WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, PART TWO

I totally forgot to mention this before, when I was ranting
about “WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?”  I
am seeing products lately that make me say “WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” to
the companies that are making them, because clearly they are contributing to (or
at least enabling) people’s bad choices. 
Here are some examples:

–Odor absorbing
paint.  Um—ok.  This product reflects the sad and sorry state
of America.  What is going on with your
life that you need paint that absorbs odor? 
Are you a serial killer, and do you need this paint to absorb the dead
body smell in your house?   Or—do you
have 50 cats, and you need to PAINT YOUR HOUSE to get rid of the smell?    Just—no. 
As far as I’m concerned, buying bulk quantities of this paint should
automatically trigger a visit (or at least a call) from a social worker.

–Anti-chafing cream.  I think I mentioned that some people look
better on the heavier side, but I recently saw a commercial for some
anti-chafing cream that FEATURED FAT PEOPLE DANCING, so clearly this is being
marketed toward overweight people who are more concerned with the chafing than
with the fact that being overweight is bad for your health.  Again, I don’t care what kinds of life
choices people make and I know weight is a struggle for people, but
deliberately making a product that caters to this feel cynical to me, like
maybe the cream is being made by the company that’s also trying to make “high
fructose corn syrup” seem ok again so people will eat more of that, or by KFC
or McDonald’s with their gallon of sweet tea for just a buck.  Yikes.

–PediaSure, being
marketed toward “moms of picky eaters!”  
Listen, I don’t have a kid so I don’t want to step on a landmine here,
but manufacturing a product for “picky eaters?” 
Isn’t that the same as saying “we know you’re annoyed with your kid and
don’t have time to work with them to eat food that is good for them or just
wait it out, so just let them eat chicken fingers and wash it down with this
PediaSure.  You’re fine.”  What irks me about this commercial is
actually the line “When her picky eating started to affect her growth and
development….my doctor said PediaSure.” 
Um—WHAT?  Excuse me for butting
in, but why did you let her picky eating get to the point where it started to
affect her development?    Aren’t parents
supposed to regulate that kind of thing? 
And, don’t get all uppity if you have one of these kids, because if you
know anything about me, you will not be surprised to learn that I WAS ONE OF
THEM.   I was a picky eater when I was a
kid, and you know what I got?  A peanut
butter sandwich and a Flintstones vitamin, people, and an open invitation to
“come back when I felt like eating,” which I occasionally did.   My mom didn’t force me to eat, but she also
didn’t buy specially formulated supplements so I wouldn’t have to. 

I’m just saying– I lived to see adulthood, and eventually I even tried
asparagus.