November 13, 2007

Mixed Messages

"At some point in all our lives, someone you love or know will be affected by diabetes."

.'all our lives, someone you know or love': pronoun agreement would seem to require 'we'.

.'someone you love or know': are the two, as this seems to imply, really mutually exclusive? The philosophical implications are staggering.

The poster for which this phrase is a cutline advertises a fundraising--wait for it--bake sale. Cakes, pies, cookies, doughnuts, cupcakes, brownies, the whole nine yards. Nice compacting of effects: help create the condition at the same time as you're raising funds for its cure. Me? I want to start a new career handling the bar concessions for Islamic fundraisers.

3 comments:

GC SMITH said...

I volunteered for a food charity where we would pick up surplus food from supermarkets and restaurants and deliver it to the needy. Much of what we got was baked sweets (pies, cakes, cookies, etc.) It took a while but I finally figured out that what we weer doing was exacerbating diabetes cases.

Martin Heavisides said...

It's always sweet things, candy, chocolate, pastry, that are left out for people in a hurry to grab on festive occasions too.

Nonnie Augustine said...

Great! And, Oh No! Mr. Billllllll.......