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Jan. 28, 2005 As a child I was terrified of clowns. There is nothing endearing or heartwarming about a clown with his garishly painted face. A clown is a symbol of evil. A clown is a harbinger of evil days to come. McDonald's, purveyor of greasy fries and calorie- laden Big Macs, is sending a clown, Ronald McDonald, into elementary schools to push fitness -- part of a public relations campaign to fool the public into thinking it is addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Sending Ronald McDonald into schools to serve as a "Health Ambassador" is like hiring Paris Hilton to teach an abstinence-only sex education course. Parents would be aghast at the prospect of a drug dealer teaching a "Just Say No" drug education class; they should be just as horrified at the spectacle of Ronald McDonald, a long-time pusher of greasy calories, pretending to be a fitness guru. Ronald McDonald, the fast food giant's newly dubbed "chief happiness officer," has become the company's "ambassador for an active, balanced lifestyle," McDonald's Chief Creative Officer Marlena Peleo-Lazar proclaimed. Chief Creative Officer? Is that another way of saying minister of propaganda? Coincidently, her announcement came the same week an appeals court reinstated a lawsuit against McDonald's in which two New York teenagers allege they got humongous because the fast food chain hid the health risks of its victuals. Earth to Marlena Peleo-Lazar: Ronald McDonald is the mascot of a fast food conglomeration that peddles grub that clogs your arteries; you can't lead an "active, balanced lifestyle" when you have a Big Mac, Super-sized fries and a milkshake" jiggling around in your stomach. Perhaps I should point out the obvious, Ronald McDonald is a clown -- and no clown should be taken seriously. He should be laughed out of the schools and kicked to the curb. If McDonalds was truly serious about addressing the childhood obesity problem, they would sell whole-grain cereal instead of sausage biscuits and mayo-free tuna fish sandwiches instead of Big Macs. Our schools should be "drug free zones" and "clown free zones"; I hope that parents will respond to McDonalds brazen cynicism by boycotting the fast food behemoth. ------------ About the author: Robert Paul Reyes is a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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