tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post8682226110398234802..comments2023-10-20T07:36:10.746-06:00Comments on A Striped Armchair: Fast Food Nation (Chp 2)Evahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06703372903532502944noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post-60377641688958695332007-10-06T23:25:00.000-06:002007-10-06T23:25:00.000-06:00Verbivore, I didn't realise the school thing eithe...<B>Verbivore</B>, I didn't realise the school thing either. Especially textbooks! I think the saddest part is that it results from a luck of funding for public schools. :(<BR/><BR/><B>Christopher</B>, thanks for the recommendations. Thank God for PBS!<BR/><BR/><B>Gentle Reader</B>, thanks for your long comment. :) I think you made a great point there, and very positive! I bugged my friend's family into wearing their seatbelts (and her dad was a doctor and her mom a nurse!). You reminded me of the good as well as the bad, which was helpful.<BR/><BR/><B>Dewey</B>, the no TV thing is a good idea. I prefer DVDs anyway! I agree about the advertising toys/clothes. It's frustrating, because my sister is obsessed with Disney princesses, so my niece's room is decorated that way, and whenever she's buying something she picks the Disney princess version. I want to explain why it's a bad idea, but I don't think my sister would take it too well. :(Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06703372903532502944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post-34682998659701775102007-10-05T12:30:00.000-06:002007-10-05T12:30:00.000-06:00I knew kids were targeted this way, and I tried to...I knew kids were targeted this way, and I tried to protect them by, as you mention, packing their lunches every day, not having TV in our house until they were old enough to have been taught to be savvy about consumerism, and teaching them about good food, and how to prepare it using fresh, mostly organic ingredients. Plus I never bought them advertising toys/clothes, such as Disney products and clothes with the brand announced on the chest, etc. I think the only solution for individual parents and their kids is to educate them.Deweyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00395712971920800717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post-76170041579190582982007-10-04T09:20:00.000-06:002007-10-04T09:20:00.000-06:00It makes me hopping mad, too. I have three kids a...It makes me hopping mad, too. I have three kids and I see how easily swayed they are by advertising (obviously, because it's targeted right at them). I try to keep them away from commercial TV, etc, but it all seeps in anyway, because they are bombarded so many places, and as a parent, there's only so much you can control.<BR/><BR/>The only time I've seen a positive side to marketing to kids is when it regards a public health issue. For the same reason kids make passionate consumers, they also make passionate advocates. <BR/><BR/>For example, I know my parents quit smoking solely because I bugged them until they did. I came home from school with pamphlets from the American Cancer Society on the dangers of smoking, and hounded my parents until they quit.<BR/><BR/>My children are hounding me about the environment. Their school has a "green team", and they are teaching kids about reducing, reusing and recycling, and have provided reusable aluminum drinking bottles for each kid in the school. My kids have gotten me to get reusable shopping bags and send their lunch items packed in reusable containers, or in biodegradable waxed paper bags. They also convinced my husband to buy a hybrid car!<BR/><BR/>So I guess what I'm saying is if we can educate kids and keep them motivated, the same enthusiasm that makes them avid consumers can help them save the world.<BR/><BR/>Whew, I'm glad you asked for comments, because I sure commented! Sorry for the longwindedness...Gentle Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102364083044797155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post-89514265377786076212007-10-03T22:31:00.000-06:002007-10-03T22:31:00.000-06:00I highly recommend reading Benjamin R. Barber's ne...I highly recommend reading Benjamin R. Barber's newest book <I>Consumed</I>. I have started it and will continue to read it after I finish <I>Animal Liberation</I>.<BR/><BR/>It has newer data to back up the same problem: the corporations are using ad agencies to court and earn early consumers as early as age 1. They target children, hope for fit throwing and tantrums to coerce the parents to buying something just to keep their child happy.<BR/><BR/>With total corporate control over the airwaves consumerism is starting to ejaculate all over our sacred institutions. When will it end? With what Marx predicted so long ago, revolution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6104753122709281663.post-35509509828816834722007-10-03T05:20:00.000-06:002007-10-03T05:20:00.000-06:00The out of control consumer culture does make me e...The out of control consumer culture does make me extremely angry. A lot of the information you put above is new to me - I didn't realize that advertising was allowed on school property and even in textbooks. How terribly sad and I agree with your view that this poses a huge burden on parents who want to educate their children to be careful and responsible consumers. The task seems rather daunting doesn't it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com