Wednesday 15 February 2012

All Hail The Lunchbox Police

Forget Cameron's dunderheaded grandstanding over alcohol for a minute, as this struck a nerve at Puddlecote Towers today.
[Dr David Regis, of the Schools Health Education Unit said,] "Schools are serving better school dinners and they are also taking more of an interest in the contents of pupils' lunchboxes."
He says this as if it is a good thing.

A child's lunchbox has always been a place solely reserved for the parent and their kid, somewhere loving notes used to be left without fear of prying eyes. Has it really come to this? The state insisting on intruding on something as trivial and private as what the Mum hands to her little ones in the morning?

Well, of course. There's even a special 'police' unit assigned to the case.
"The packed lunch and tuck-shop police have been in action."
Now, it's obviously a metaphorical use of the term police, right? One hopes so, anyway. But how can one be sure when this sort of thing is happening, right now, over the pond (emphases mine).
A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl's turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.
Government regulations on lunchbox contents, enforced by state 'agents'? Isn't this a bit, I dunno, fascist? Or at the very least interfering outrageously in the parents' rights over their own child? Oh billy-o, yes.

What's worse is that they don't even know their own regulations.
"With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that's the dairy," said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. "It sounds like the lunch itself would've met all of the standard." The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said.
So, to compound the fact that they have the gall to inspect lunchboxes at all - something Dr Regis thinks is fine and dandy over here too - the ineptitude of the public sector ensures that it's not even done properly, which is probably why all lunchboxes were deemed unsatisfactory by the idiot 'agent'.
It is unclear whether the school was allowed to charge for the cafeteria lunches they gave to every preschooler in the class that day.
When you have some jumped up moron trumpeting the success of lunchbox police, along with a blithe ignorance of how special a place the inside of a kids' private space is, our government has surely lost all sense of proportion.

How stratospherically arrogant is it that any state claims to know what is best for each individual child - based on arbitrary and homogenous population-level criteria - over and above parents who are intimately involved with them, and have knowledge that detached computer-designed spreadsheets and algorithms will never have a hope of matching.

Dr Regis is a disgusting fool, as are irresponsibly pompous politicians who believe such appalling intrusion is acceptable.

Cameron swanning around, furrow-browed, interfering in the choices of adults is just the tip of a very rancid state-funded iceberg. They really do believe that the state owns you now. Mind, body, soul, and from cradle to grave.

May God rot them, every one.


31 comments:

JuliaM said...

I'm reminded of those mothers who decided they weren't going to stand for Jamie Oliver dictating their kids couldn't have chips, and passing them through the fence. What, I wonder, will they do to the lunchbox police?

A Salvia Diviner said...

 Even more disturbing given that the government dietary recommendations seemingly enforced here would for me amount to slow acting poisons. Not everyone subscribes to the myth of low fat/high carbs being in any way healthy...

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Don't mention Oliver, I have to count to ten whenever someone does

Singleactsoftyranny said...

ASD I have to agree, since I switched to high protein, low carb, I'm kinda more energetic, less bloated, and generally a bit leaner. 

Needless to say this is my choice and I recommend it to no-one much less seek to enforce it.

a Salvia Diviner said...

Exactly. I've shared flats with veggies and vegans but never once has it crossed my mind they should be forced to eat a metric shitload of bacon for breakfast. There is something seriously wrong with these peoples mindset.

Dick_Puddlecote said...

This is the hideous Dr Regis, in his own words. 
http://sheu.org.uk/content/blog/dr-david-regis-research-manager

non sum dignus said...

Lets get real,if the Nanny State can treat 10 million smokers like
lepers ,Mr & Mrs Nobody dont stand a cat in hell's chance.
Anyway with the vast majority in some sort of self inficted coma,
they deserve every stick of celery and lettuce leaf stuffed down their
gawping cakeholes
Just a mention about the Pink Panther(Cameron)s anti alcohol tantrums
Silly little bolshy clown,my corner (Asian) shop is flogging 3 litres of
White Storm 7.5% VOL Cider for £3.79p
What with the smugglers pumping out 1/2 price baccy and apple death at
£1.26 a litre ,the local sink estate low life can sup and choke to death for less than a fiver a day
Anyway a REAL TORY would put health freaks on the next plane to Pyongyang,unfortunately we are stuck with a coalition of whimps,wallies ,
weirdos,wassocks,wimmin and wearisome weasels.

