Which Do You Prefer?

 

I went to Fiesta grocery store this morning to pick up an item for my daughter’s social studies presentation. Bam. In your face. The merchandise displayed at checkout is quite different than what we’re used to in Parkieville. Or is it? Jump for the comparison. 

The Tom Thumb in Snider Plaza has some Red Bull and a few magazines. These articles were advertised on the covers of eye-level publications.

  1. The Sex Article We Can’t Describe Here
  2. Deal With the Devil

Would you rather look at condoms and pregnancy tests?

By Merritt Patterson Mar. 4, 2010 | 1:42 pm | 13 Comments | Comments RSS
13 comments to "Which Do You Prefer? "
  1. matt @ March 4, 2010 at 5:06 pm
    If only they had the prophylactics, flashlights, AND Red Bull. In my younger days that was just an average Tuesday Trifecta.

  2. DemBones @ March 4, 2010 at 5:32 pm
    I’d rather teens looked at condoms and pregnancy tests, especially if they’ve bought Red Bull and Cosmo.

  3. James Tucker @ March 4, 2010 at 6:40 pm
    Last year the Snyder Plaza Tom Thumb was displaying a copy of “Last Tango in Paris”. It was rated R. I tried to tell them it was considered an x-rated movie in the 70s and thought it was inappropriate for the check-out lane. After going thru two layers of employees, one of them remembered the movie and moved it behind the customer service counter.

  4. matt @ March 4, 2010 at 11:34 pm
    That’s a good story James. Tell it again.

    Oh, and… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo

  5. Max Fuqua @ March 5, 2010 at 1:40 am
    James, it’s Snider, not Snyder. Sorry, but that mis-spelling tops my list of pet peeves.

  6. Gagree @ March 5, 2010 at 10:41 am
    @ James Tucker- Are you serious? Talk about overly conservative. Newsflash…it’s 2010, times have changed.

  7. James Tucker @ March 5, 2010 at 11:30 am
    @Gagree and Matt: Trey Garrison and I had a long-running thread on this blog 2 years ago about teens and drugs. His position was that they were going to do it anyway so don’t sweat it. My position was that just because they were going to try to do it doesn’t mean I am not going to step in and tell them not to do it. Same thing here. Just because porn is available at the touch of a computer button doesn’t mean it has to inhabit the shelves of the grocery store. Just because it is 2010 and “times have changed” doesn’t mean it is right. I am more convinced more then ever, having lived through and participated in a variety of cultural changes, that their is a lifestyle that is more conducive to both physical and mental health. Porn and substance abuse do not fit in that lifestyle and I am going to do my best to explain that to my kids and anyone else who will listen.

    @Gagree-thanks for the nod towards my conservatism.

  8. James Tucker @ March 5, 2010 at 11:38 am
    Part of that lifestyle should include more spelling and grammar lessons. Sorry.

  9. matt @ March 5, 2010 at 11:08 pm
    If I ever have time to go through two layers of employees…for anything….I will take my own life.

  10. Gary Adamson @ March 6, 2010 at 6:38 pm
    If kids are going to have sex; wou;dn’t it make sense to give them access to contraception. I mean; we wouldn’t want anoyone getting pregnent would we.

    We may have our own views about pre-marital sex; but it’s upto the kids to decide what their own views are when they’re at the stage where they want to have sex.

    Times have changed. It can be unconfortable for older people to see condoms, but they’re something our kids need access to.

  11. M @ March 8, 2010 at 9:20 am
    If kids want condoms, they know where they are in the store. They don’t have to be near checkout where impulse items are displayed (and mothers and fathers of young children queue. Not a conversation I want to have with a 5-year old). My sense is that few teens think to themselves while checking out, “I wonder if I’m going to have sex today, perhaps I need a condom.” For this age group, a condom is a pre-planned purchase and doesn’t need to be next to the gum.

  12. AD @ March 8, 2010 at 1:41 pm
    Censorship is alive and well in the park cities. Next thing you know they’ll have a required separate line for middle aged men with beards who may or may not have a van parked in the Tom Thumb lot.

  13. James Tucker @ March 8, 2010 at 4:16 pm
    @Gary; When my kids turn 18 and/or live on their own they can have their own views on sex. Until then they get to have my views.

    @AD; Huh? I get the middle-aged men with beards and van thing. What does asking Tom Thumb to use better judgement on product placement have to do with censorship?

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