Blaming the victim...

[Charade]

If a product is marketed to kids, and it hurts them when they buy it, yes, they are victims. Marketing is a powerful thing and kids don't always know what's good for them.

Baloney.

If you repeatedly poke yourself in the eye with a stick, you are not a victim of the tree.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Sugary or not... why the HECK aren't they brushing their teeth????? Perhaps we should blame the dentists in that area for this, since they obviously aren't going to these kids' houses and brushing their teeth for them?

I think they are just in a cycle of complete ignorance. That sounds harsh, but in some of these places it is like looking into the past. While the rest of the world has grown, expanded, and come into the future, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere with the same small minded ideas because no one is coming in to change that perception.

PBS had a wonderful documentary called Country Boys about two teens struggling to make a better life for themselves in Kentucky. It focused on the success of the David School, an alternative highschool for children who otherwise would have been tossed aside. It really opened my eyes to the situation.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I was watching GMA this morning and they had a dentist on that was talking about a problem Diane saw on her new special "Children of the mountain".

Apparently they drink A LOT of Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew contains a lot more sugar and acid than other sodas. The people of Appalachia have developed "Mountain Dew Mouth" which is severely rotted teeth. They sip MD throughout the day (the children keep it on their school desk).

On GMA Diane said that Pepsi (makers of MD) said they (the people of Appalachia) need to have better dental hygiene. The dentist said that's like "blaming the victim" for their MD mouth.

I really don't think this a case of "blaming the victim".

What say you?

I blame the victims' parents. HOnestly when i pulled all-nighters in college, coffee and caffiene pills didn't do a thing. If I REALLY needed to stay up Mountain Dew was the drink of choice. Between the sugar and caffiene in 1 can OMG.

I realize Appalachia is not the richest part of the country but really, the Brita and PURE water filters pay for themselves in a week.

Yeah I gotta go with the soda company on this 1.

 

[chisnpeke]

Also, Pepsi has their Aquafina brand of water. That must be the same price as the MD...why can't they drink that instead?

 

[asta]

Sugary or not... why the HECK aren't they brushing their teeth????? Perhaps we should blame the dentists in that area for this, since they obviously aren't going to these kids' houses and brushing their teeth for them?

You will still get a lot of cavities if you brush your teeth but don't have water treated with fluoride. Why aren't any of you questioning why their water supplies probably aren't treated? I imagine that the water at the schools may not be drinkable so the school allows the students to bring something to drink. The school should not be allowing MD but that could explain why they have something to drink sitting on their desk. I hate to see all of this judgement from people who have never had to live under the conditions that these people live. Be thankful that you live in an area of our country that does a better job of offering municipal services and educating your children.

 

[rabx5]

Good Lord.

Maybe they should have a regional Mountain Dew with scrubbing bubbles.

It could work though

Well, I see it as, nobody is force feeding them the Dew-they need to put their big mountain dew girl panties on and deal with it. I see a lawsuit against Pepsi soon because of their rotten teeth

 

[freckles and boo]

I realize Appalachia is not the richest part of the country but really, the Brita and PURE water filters pay for themselves in a week.

If that is all you realize you have no concept of poverty. If it was as EASY as drinking water the problem would be solved. It is as much cultural as it is economic. Appalachia has been left in the dust. The hopelessness is profound. And just like any cultural shift, the only way to make a difference is one generation at a time.

 

[luvmy3]

If a product is marketed to kids, and it hurts them when they buy it, yes, they are victims. Marketing is a powerful thing and kids don't always know what's good for them.

Exactly that why the adults in their life do. Those adults should know better than to constantly feed their children soda and not make them take care of their teeth. If they haven't figured it out then I just see the rotting teeth and problems it causing as pure Darwinism

 

[themarquis]

I realize Appalachia is not the richest part of the country but really, the Brita and PURE water filters pay for themselves in a week. .

Yes, I'm sure that the problem would be solved if everyone in Appalachia went out and bought a Brita.

 

[themarquis]

Exactly that why the adults in their life do. Those adults should know better than to constantly feed their children soda and not make them take care of their teeth. If they haven't figured it out then I just see the rotting teeth and problems it causing as pure Darwinism

Are you saying it's a good thing that Appalachian children suffer, live in chronic pain, and have reduced life-spans because it will help improve the gene pool?

