DGDevin wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

And avoiding the histrionics of those screech about mercury with the
preamble "Thy Doom is Nigh!"

I don't begrudge the nay-sayers; such crusades give their otherwise
meaningless lives a purpose. I just wish they'd dial back the decibel
level and quit pestering normal folk.

When famed American WWII combat photographer W. Eugene Smith began
publishing photos documenting the effect of mercury poisoning on the
people of the Japanese fishing village of Minamata, the company
responsible for the poisoning (by dumping industrial waste) came up
with the solution of sending goons to savagely beat Smith--that being
a cost-effective way of discouraging bad publicity. And of course
there were plenty of folks like you who just didn't want to hear
about it, "normal" people who were busy giving their lives purpose by
buying things from companies that like to keep costs down by pumping
toxic waste into the sea or wherever rather than disposing of it
safely. So thousands of people were blinded, paralyzed, deformed and
killed--it's shame, but what business is that of a happy consumer?

Eventually medical science, politics and the law caught up with the
Chisso corporation, and they had to pay almost $90 million in
compensation to their victims and clean up the mess they had made for
over three decades. But they're still in business, and today one in
six American children born has already been exposed to dangerously
high levels of mercury in the womb thanks to seafood contaminated by
mercury, tuna in particular. But what the hell, you're not going to
have any kids at your age, come to think of it you don't have that
many years left yourself. Life is dangerous, and if one of America's
favorite foods isn't safe for pregnant women to eat, how is that your
problem? Damn eco-crusaders, always bitching about something you'd
rather not think about, why can't they leave "normal" people alone?

Heh!

Did I say ANYTHING about mercury being absolutely safe, or that I wanted it
added to a baby's formula?

My disgust has nothing to do with mercury, tuna, or the Japanese. Read it
again.

My beef is with the "true believers" who pester the rest of us to death and
insist on imposing their lifestyle choices. Soon we'll all be forced to eat
arugula three times a day even though our president as said it is too
expensive.