Last of the Brits 
 

peter levick said...

The blasted man reportedly ' battles with his garden, studies the natural life of Devon and publishes the occasional booklet on chess. Cromwell would have been proud of him.

Patrick Harris said...

Will they be inspecting the luch boxes of Eric Pickles, Prezza and all the other Billy Bunter MPs and Lords and Ladies? thought not.

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Nope. They've pulled the ladder up. 

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Not to mention the haircut, of course. {shiver}

Thomas said...

Yes, the lunchbox is a private place between parent and child. And the government reaching into it is very similar to TSA at US airports reaching into children's clothing, a tactic meant to disgrace, humiliate, terrorize, frighten and ultimately humble the youngest generation coming up into being too afraid to ever ever disagree with authority and to mind exactly what they are told to do, without question. The smoking bans, I might add, helped incite this ultimate outcome toward which things are moving. If anyone, at this point in time, is still banging on about how lovely and wonderful the smoke-bans have done, they will soon be blatantly paying homage to this sort of outrageous state sponsored terrorism on the most innocent of citizens, the pre-toddler youth, unwittingly through ignorance endorsing tyranny of the most immoral and hatefully destructive sort. It is an outrage.

Junican said...

Do we not see the same sort of thing as Publicans being FORCED to implement the Smokng Ban? School staff are being told, on pain of the sack, to check lunch boxes. How come that they acquisce? What are their Unions doing? Every employee of any indoor place has been co-opted as a policeman - a State Enforcer. How did that happen? why did they not get together and refuse?

Peter MacFarlane said...

If my children were still at that age, I would tell them to refuse to show anyone the contents of their piece-box. Refuse physically - fight them off if necessary. Then we can get the bastards for child abuse or - if we're lucky - being paedo pervs.

That would shut them up I reckon.

Murray Rothbard said...

We are their sheep, they farm us for the tax they collect. It is good animal husbandry to keep the costs of looking after your flock to a minimum. Anything that could lead to higher medical costs in the future must be banned. It doesn't matter if some of the sheep like to smoke, or drink or eat sugar just tell them its for their own good. At least we are still free range! 

Frank said...

Because Unions are not what they used to be. They're almost Fabians, now. Can you imagine what the likes of Joe Gormley, Mick Magahey, Vic Feather, Hugh Scanlon, Jack Jones, Ray Gunter, etc. would have made of the smoking ban! Just to whisper it would have been tin helmet time.

I've never been a Union man nor supported their actions and/or politics but in this instance, I bloody miss 'em. (TUC conferences have never been the same, either, what a scream they were. First class entertainment.

harleyrider1989 said...

Actually its great news when you consider now the non-smokers are getting screwed by the same nanny nazis us smokers have been screwed by!

We always said,'' first they came for the smokers etc etc''. My how the nazis can make the non-smokers our allies fighting the same demon,them.

Lets get ready to invite in the millions of new ''FREEDOM FIGHTERS''.

James Pickett said...

"Cameron, furrow-browed"

Are you sure?

nisakiman said...

 Perhaps the "state employee" had a vested interest in the cafĂ©.

Thank the gods that all my kids are adults now. Something like that would have seen me arrested for causing an affray...

andy5759 said...

It is essential that we conform, to be different is to delay implementation of the glorious Agenda 21. How can we attain the sunlit uplands if we insist on individual choice and silly concepts like freedom?

P JH said...

"...West Hoke Elementary School..."

Seems to have been debunked here with the story you linked to on a par with the Daily Fail's more egregious stories.

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Interesting link, PJH, thanks. It clarifies plenty, though still detailing an awful lot of state nosing around in kids' food. Such micro-management seems such an over-reaction to an incredibly hyped 'problem' to me.

