perfidy

There is a new drink product out, and it has a provocative name. So provocative, that the usual suspects have their panties in a twist. The drink is an energy drink with the compelling name of "Cocaine." For your reference, I include a pic of the drink can in question:

It contains no actual cocaine, so we aren't seeing the rebirth of the original, original Coke. Instead, it contains merely a shitload of caffiene. The only drink that is, pound per pound, more caffiene laden is espresso. And espresso doesn't normally come in large cans. 280mg of caffiene is quite a jolt, and the maker claims that you can get this magical jolt of energy without the twitchiness and sugar crash that normally accompanies energy drinks. So far, so good. But wait:

But David Raynes, of the UK National Drug Prevention Alliance, said: "It is people exploiting drugs. It is a pretty cynical tactic exploiting illegal drugs for their own benefit." Mr Raynes added: "The fact is that subliminally, it is making the image of drug use cool and that's what kids what to be, cool...

"Kids will be drinking Cocaine and will inevitably link the two. The drink is relatively innocuous, but they will be linking it with cocaine use and the market, which is far from innocuous."

To the extent that drug use isn't already considered "cool" among the youth of this nation, I'm sure that this drink will push them all over the brink. Elementary school kids will be shooting up on the swings and slides of our playgrounds. Youngsters will be smoking crack at Chuck E. Cheese's. Armageddon will be nigh, thanks to the mildly ironic name of this perfidious energy drink.

Once again, some people need to take a stress tab, so that we can talk about this reasonably. I find it increasingly hard (aside from the explosions, of course) to distinguish any difference in tone between these health nazi pc types and the Islamic fundamentalists who get their panties in a twist when the Pope mentions that, maybe, sometimes, Islam and violence have lived on the same street.

What is it with these people. Words are magical. We can, through their magic, assign meanings to things, and then arrange those things in pleasing, orderly or useful arrangements. But they are not magical in the well, magical sense. They do not bind or control us. If I, or some punk kid, or even my three year old son see the word "Cocaine" on a can of soda, he, me or they are not magically compelled, geased, to go buy some Bolivian Party Powder. Nor are Muslims magically compelled by the law of similarity to riot in the street because some Pope somewhere says the words "Islam" and "Violence" in the same sentence. (Not that you'd be odd for suspecting that, really.)