For those of you not born before 1978 (for example, me), the Hacienda billboard is referencing the Jonestown tragedy in which hundreds of followers of cult leader Jim Jones guzzled poison fruit punch at his behest and died. It was terrible and sick. And it happened in 1978. And it happened because some people are super dumb.
I'm sorry. Did that offend you, South Bendians? Would it offend you to know that I am NOT sorry? If you are dumb enough to follow a crazy person into the jungle, adopt his delusions as your own, and commit suicide for him via poisoned purple drink, you are an idiot. That's all there is to it.
Does that make the billboard funny? Not particularly. Billboards are never funny, except for those one's with messages from God on them. Oh, and that one that reads "Isn't She a Little Young?" that my wife likes so much. But, yeah, I've never seen a billboard that made me smile. Billboard comedy just ain't that great. Is the billboard in poor taste though? Again, I say no. Referencing "poisonous Kool-Aid" when describing blind adherence to a group or kooky philosophy is a part of the cultural lexicon. It's a hackneyed idea that I've probably used a time or two when making a point about religion or love of sports or something. No one ever gets offended, unless they wait until I've walked away to complain. All Hacienda is trying to impart to the public is that their food and drink specials are so amazingly delicious, you may develop a cult-like love for the place. That's all. South Bend resident Patricia Barbera-Brown didn't get it however:
"I thought perhaps I had misread the sign," she recalls. "It brought back quite a few horrible images and memories, and the very notion that a local restaurant would trivialize such a worldwide tragedy to simply increase their sales of cocktails is outrageous to me, and it offended me to the core."
Worldwide tragedy? Offended to the core?? Did you have a family member or friend who died as a result of their belief in a madman's pseudo-religious bullshit? Were you there yourself and just narrowly escaped death as a result of "butter fingers?" If the answer to either of these questions is no, then shut your stupid, joyless mouth.
Perhaps the people of South Bend were turned off by the historical inaccuracy of it all. Everyone knows Kool-Aid wasn't really the poisonous beverage of choice, but rather Flavor-Aid. If that's the case, I get it, but I'm pretty sure that is not the case.
So, do Indiana proper a favor, South Bend: shut up and STOP ALREADY!!!
And while we're on the subject of nauseating ads, here are a series of ads I've seen a lot of on television lately. They kind of make me vomit a little. I give you the Virgin Mobile "stalker" ads:
Ugh. These are sick. This character isn't entertaining, she's mentally ill. What's funny about stalking? Maybe I'm out of touch, but this looks like an SVU situation just waiting to happen.
Hey, sick freaks at Virgin Mobile...
STOP ALREADY!
Does that make the billboard funny? Not particularly. Billboards are never funny, except for those one's with messages from God on them. Oh, and that one that reads "Isn't She a Little Young?" that my wife likes so much. But, yeah, I've never seen a billboard that made me smile. Billboard comedy just ain't that great. Is the billboard in poor taste though? Again, I say no. Referencing "poisonous Kool-Aid" when describing blind adherence to a group or kooky philosophy is a part of the cultural lexicon. It's a hackneyed idea that I've probably used a time or two when making a point about religion or love of sports or something. No one ever gets offended, unless they wait until I've walked away to complain. All Hacienda is trying to impart to the public is that their food and drink specials are so amazingly delicious, you may develop a cult-like love for the place. That's all. South Bend resident Patricia Barbera-Brown didn't get it however:
"I thought perhaps I had misread the sign," she recalls. "It brought back quite a few horrible images and memories, and the very notion that a local restaurant would trivialize such a worldwide tragedy to simply increase their sales of cocktails is outrageous to me, and it offended me to the core."
Worldwide tragedy? Offended to the core?? Did you have a family member or friend who died as a result of their belief in a madman's pseudo-religious bullshit? Were you there yourself and just narrowly escaped death as a result of "butter fingers?" If the answer to either of these questions is no, then shut your stupid, joyless mouth.
Perhaps the people of South Bend were turned off by the historical inaccuracy of it all. Everyone knows Kool-Aid wasn't really the poisonous beverage of choice, but rather Flavor-Aid. If that's the case, I get it, but I'm pretty sure that is not the case.
So, do Indiana proper a favor, South Bend: shut up and STOP ALREADY!!!
And while we're on the subject of nauseating ads, here are a series of ads I've seen a lot of on television lately. They kind of make me vomit a little. I give you the Virgin Mobile "stalker" ads:
Ugh. These are sick. This character isn't entertaining, she's mentally ill. What's funny about stalking? Maybe I'm out of touch, but this looks like an SVU situation just waiting to happen.
Hey, sick freaks at Virgin Mobile...
STOP ALREADY!
