114 "2004-05-28T07:28:16Z")
I don’t even know why I’m responding to this thread since **Pizzabrat** has proven to be an irrational loon on more than one occasion and has made me ashamed to be a liberal more than once. I guess I just can’t resist. **Pizzabrat** , if you’re going to lie about something, I suggest picking a forum where your comments aren’t in written form. You claim you’re just fighting the good fight and want to speak out against McDonalds. Hell, you don’t know _why_ everyone is being so defensive! Maybe it’s because of comments like this: > [@pizzabrat](#): > > Why is it okay to be so angry at the people who buy bad stuff but we can’t say “Who are this sick, horrible people who sell this stuff”? Comon’. Saying an industry is comprised of “sick, horrible people” is a bit beyond merely “speaking out” against something. You’re making intentionally inflammatory statements then batting your eyes and acting all innocent when people call you on it. People _know_ McDonald’s is not healthy. You’d have to be a moron to _not_ know. They post their nutrition information _right in the store_. I ask you then. What are they supposed to do? _What do you want McDonalds to do?_ As for your comments about being upset that most of the people speaking out against _you_ in this thread don’t eat at McDonald’s anyway, I think that’s a pretty good indication that your position is a bit…over the top. Obviously these people (of which I’m one of) know this food isn’t healthy. And yet they still think your posts here have been moronic. _That should tell you something._ As far as this goes: > [@pizzabrat](#): > > It’s not blasphemy to point out that processed-food firms are a worthless blight on the marketplace and society. How is McDonald’s a worthless blight on the marketplace and society? Many posters have asked you this and other quite logical questions. You haven’t answered one of them. Who exactly is having knee-jerk reactions without thinking their position through? When did you see this movie? 10 minutes before you wrote your OP? Again, people aren’t defending McDonalds. They’re attacking _your position_. Because it’s nonsensical. You’re fighting for the right to do something _you’re perfectly entitled to do_. You want to tell people McDonald’s is unhealthy? Go for it! I’ve also heard somewhere that cigarettes are unhealthy! Wait a minute. Is that what you want to happen? Do you want fast food to eventually get the same sort of negative publicity the tobacco industry gets? Good fucking luck with that one. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/115 "2004-05-28T07:42:55Z")
> [@lezlers](#): > > I ask you then. What are they supposed to do? _What do you want McDonalds to do?_ > > . And **Pizzabrat**? Do NOT say “serve healthy food” because that is NOT what we go to McDonalds _for._ ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/116 "2004-05-28T09:46:13Z")
I find it incredible – really incredible – just how much **pizzabrat** has had to endure in this thread. His point – or question, really – is an astoundingly simply one: - Why does such a large section of the population feel the need to _campaign_ in favour of McDonald’s whenever anyone so much as points out how unhealthy their food is? That’s it. No suggestion of government regulation. No suggestion of banning ANYTHING. He has expressed a preference that people make their OWN choice that such food is unpleasant enough to never want to eat there again and that’s as far as he’s gone. And for this, he has been insulted, misrepresented, pilloried and belittled. So, I suppose, you’ve all actually proved his point, haven’t you? I wonder if this post from **passengerpigeon** actually provides some insight: > [@](#): > > Personally? I associate McDonalds with happiness. I just do, it’s, like, programmed into me. Whenever I feel uncomfortable or depressed or whatever, I always want to go to McDonalds. > … > So maybe that’s part of it. McDonalds is a childhood experience, at least for me. I get bothered when people attack it. It’s well known that McDonalds target advertising at the under-fives. Well what do YOU think happens when you aggresively target this market? Kids at that age don’t have the critical faculties to question what they see – it just sinks into the subconcious. So you grow up with the _exact phenomena that is described in the quote above_. I guess that we have to congratulate McDonalds, really. Their 20-year advertising campaign has been an unmitigated success. pan ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/117 "2004-05-28T09:49:49Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > **Can somebody explain the jealous defensiveness people have about these companies?** I can try, although I think using the word “jealous” is incorrect. Here are several sentiments I read in what you say: [ul] [li]Any company that sells unhealthy food is evil.[/li][li]Selling unhealthy food is comparable to negligently selling a product which kills you instantly. [/li][li]There is no value whatsoever in McDonalds food, and everyone should find it as repugnant as I do. [/li][li]McDonalds is in the wrong because their serving sizes are too large for some people.