It's also interesting that two local Members of Congress, a Dem and a Rep, have complained of 'government overreach' to the US state dept concerned.

http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8772

Thomas said...

Hmm, "debunked" - or "covered up"? Because there are some blogs which have since reported the alleged "debunking" is more to do with damage control and cover-up (CYA). There was also some foul name-calling went on today I read, from the side of those who were defending the school, alleging the 4-year old was "stupid", which name-calling has been a trademark method employed by the left-wing in the US for quite a while now to dismiss anyone who might bring facts to bear against one of their programs or agenda. It is a nice defence piece of the government agencies and agents, so it seems a little biased too, just in the opposite direction.

Ed butt said...

It seems we are under attack on all fronts Dick.

Food, booze, smokes, fun-to-drive cars. Now even healthy food is not good enough for them, it must be healthy but boring.
And then there are people like Trevor Phillips with his "Equality for everyone except the majority" campaign.
http://www.greenteethmm.com/equal-rights-conflict.shtml 

Thomas said...

Today was reported that a 2nd mother has now come forward, from the same school to confirm - yes - her daughter's lunch was also confiscated by government agents one day and her daughter forced to eat what the school told her to eat.

Confirmation from another mother is in the article linked below:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/exclusive-2nd-n-c-mother-says-daughters-school-lunch-replaced-for-not-being-healthy-enough/

I imagine there will be more apologetics from the government type lines of reasoning posted online in rebuttal to try and change the focus from the state having too much power and going too far noising into private property as well as mistreating the youngest of citizens, the children, to some trivial arse-covering claims as to why this never happened, the complainers are stupid, why it was a legitimate government course of action, why it is saving the children, etc. and so on, even calling it a "debunking", which is a name-calling in and of itself.

The fact this story lit up the internet and went viral worldwide in only one day would say to me that enough people are more alarmed about government intrusion into peoples' lives where government doesn't belong to be - than are happy with what all governments are doing, nor to feel receptive to any apologetic arse-covering "debunkers" meant to dissuade criticism using PR attempts by dictatorial officials of the bureaucratic class.

non sum dignus said...

Someone mentioned earlier about BRITS becoming FREEDOM FIGHTERS
I almost threw up my fish** and mushy pea supper on my blind neighbours
Labrador,tear sodden eyes with laughter.
Brits now are frightened stiff when nanny gets a mention.
Valour now is shoving a trolley behind the "partner" in ASDA on a Saturday
afternoon and trouser fidgetting during some late night porm film.

PS
**
I dont eat meat on Fridays

A real Brit

Mark Wadsworth said...

You could buy you child a lunch box with "Lunch box snoopers are c*nts" printed on the underside of the lid? 

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Now that, I like. :)

Hilltia said...

The lunch box police have visited my school this week and decreed...... no processed meat..ie sausages, pork pies....I keep and kill my own pigs organically....no processing ther, but still banned! Must have ... bread or rice or pasta,,, IMHO all wheat derived, refined foods, NO CHOCOLATE IN ANYTHING,,, but may have fruit muffin.... 49.5g of sugar (Tesco) against Penguin bar of 8,7g and half the calories!
Furious that their research is totally inadequate as well as WRONG.
To cap it all, Friday is 'Free food Friday'  which I think encourages binge eating... possibly leading to eating disorders,

Dick_Puddlecote said...

Welcome. You've come to the right place as we like debunking healthist idiocy here. Your summation of how ridiculous these arbitrary rules are is well drawn. It's not just food either, with any luck the public will start to realise soon that they are lied to in any number of areas on a daily basis. 

AlanUK said...

From the US website:
When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste.

"Three chicken nuggets"!  "Three chicken nuggets"!!

Oh the irony of it all!
She's given a pretty reasonable lunch box (for one meal in the day, and, hopefully, not the major one) and she gets to eat 3 lumps of deep fried, highly processed meat slurry and skin.  (Oh yes; and skin, apparently, counts as "meat"). 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/jul/08/bse.foodanddrink

Come back turkey twizzlers...