Drama drama drama
Sep. 18th, 2011 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoFirst there was a lot of stupidity on FA because of a page banner that makes a rather backhanded joke about FA and the "My Little Pony" craze. Site users who dislike the ponies and their fans (self-styled "bronies") are furious that MLP art should be displayed in the banner for a week. This is the ultimate in absurdity, because MLP fandom is by its very definition a form of furry fandom. It is no weirder than any of the other furry obsessions, and a lot less kinky than some. While I have no interest in "My Little Pony" or any other commercial television programming, I find it far less offensive than a good percentage of the stuff that appears on FA without question. Grow up, furries, and get over yourselves if you want to be respected as real people.
Then on this evening's news there's an item about talk show host Mehmet Oz, who has announced to the world in general that his "research" found "too much" arsenic in packaged apple juice sold in the US. This is pure drama of the worst kind, similar to the false "research" that has caused parents to stop vaccinating their children against childhood diseases in the false belief that the vaccines cause autism. Oz's "research" results do not distinguish between organic and inorganic arsenicals. Organic arsenic is present in trace amounts in many fruits and vegetables because it is present in the soil on which they grow, and they incorporate it into their tissue. Exposure to such traces of arsenic, selenium, cyanide, and other toxics has been part of human life for millions of years. Obviously, we're adapted to it or we wouldn't be able to eat food. Inorganic arsenic compounds were used in pesticides at one time, but are now banned in the US. The inorganic forms are certainly more dangerous, but again, if they are present the levels are tiny. Now there are politicians demanding an "investigation" into the presence of arsenic in apple juice, and no doubt parents who are going to mistakenly deny apple juice to their children.
Guess what, folks. Ordinary table salt is toxic too. So are a lot of the cooking ingredients found in your kitchen cabinets. No one in their right mind would eat the contents of two or three containers of nutmeg at one sitting, for instance. (I guarantee they'd get a very upset tummy.) However, nutmeg is "toxic" in the sense that enough of it has negative effects on your health and neural function. So likewise with salt, which causes hypertension, dehydration, and other dangerous effects. Not only that, but it usually contains iodine, a known poison, which is deliberately added to the product.
I swear, ignorance makes people so absurdly silly and panic-prone that it's just plain funny. Let's just ban all forms of "food" to keep anyone from accidentally ingesting anything poisonous. Jeez.
Then on this evening's news there's an item about talk show host Mehmet Oz, who has announced to the world in general that his "research" found "too much" arsenic in packaged apple juice sold in the US. This is pure drama of the worst kind, similar to the false "research" that has caused parents to stop vaccinating their children against childhood diseases in the false belief that the vaccines cause autism. Oz's "research" results do not distinguish between organic and inorganic arsenicals. Organic arsenic is present in trace amounts in many fruits and vegetables because it is present in the soil on which they grow, and they incorporate it into their tissue. Exposure to such traces of arsenic, selenium, cyanide, and other toxics has been part of human life for millions of years. Obviously, we're adapted to it or we wouldn't be able to eat food. Inorganic arsenic compounds were used in pesticides at one time, but are now banned in the US. The inorganic forms are certainly more dangerous, but again, if they are present the levels are tiny. Now there are politicians demanding an "investigation" into the presence of arsenic in apple juice, and no doubt parents who are going to mistakenly deny apple juice to their children.
Guess what, folks. Ordinary table salt is toxic too. So are a lot of the cooking ingredients found in your kitchen cabinets. No one in their right mind would eat the contents of two or three containers of nutmeg at one sitting, for instance. (I guarantee they'd get a very upset tummy.) However, nutmeg is "toxic" in the sense that enough of it has negative effects on your health and neural function. So likewise with salt, which causes hypertension, dehydration, and other dangerous effects. Not only that, but it usually contains iodine, a known poison, which is deliberately added to the product.
I swear, ignorance makes people so absurdly silly and panic-prone that it's just plain funny. Let's just ban all forms of "food" to keep anyone from accidentally ingesting anything poisonous. Jeez.
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-19 07:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-19 08:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-19 09:55 am (UTC)Please, don't generalize to all furries because of the actions (or words) of a few loud-mouthed, brainless drama queens. I realize it's common enough for people to do that, but it's something we should counter, not imitate.
That said, I agree about the FA MLP banner, of course. It's silly to complain about it, just like it's silly to complain about all the other banners that FA has had in its history; but at least there's one good thing about: namely, it's an easy way of identifying the idiots who should be ignored in the future. ;)
As for food... heh, yes (even water can be deadly if you drink too much of it!). I suspect the underlying issue is that people lack the intellectual capacity to rationalize their fears and anxieties; they see lions around every corner, out to hurt their precious little spawn, but they're unable make a judgement call about whether said fear is or isn't justified.
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Date: 2011-09-20 01:46 am (UTC)I'm not sure how people even know that arsenic or cyanide are poisons unless you tell them. They certainly have no idea whatsoever about the constituents of their diet.
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Date: 2011-09-19 10:05 am (UTC)I wondered about the FA banner. I thought it was intended to be derogatory to the bronies (the expressions on the characters and "denial is magic"), and was surprised it was used. I assumed some peevish admin was trying to retaliate against somefur or another. Maybe "denial is magic" is a slogan after all....
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Date: 2011-09-20 01:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-19 01:08 pm (UTC)I might *gasp* have to watch some MLP here, myself. This upcoming series is going to feature a chaotic evil, omnipotent creature named Discord, voiced by John de Lancie. Hmmm, now why does that seem so familiar?
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Date: 2011-09-19 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-19 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-20 01:49 am (UTC)