Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fanaticism, Zealotry--Cal It What You Will...

"Keep your hands off...Private Property!" --Judas Priest from "Private Property" on TURBO.

In my travels, I often see what happens when the voices of fanatics and zealots run roughshod over softer voices...such as reason. From those whom are not too thrilled about Obama being our Prez; to those who cannot fathom that there are no laws on the books that forbid the eating of meat; to those who want to do away with the Bill Of Rights (in the Name of Jesus)? You run into them every day.

For the life of me, I cannot understand how this comes about. However, the most dangerous places seems to be not between a mom and her kids...but between a fanatic and the press. For fanaticism lives on press releases and televised sound bites, and would starve horribly if ignored.

Take, for example, PeTA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken. A lot of times, you would see these folks standing outside of a "Col. Cluck's Chicken Emporium" and wave their signs, make loud noises--and get flipped the dirty birdie by motorists in passing cars.

Now, I can think of many reasons to foreswear such a place. Their chicken is overly high in sodium content, is pressure-cooked rather than fried, and the side ingredients seem more fitting to feed to sumo wrestlers than you average Joe-And-Jane (because of the higher-than-hell fat content of most of the side items).

If I were the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I would revoke Harlan Sanders' commission as a Colonel posthaste! But, that's just me...and besides, I can make REAL Southern-Fried Chicken at home that not only costs less, but tastes a helluva lot better, to boot!

However, it's not the quality of the food served at KFC that has PeTA all hot-and-sticky. Nor is it their stated claim about how KFC's suppliers are keeping their birds in little cages. No, my dears, it's the fact that KFC sells cooked chicken dishes in the first place. If it suited their needs, they would protest outside of Stuart Anderson's, Donovan's of La Jolla, Ruth's Chris, Mickey D's, Pizza Hut, Subway...any place that would not only get their message across, but bring in major press coverage, to boot!

For like I said before...press coverage is to zealots and fanatics what harbor seals are to Great White Sharks--FOOD! So it is with PeTA, so it also is with Operation: Rescue, WAR, Earth First!, and the masses that protest outside of every G-8 and World Bank meeting every year.

There is nothing that needs to be done about this...not only is it covered under freedom of speech, but also under the right to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievences. However, my view is to treat them as you would sheep--just let them bleat to their heart's content.

They'll get the attention they desire...the wrong kind, as every comedian worth their schtick goes into a feeding frenzy over this material! Ridicule has long been the antidote for zealotry and fanaticism...nobody likes getting their ideas torched, much less their causes! And having folks go into deep belly laughs cuts even worse!

"Payback's a Medevac!" as my pop used to say. When it comes to fanatics, payback is a comic carving up your ideas in a comedy club. Bigger payback is Carlos Mencia or Robin Williams doing it on HBO or Comedy Central!

Just something to ponder on a Sunday morning! --Robbiebear

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall

"Keep your hands off...Private Property!" --Judas Priest from "Private Property" on TURBO.

In my travels, I often see what happens when the voices of fanatics and zealots run roughshod over softer voices...such as reason. From those whom are not too thrilled about Obama being our Prez; to those who cannot fathom that there are no laws on the books that forbid the eating of meat; to those who want to do away with the Bill Of Rights (in the Name of Jesus)? You run into them every day.

For the life of me, I cannot understand how this comes about. However, the most dangerous places seems to be not between a mom and her kids...but between a fanatic and the press. For fanaticism lives on press releases and televised sound bites, and would starve horribly if ignored.

Take, for example, PeTA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken. A lot of times, you would see these folks standing outside of a "Col. Cluck's Chicken Emporium" and wave their signs, make loud noises--and get flipped the dirty birdie by motorists in passing cars.

Now, I can think of many reasons to foreswear such a place. Their chicken is overly high in sodium content, is pressure-cooked rather than fried, and the side ingredients seem more fitting to feed to sumo wrestlers than you average Joe-And-Jane (because of the higher-than-hell fat content of most of the side items).

If I were the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I would revoke Harlan Sanders' commission as a Colonel posthaste! But, that's just me...and besides, I can make REAL Southern-Fried Chicken at home that not only costs less, but tastes a helluva lot better, to boot!

However, it's not the quality of the food served at KFC that has PeTA all hot-and-sticky. Nor is it their stated claim about how KFC's suppliers are keeping their birds in little cages. No, my dears, it's the fact that KFC sells cooked chicken dishes in the first place. If it suited their needs, they would protest outside of Stuart Anderson's, Donovan's of La Jolla, Ruth's Chris, Mickey D's, Pizza Hut, Subway...any place that would not only get their message across, but bring in major press coverage, to boot!

For like I said before...press coverage is to zealots and fanatics what harbor seals are to Great White Sharks--FOOD! So it is with PeTA, so it also is with Operation: Rescue, WAR, Earth First!, and the masses that protest outside of every G-8 and World Bank meeting every year.

There is nothing that needs to be done about this...not only is it covered under freedom of speech, but also under the right to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievences. However, my view is to treat them as you would sheep--just let them bleat to their heart's content.

They'll get the attention they desire...the wrong kind, as every comedian worth their schtick goes into a feeding frenzy over this material! Ridicule has long been the antidote for zealotry and fanaticism...nobody likes getting their ideas torched, much less their causes! And having folks go into deep belly laughs cuts even worse!

"Payback's a Medevac!" as my pop used to say. When it comes to fanatics, payback is a comic carving up your ideas in a comedy club. Bigger payback is Carlos Mencia or Robin Williams doing it on HBO or Comedy Central!

Just something to ponder on a Sunday morning! --Robbiebear

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

But who in OB would eat KFC stuff?

Life after the rejection of Winchell's
Next Article

Tenkatori Karaage brings fried chicken lore to Miramar

What’s the story behind Japanese franchise and its recipe dating to 1955?
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader