The Whiny Twit
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October 10th, 2009

The Whiny Twit

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I can almost hear the exchange right now:

(ACTOR) What’s my motivation here?

(DIRECTOR) You’re someone with an exaggerated sense of entitlement, driving your brand new car over taxpayer-funded roads to your big suburban house which is patrolled by taxpayer-funded cops; and you don’t want to pay an extra five cents on the fattening crap you shouldn’t be feeding your kids anyway, even if it’ll fund all the emergency room visits they’re going to need when they get the diabetes years from now.

(ACTOR) I still don’t understand my motivation. It kinda doesn’t make sense.

(DIRECTOR) @#$% it. Just be as smug as possible.

If today’s strip sounds familiar to you, you must be following me on Twitter (or Facebook, which automatically reruns my Twitter posts). Whenever a certain number of people retweet (real humans might call it “resend”) one of my Twitter posts, I know it’s time to turn it into a strip. If you want to join this unofficial focus group, follow me here; and if I post something that makes you laugh, makes you think, or makes you want to rip my head off, just retweet it.


Discussion (16)¬

  1. Simes says:

    WoW! The size of her house. I wish I could afford a nice house in a nice area.

    BTW, I first tasted soda when out with friends when I was about 13. I didn't like it. 30 years on, water is still my drink of choice. I wonder how much money I've saved in the meantime?

    Not enough to buy her lifestyle.

  2. kenecollier says:

    I'm always amused by a segment in the old "Vote For Me" video from PBS where some actress is talking about how she does ads to help out with conservative causes.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTQyro3apRg
    When one of her colleagues says they don't want to become the next Willie Horton (at the time a reference to a very well known attack ad that played on racism) she clearly doesn't understand the reference.

  3. Robert says:

    My kids get soda about as often as Karl Rove and Nancy Pelosi agree on something. They drink, in no particular order, milk, orange juice, apple juice and filtered water. I also make them caffeine-free herbal teas – my eight year old son is particularly fond of Egypitan Licorice.

    Of course, the twelve year old has been known to mix agave nectar with filtered water and drink it, so they find a way to satisfy their sweet tooths. Sweet teeth?

    • Darrin Bell says:

      You're doing the right thing, IMO. Funny thing: I just discovered a month or two ago, after 34 years of life, that most teas taste perfectly fine without honey. And hot water a single cinnamon leaf in a cup of hot water tastes exactly the same as green tea with honey, only with no calories. So much of what we're accustomed to, we just don't need.

      • Chayafradle says:

        Where can I buy a cinnamon leaf? I have never seen that in any health food store or grocery store.

  4. Mike says:

    Great strip! It really is pathetic to believe this "poor, strapped, overwhelmed, suburban mom" is somehow compromised by the thought of paying a nickle for a beverage any smart, responsible and fiscally competent parent wouldn't be buying anyway! I'm with Grizzled Gizzard, this ad has shifted me to the soda tax camp! Anything to discipline someone stupid enough to have us believe that a real mom is consumed with concern about a potential tax on her soda!

  5. BTW, I drink maybe one 12 ounce can of soda a week, and my kids don't drink any.

    But I do drink beer, wine, whiskey, and vodka. I know they get taxed. And I don't mind — I can always drink water from the tap instead. My money, my choice.

  6. Ha! So now you're crowd-sourcing your comic strips. That's cool. 🙂

  7. kenecollier says:

    I support Lemont's rant about soda pop Mom and the "food" tax.

    But(t), this was a guy who was scratching fungus off his ass a couple of days ago. He may not be the best spokesperson for healthy choices.

  8. I sent the following to nobevandfoodtax.doc on 10/8/2009.

    I'm a Liberal who believes in big government and lots of government control — when appropriate.

    Heavily taxing foods that are little more than empty calories makes sense. But it doesn't make sense to focus on one class of foods — such as soft drinks and low-fruit-content juice beverages — while ignoring others.

    However, your nasty, stupid little commercial makes me want to see huge taxes placed on such products.

    I'm supposed to feel sympathy with an paid-to-be-aggrieved actress who complains that times are so bad she has to count pennies — yet she buys soft drinks! If she's so worried about feeding her family nutritious meals on a tight budget — what's wrong with filtered water, or milk?

    Your site urges people to make wise choices about what they put in their mouths — yet your commercial shows a family making bad choices. And, of course, the people who support your organization don't want people to stop buying soft drinks. What hypocrites you are.

    • Darrin Bell says:

      That's perfect.

      On a side note, I've never understood why "testimonial" ads that obviously feature paid actors are often effective. No matter what they're about, the first thing I always think is they're lying to me. This person isn't who they claim to be. Why would I believe whatever content the actor proceeds to spew?

      • sugarkat says:

        The very best of those ads are the ones where they're trying to pass the testimonials as "man on the street" interviews…and the viewer recognizes one or more of the actors from another ad campaign.

      • kenecollier says:

        I'm always amused by a segment in the old "Vote For Me" video from PBS where some actress is talking about how she does ads to help out with conservative causes.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTQyro3apRg
        When one of her colleagues says they don't want to become the next Willie Horton (a reference to a well known attack ad that played on racism) she clearly doesn't understand the reference.