Posted on 11/23/2004 3:47:26 AM PST by johnny7
People who packed the Union Theater on Monday night expecting to hear about the best-selling book "Fast Food Nation" were instead served a diatribe from the author about his thoughts since the presidential election.
"Three weeks ago . . . I went into a real funk," said Eric Schlosser, author of bestsellers "Fast Food Nation" and "Reefer Madness." "I really went into a depression. A really dark place."Schlosser unleashed his thoughts since the election to a crowd of about 1,100 as part of the university's distinguished lecture series. "My depression lasted until 9:30 or 10 the next morning," he said. "I refuse to accept this, . . . what is happening to our country. These social problems are by no means inevitable."
Schlosser graduated from Princeton University and has been a correspondent for Atlantic Monthly since 1996. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. He has written about such topics as food safety, workers rights, the war on drugs, marketing to children and the obesity epidemic. Schlosser spent part of his lecture talking about the war on drugs and the differences between alcohol and marijuana.
"Alcohol is a poison, it's toxic," he said. "Alcohol is a drug and is readily available." Alcohol is linked to violence, he said. "You have this other drug (marijuana) that makes people stupid or . . . that makes people not want to fight. The laws on marijuana have nothing to do with the plant but the kinds of people who smoke it." Rebecca Estelle, a law student at UW-Madison who attended the speech said she would have appreciated more specifics rather than the broad range of topics he offered. He grazed over how social problems are connected, she said. "Yeah, we know that." "I was looking for more of a venue for action," said Kirsten Jordan, a UW-Madison student majoring in geography.
Schlosser also discussed the American prison system, which he is researching for his next book. He said it's a lie that society sends people to prison to get violent predators off the street. "This is our form of low- income housing," he said. Louisa Enz, 29 of Madison, who read "Fast Food Nation" said she found the speech "thought provoking." "He paints a picture of the issues," she said. Others were less impressed.
"I don't think he did a good job of delivering a take-home message," said Matt Landis, a graduate student at UW- Madison. Schlosser talked about ideas of change, but he didn't offer any solutions, Landis said.
Contact Gena Kittner at gkittner@madison.com or 252-6120.
Wonder how much the university paid this old pot-head to talk gibberish? The writer and most of the attendees didn't seem to be impressed with his rant.
They should have starting 'goofing' on the old fool... start chanting L-O-S-E-R... L-O-S-E-R...
Well, what does she expect when the university brings in a stoner? Words of wisdom?
As for the prison system being low income housing, doesn't Jesse HiJackson tell us it costs as much to keep someone in prison as to send them to Harvard?
"Bush won!? Man what a bummer, get some typewriting paper, I'm rolling me a big one!"
Obviously, by his lecture he's consumed lots of this "poisonous toxic" since the election.
Hey buddy... pass me some of that "poisonous toxic". We'll toast to the victor!
So that's what I've got. Now I can go out and treat it. (More of that poisonous toxic coming right up!)
idiot
If pot relaxes you why is Schlosser so tense?
I read this as hopeful .. that the law and grad student, and apparently others, were not impressed.
I'm into cleaning-products man. Only the name brands though. A dude has to have standards... it's the 'values thing'.
Yeah, me too. That the crowd at Madison was not all that impressed must be viewed as good news!
Will somebody buy this stooge a bus ticket to Canada?
Even though it's long, they COULD try something like "Atlas Shrugged" but NOOOOOOOO. That might actually make students think.
This loser could have delivered his speech in less than 10 seconds:
"Hello, I'm depressed. Don't drink booze a gallon at a time. Don't live at McDonald's. I'm a stupid socialist in a deep funk, so I'm leaving now to smoke a big joint. That'll be $10,000, please. Bye."
Maybe he would agree to keep all the various thugs, mugs, pugs, outlaws, rapists, pedophiles and pederasts at his house?
Yeah, they're sent there to be NBA players.
He's a lefty gasbag,married to Robert Redford's daughter.A pompous ass who's daughter was in my daughter's grade until last year when they moved to Northern California where they should stay. A really irritating putz.
Robert the Red Ford has a daughter?
Wonder who the father is?
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