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Exactly that why the adults in their life do. Those adults should know better than to constantly feed their children soda and not make them take care of their teeth. If they haven't figured it out then I just see the rotting teeth and problems it causing as pure Darwinism

The problem is, they don't. The parents don't know or care or understand the ramifications of these things. And the schools are no better. It is generation after generation stuck in this rut of ignorance.

 

[asta]

Sorry but the excuse about well water is just that an excuse. We have well water that is not treated with fluoride and our kids' teeth are just fine. They brush twice a day and use mouthwash. Both of which have fluoride. When we lived in town with the treated water I had to boil and filter the water at least once a month. We had some of the oldest waterlines in town and they worked on them all the time. Everytime they did work on them it would stir up the sediment and we would have dirty looking water. If I didn't want to boil and filter the water I would just buy water at the store. Water by the way is cheaper than soda.

I'm sorry that you feel this way. Maybe these children need someone like you to educate their parents on the need to add fuoride to their daily hygiene routine. It has been proven that the most effective way to deliver fluoride is to add it to the water supply. That is why most areas of our country began to do that many years ago. When some of these parents are faced with setting part of their money aside to but fluoride rinse instead of food, I imagine that not many of them would make that choice. I have also been told by every dentist that has treated me that it is obvious to recognize people who grew up without fluoride in their water supply.

 

[Charade]

If that is all you realize you have no concept of poverty. If it was as EASY as drinking water the problem would be solved. It is as much cultural as it is economic. Appalachia has been left in the dust. The hopelessness is profound. And just like any cultural shift, the only way to make a difference is one generation at a time.

Do the math. How many bottles of MD does it take to pay for a Brita pitcher and a few filters?

If they had no money for MD, then you'd have a stronger point.

 

[Darsa]

Is Mt. Dew cheaper than bottled water there?

 

[Octoberbride03]

If that is all you realize you have no concept of poverty. If it was as EASY as drinking water the problem would be solved. It is as much cultural as it is economic. Appalachia has been left in the dust. The hopelessness is profound. And just like any cultural shift, the only way to make a difference is one generation at a time.

Ok I admit it. I've never been poor so i don't have a literal sense of poverty. I'm not trying to be flippant, but i don't understand how basic education has passed them by.

 

[cheermom1]

The problem is, they don't. The parents don't know or care or understand the ramifications of these things. And the schools are no better. It is generation after generation stuck in this rut of ignorance.

then lets use this as a learning tool for them?

 

[Charade]

I'm sorry that you feel this way. Maybe these children need someone like you to educate their parents on the need to add fuoride to their daily hygiene routine. It has been proven that the most effective way to deliver fluoride is to add it to the water supply. That is why most areas of our country began to do that many years ago. When some of these parents are faced with setting part of their money aside to but fluoride rinse instead of food, I imagine that not many of them would make that choice. I have also been told by every dentist that has treated me that it is obvious to recognize people who grew up without fluoride in their water supply.

But here's the rub, they set aside enough money to buy MD.

Maybe they should add fluoride rinse to the vending machines where they get their MD.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

When I worked at a nonprofit, we were able to get some dentists several times to help patients who didn't have insurance and were on Medicaid. You know what happen? One or two patients the entire day showed up. We even offered them rides and they still didn't show up. So the dentist stopped donating their time.

I believe it! And people usually wait until they are in pain.


But for every person who doesn't want care, there are people who do want care.

The dental office I worked for accepted every insurance out there. When we hit a certain amount with Type A insurance, we had to stop accepting new patients, This has to be done, or else you will have an overload of patients waiting six months for an appointment. When I had to tell a person we were not accepting new patients with that insurance, they were extremly upset, telling me that no other dentist in the area accepted that insurance. Sadly, it happens often.

 

[freckles and boo]

In the past few weeks I have seen several people post the question "what is middle class?" Perhaps this thread will help. Middle class probably isn't so much about income as it is about a way of thinking. The very poor among us are sometimes locked into a hopeless poverty mindset that can be very, very difficult to break out of.

 

[Charade]

Is Mt. Dew cheaper than bottled water there?

A gallon of fluoridated water is less than a dollar at Walmart.