62 replies to this topic

[Nine]

Full of sugar and caffeine. It's very unhealthy for you and schools decided it wasn't good to sell it at school and chose to go for a healthier schools program. Not good for you but oh so good. ;_;

[ROFLCopterz]

I wouldnt care that much because I drink maybe like 1 pop a week.

[Amagius]

Allow? I think it would be wrong to ban caffeinated drinks, but I would be in full support of taking it off high school campuses. It's financially not the most sound decision for a school, but if they're interested in creating small, but helpful decisions, it's in good taste.

[Jakerz]

I think it should not be sold, as well as energy drinks though lol
Pop is a main reason for obesity, if it is being sold there, it will be drank, replace it with something healthy
The kids will still drink the healthy thing if there is no pop to buy, but let them bring it in themselves if they want it.

[The Cookie Dragon]

The excuse (yes, excuse) I've heard is one that's already been put forth on this topic: focus and productivity of kids. Okay, let's look at this logically and scientifically, leaving other considerations aside for a moment. 1} Small amounts of caffeine, regularly injested, actually stimulate neural pathways. It increases the flow of blood to the brain and allows it to function better. This may be why schools offer energy drinks instead of soda now; most energy drinks now on the market contain a cocktail of B vitamins and other beneficial additives (like ginseng, taurine, ginko biloba... you know, the herbal remedies that's been taken by health nuts for years, because they do make your body function better) in addition to caffeine. In essence, one energy drink in the morning isn't going to kill you, nor is it going to ruin your health. It actually has some benefits. I am advocating knowing what the hell goes into your body before you put it there, people. This is what the Nutritional Information panel on EVERY BLOODY ITEM that's sold in the US is supposed to tell you. Read them. 2} Schools blame sugary drinks and food and the oh-so-evil caffeine for kids lack of focus and productivity? How about the glaring lack of exercise? Most elementary/primary schools in the US have cut back or eliminated recess. Yeah, a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds are going to sit still for 6 hours. Right. Fantasy world, anyone? Scientists have proven that a moderate amount of exercise is necessary to the well-being of the human body, and this is especially true for children. Exercise that raises the heart rate for at least 15 mins releases a chemical cascade in the brain and body, some of which assist in concentration and the ability to absorb information and actually retain it after the school bell rings and you breathe a sigh of relief, 'cause finally you get to go home and chill. Middle and high schools have half-assed gym or PE (physical exercise) classes, and a lot of times, these are ELECTIVES. For those unfamiliar, electives are the programs you only have so many slots for, and they're usually the more interesting classes. You want to learn German? You give up gym. Viola, the only exercise in 6 hours or more (depending on the overload of homework) goes bye-bye. 3} (And this has been mentioned before, I know. Bear with me.) The food the SAME school serves is loaded with simple carbs (those sugars they were oh-so-worried about), saturated fats, and have next to no vitamins. Healthy food, if it's even offered, is more expensive and often out of the average teen's budget. Even if it isn't, do you want to spend the little amount of money you get on food when you could be saving up to buy the PSP game of your dreams? Hell no, not when you can get twice the crap for a tenth of the price. Not to mention, even the kids who have half an idea how to interpret nutritional information don't get the opportunity. They don't put any up for the cafeteria food. I wonder why? Maybe because that meatloaf they're serving is essentially a salt lick that they can get for pennies on the dollar? 4} As someone previously mentioned, it's a proven fact that if a person never makes a decision for themselves, they never learn to do so. You know how babies fall thousands of times before they learn to walk? That's because they're learning to do it right. What happens when a teen turns 18 and is now an adult? When they go off to college without a single idea of how to make good choices, because instead of teaching them how to reason it out for themselves, we took away everything but what we percieved as the "right choice?"

The question of choice, also, is a moral one. Do we have the right to take away the kids' right to choose. Yes and no. Does a 2 year old know that candy he wants is empty calories? That he'd be much healthier and fuller from a plate of pasta and chicken? No. He will choose the candy because it appeals to his sweet tooth, and he doesn't know any better. Now, take that same question, and put it before a 16 year old. Most guys I know and have known will pick the pasta and chicken, 'cause you get more out of it. They don't want the extra pounds, the extra visit to the dentist, enough to eat candy nonstop. Yes, they will eat candy. Perhaps too much at times. But overall, they will make the better choice, because they have learned why it is the better choice. Should we take away their ability to get one soda in a day because they need the caffeine in school more than they do an hour before bed? No. High schools should not ban soda. They should offer plenty of healthy options as well, and at affordable prices, but the choice should always lay with the person. Mind you, private schools are privately funded and the choice now lays with the people who pay for it. But WE pay for the public schools. WE should have the right to choose. And any parent who thinks the right choice is no choice is short-changing their children, and insulting their intelligence and capability to develop same. We may begin ignorant, but given the opportunity, the human mind is, by its very design, meant to grow. This is no less true for our children than it is for us, they simply have less experience.

//end rant (with apologies to anyone I may have offended. it was not intended.)

The Cookie Dragon lets out a very deep breath.

[Cataliste]

US really doesnt seem so free anymore, We have the safety police making sure we dont harm ourselves at all times and it gets annoying

Commujism much?

