Friday, April 4, 2008

Industrial war on "odour" and germs

Febreze is everywhere on TV leading the charge against the nasty smell of fish, for example, the man cooking the fish while covering his nose, as if a person would cook and eat something that so disgusted him! It is unconscionable for us to have breaths even hinting of such noxious scents as garlic and onions (racism is at the root of that prejudice, I'm sure) and coffee, one gum commercial showing a "friend" and a co-worker telling the offending party in an utterly scornful and repulsed way that he needs a particular piece of chemical gum to "freshen" his offensive breath the second he speaks from a foot away. And germs, so scary and ubiquitous! There is the Lysol ad with the colourful swarming representations of germs all over the phone before the kid picks it up. We need antiseptic wipes just to take the bus or go grocery shopping. Febreze again must be sprayed and even huffed in the air by the crazily Febreze-dedicated mom. Odours stay locked in soft surfaces, duh, so we hafta spray Febreze all over our furniture, carpets and curtains to magically "remove" those noxious stenches because, of course, the petrochemical industry cares about our environment. We must trust them when they tell us that germs and odours are to be feared and that we need their products. We hafta have disposal toilet brushes and dusters with Febreze, too. Febreze is taking over! And that is normal while worrying about environmental pollution and cancer is only for tree-hugging fruitcakes.

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