[/li][/ul] While I personally rarely eat at McDonalds, I find all of these sentiments offensive, because they (in corresponding order): [ul] [li]Appear to want to suppress or discourage the freedom to sell the food your customers want[/li][li]Lead to the conclusion that a company like McDonalds _should_ be prohibited from doing what they do (if they really are so comparable to a company that makes furniture that kills you instantly) [/li][li]Deny the obvious value of pleasure (or deny that the food is pleasurable to some people in the first place), implying that things which exist only for pleasure (and possibly those that would enjoy them) are disgusting[/li][li]Presume McDonalds should either custom-fit all servings to each customer, which would be impossible, or reduce the size of all servings, shorting those who actually **want** large servings (which, incidentally, is almost everyone), when in fact the most reasonable thing for them to do is to **just please the fucking customer.** [/ul][/li] I swear, if I managed to work out some phenomenally efficient business where you would walk in and get **any food item you want for one dollar** , you would call me evil for giving the people the means to overeat. And since were in the Pit: you’re a goddamn idiot. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/118 "2004-05-28T10:06:30Z")
> [@kabbes](#): > > He has expressed a preference that people make their OWN choice that such food is unpleasant enough to never want to eat there again and that’s as far as he’s gone. > > And for this, he has been insulted, misrepresented, pilloried and belittled. So, I suppose, you’ve all actually proved his point, haven’t you? I think the key is that he has done quite a bit more than lobby for people to make informed choices. He wants to label fast food as “poison” and fast food makers as evil. Well, guess what? Those are lies, and intelligent people get offended when you lie to them in order to teach them what’s in their best interests. You can pretend the lies are merely hyperbole or satire, and I’ll humor you for a bit, but there comes a point when it starts to look like you really are trying to convince me that hamburgers \*really are \*poison, and I have to say to myself, “what kind of moron does this asshole take me for?” ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/119 "2004-05-28T10:13:29Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > “You’re entitled to your opinion, but I find it boring to listen to your endless complaints, you fucked-up piece of squirrel-puke, so why don’t you stop indulging in the activity you find so repulsive (i.e. eating guacamole Doritos) so hopefully you’ll shut the fuck up, already?” Perfect. I knew I forgot one. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351/120 "2004-05-28T10:41:35Z")
> [@kabbes](#): > > I find it incredible – really incredible – just how much **pizzabrat** has had to endure in this thread. Say something stupid on this board, especially in the Pit, expect to get called on it. ‘McDonald’s are scum because people buy food that’s not healthy’ is stupid. Even if you believe there’s something wrong with making unhealthy dietary choices (which is stupid in itself), blaming the people you go to to buy the unhealthy food is moronic. Comparing junk food to poison or to furniture that impales the user is mindbogglingly stupid. It’s not hyperbole, it’s an INSANELY BAD ANALOGY. Implying that people who eat junk food somehow don’t know it’s unhealthy is both wrong, and really, REALLY insulting. ‘Why are you villifying the people who buy McDonald’s food but not McDonald’s?’ This one’s stupid on several fronts: 1) Saying the people he’s arguing with are villifying people buying McDonald’s food, which is nothing close to correct. 2) Saying, again, that McDonald’s should be villified. 3) Using incorrect assertion 1 to support incorrect assertion 2. And despite his repeated claims to the contrary, his claim - or rather the claim his arguments (were they not a collection of straw men, bad analogies, non-logic, and hysterical rhetoric) would support - isn’t, in fact, that people should be allowed to make their own choices - THAT is the claim of the people he’s arguing with. People should be allowed to make their own choices, good or bad, and junk food corporations aren’t evil for catering to the less healthy choices. Instead, pizzabrat rambles on about how McDonald’s and Frito Lay are Teh Suxx0rz, because they _gasp!_ provide people with products they want, but _SHOCK_ aren’t 100% HEALTHY. No, he doesn’t want people to make their own choices. He wants people to make the same choice that he has. His claim is that anybody who DARES think that junk food is ok in moderation, and therefore any company that produces it shouldn’t be driven out of business is an idiot who’s in McDonald’s back pocket. Yes, people need to be protected from The Evil Giant Corporations. … By someone that, _knowing_ that McDonalds food is unhealthy in excess, will eat it, exclusively, for a month with the inevetable negative consequences for his health. Which really isn’t a good sign that he’s smarter than the ‘idiots’ who think having Mickey D’s or a pack of bacon flavoured crisps once in a while is a nice treat, if you think about it. McDonalds has its unpleasant side, but the fact that they quite unashamedly allow people to buy food that if eaten in excess will lead to health problems…that’s not part of it. And that, my dear clueless git, is why he’s being insulted. He’s either hopelessly naive (which I’ll buy, but I’m not feeling quite charitable enough to grant just now) or lying through his teeth, and hoping the Clueless Masses buy it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-spike-industry/247351.md?page=7)