Seriously. It's fucking ridiculous. If people want to get fat, fucking let them. It's your fucking right.

I am opposed to my government keeping me from doing anything that doesn't encroach upon someone else's freedoms.

[Bryan]

Commujism much?

Seriously. It's fucking ridiculous. If people want to get fat, fucking let them. It's your fucking right.

I am opposed to my government keeping me from doing anything that doesn't encroach upon someone else's freedoms.

You ever tried riding the free fall ride at Six Flags. You know how scary it is having some guy that weighs 500+ sitting next to you. It's my fucking right to not want to shit myself because some guy wants to waste his life away shoving hot dogs down his throat. I say obesity should be monitored, not limited.

[Cataliste]

You ever tried riding the free fall ride at Six Flags. You know how scary it is having some guy that weighs 500+ sitting next to you. It's my fucking right to not want to shit myself because some guy wants to waste his life away shoving hot dogs down his throat. I say obesity should be monitored, not limited.

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
-B. Franklin

I will give up none of my freedom. Fucking government tapping our phones, monitor our calls/sms/internet. Must have hit a time warp back to 1984.

Edited by Cataliste, 24 February 2008 - 10:30 PM.

[Fatal]

Commujism much?

Seriously. It's fucking ridiculous. If people want to get fat, fucking let them. It's your fucking right.

I am opposed to my government keeping me from doing anything that doesn't encroach upon someone else's freedoms.

210% agreed

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
-B. Franklin

I will give up none of my freedom. Fucking government tapping our phones, monitor our calls/sms/internet. Must have hit a time warp back to 1984.

Agreed again, but I wanted to note the phone tapping shit isn't that big of a deal because they don't monitor every single American, only ones who have a higher probability of being a terrorist, but regardless it is killing our privacy

You ever tried riding the free fall ride at Six Flags. You know how scary it is having some guy that weighs 500+ sitting next to you. It's my fucking right to not want to shit myself because some guy wants to waste his life away shoving hot dogs down his throat. I say obesity should be monitored, not limited.

lol, I've been on it, but cant you just wait till you're matched with someone you like?

[Cataliste]

Agreed again, but I wanted to note the phone tapping shit isn't that big of a deal because they don't monitor every single American, only ones who have a higher probability of being a terrorist, but regardless it is killing our privacy.

Yes. But read the "Patriot Act". They can tap ANYONE'S phones, for NO reason. No court order. No subpoena to the phone company. They can JUST do it.

That's a step in the WRONG fucking direction.

[Ives]

Commujism much?

Seriously. It's fucking ridiculous. If people want to get fat, fucking let them. It's your fucking right.

I am opposed to my government keeping me from doing anything that doesn't encroach upon someone else's freedoms.

The real infringement is schooling. (I'm making a thread on that as we speak.)

You ever tried riding the free fall ride at Six Flags. You know how scary it is having some guy that weighs 500+ sitting next to you. It's my fucking right to not want to shit myself because some guy wants to waste his life away shoving hot dogs down his throat. I say obesity should be monitored, not limited.

Theres a difference between basic, natural rights, and convenient rights which infringe upon others rights to make things more convenient for x number of people. You also have to consider that Six Flags is a private company. If you want to get rid of obese people at Six Flags, you can campaign against it without a desire for legislation. The government monitoring our health just wreaks of potential abuse that would do more bad than good in any situation. New Zealand already has ridiculous laws about the health of its citizens which have prevented spouses from moving there because they "weighed too much." (http://www.reason.co...23596.html]here.)

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
-B. Franklin

I will give up none of my freedom. Fucking government tapping our phones, monitor our calls/sms/internet. Must have hit a time warp back to 1984.

2x

Yes. But read the "Patriot Act". They can tap ANYONE'S phones, for NO reason. No court order. No subpoena to the phone company. They can JUST do it.

That's a step in the WRONG fucking direction.

2x again. It's a bad thing, regardless of how bad it is, and it's completely immoral.

Edited by Athean, 25 February 2008 - 09:32 AM.

[Cataliste]

The real infringement is schooling. (I'm making a thread on that as we speak.)


Theres a difference between basic, natural rights, and convenient rights which infringe upon others rights to make things more convenient for x number of people. You also have to consider that Six Flags is a private company. If you want to get rid of obese people at Six Flags, you can campaign against it without a desire for legislation. The government monitoring our health just wreaks of potential abuse that would do more bad than good in any situation. New Zealand already has ridiculous laws about the health of its citizens which have prevented spouses from moving there because they "weighed too much." (URL=http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123596.html]here[/URL].)

Thank God someone agrees with me!

REQUIRED schooling does NOTHING but LOWER the standard for ALL students. If you don;t want to be there, then by all means go fuck off somewhere else and let me do my learning.

But I think I have probably gotten too far off subject.

[Aerowyn]

At my school there are soda machines, but they run on a timer so you can only buy it after the final bell rings at the end of the day.

Other than that, our cafeteria had a milk/iced tea machine, and a fruit juice machine. So the drink choices were relatively healthy... but once you're off school's time, you can feel free to help yourself to a mountain dew if you really want one.