LETTERS: Latest from the fear factory: rainbow fentanyl; looking for The Griddle in old Waco

2022-10-16 15:52:58 By : Mr. Kevin Zhang

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Halloween season is the perfect time to bring to the table that anything you hear on the news that seems like it is designed to stoke fear is likely just for that purpose. I introduce to you “rainbow fentanyl.”

If you watch enough news reports on TV, you have likely heard of “rainbow fentanyl” and their apparent aggressive marketing campaign targeting children with drugs that look like candy. Picture a tiny Hulk reaching into a bowl of candy to get drugs that look like Skittles.

While this is a terrifying thought, that is why it is making its rounds. “Journalists” realize that fear sells ratings, and nothing is more terrifying to a parent than the thought of a threat to their children. Remember this, the key phrase I use, if not the most important phrase in this piece, is to sell ratings. Ratings drive the news. Violent crime and drug threats to children drive ratings.

It should be noted that the most important phrase of these “reports” comes at the end of the rainbow fentanyl story: There have been no instances of this happening. While it is appropriate to be cautious, it is worth noting that the story they’re selling you is just that, a story. The amount of violent crime and rainbow fentanyl in kids’ Halloween bags is far more ubiquitous as a percent of news broadcasts than it is in society.

Lastly, what drug dealer is targeting young children to give away free drugs while taking a hit on profits to get addicted a terrible customer base that likely can’t afford to continue their services? Drug dealers are in it for the money.

So, while you should always be careful and protect your children, don’t look at the world as though everyone is a CIA informant, monitoring your every move. Chances are that most of your neighbors are good people who want children to be safe, too.

Back in the 1950s and part of the 1960s there was a drive-in here in Waco called The Griddle. Does anyone have any idea where it was located, what it looked like, and what replaced it?

I’ve gone through Waco history in bookstores, in the Waco library, in Roger Conger’s book of Waco, in Fred Gildersleeve books — nada. Online all I could find was people reminiscing about still-existing places.

Bishops are partying because the Supreme Court killed abortion rights. Over the years, the Catholic Church has said that the church will help mothers if they keep their babies through their pregnancy and afterward. There is no proof of this and thus the mostly poor women are alone in this process.

What about the quality of life after the baby is born? The Catholic priests’ crusader arm, the right to life organizations, say they are on their own because it’s their fault they got pregnant.

The Catholic Church and the Republican right-to-lifers say God will provide — a cop-out to hide their Republican roots of destroying federal programs that assist the mother’s baby with health care, financial assistance, food stamps and a decent place to live because they feel these programs are welfare and want to get rid of them, putting the babies under duress.

Abortions will continue with the wealthy getting so-called miscarriages while the lower income women will use clothes hangers to abort a baby.

Catholic bishops celebrate a big win, but as they have sowed, so shall they reap.

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