Another depressing piece from the BBC; this time an online survey asking for comments on their website on the subject of chocolate. The premise is that confectionary firms are to stop making some of their king-size chocolate bars as part of a drive to combat obesity. Are smaller chocolate bars a good idea? This question posed, I expected all of these kinds of comments which flowed in from members of the public: “What needs to be done to really combat obesity is to stop the ridiculous amount of advertising…”, and “Yes, I agree … these monster sized chocolate bars need to be reduced in size…”, and “By all means reduce the size of the bars – anything to stop people from eating it…”, and “It’s a great idea…”, etc. In other words, all of the usual signs of the times: that the current trend towards the political left has pervaded public thought so much that they now disclaim all personal responsibility, even with regard to what the hell they eat.
What I didn’t expect to see, however, was a significant amount of the following: “As a grown adult I reserve the right to eat a king size bar if I choose…”, and “Completely ridiculous. If you can’t choose healthy food…”, and “Whatever happened to choice? If I want … a ‘kingsize’ chocolate bar (and yes I know the health risks involved) it’s nobody’s business but mine…”; amazing! Many people are actually aware that they have a personal responsibility for themselves! These are too good to stop now: “If anything should be made illegal it the ‘fun’ size bars. What’s ‘fun’ about getting a smaller bar of chocolate!”, and the following sarcasm: “I don’t want to be smug about the idea of dropping the ‘super size’ snack bars, but when they first started appearing, I knew it was a ploy to get us to eat more. It’s a conspiracy! We’re being fattened up by aliens. Time to fight back…”, HA! Wonderful! That people are not willing to conform to the liberal establishment or the BBC by standing up for their own right to choose! That they are willing to throw it back in the faces of those who look down on their rational abilities! That they are beginning to fight back!
“Oh please. How much more nanny-state pandering are we going to put up with? I don’t suppose the brain donor who came up with this idea even considered that some people might, heaven forbid, buy twice as much of something if it’s half as big?” Excellent! “I’m sorry but why should us skinny people have to forgo our pleasures because some people just don’t know when to stop eating?” HAHA! Super! “We are all getting far too good at trying blame someone else for our problems…” Marvellous! “Smaller chocolates are a joke, people will buy double…” Great!
The British public are getting sick and tired of the wishy-washy, snobby pretentions of superiority that eminate from the left, despite their best efforts to keep it disguised. At the heart of this desire to legislate and control is the central doctrine that the general public do not have the rational abilities to operate and control their own lives; that the policies and positions promoted by the liberal establishment should be imposed upon them otherwise they will self-destruct. What arrogance! To assume that someone else is ultimately responsible for my own health? For every king-sized chocolate bar that I will no longer be able to eat, I will eat two regular-sized bars to make up for it. I will not pander to the insulting, degrading collectivist mentality of the political elite like the Guardian-readers do.
Hands off my chocolate!
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John Wright