NotiPR :: That's All Folks! :: Do NOT Become Too POPULAR This Christmas!

12.10.04

Do NOT Become Too POPULAR This Christmas!

By Keith W. Tyras Romanello 2004: 10.22 10.29 11.5 11.12 11.19 11.26 12.3 12.17 12.24 12.31

2005: 1.7 1.14 1.21 1.28 2.4 2.11 2.18 2.25 3.4 3.11 3.18 3.25 4.1 4.8 4.15 4.22 4.29 5.6 5.13 5.20 5.27 6.3 6.10 6.17 6.24 7.1 7.8 7.15 7.22 7.29 8.5 8.12 8.19 8.26 9.2

I don't have to tell you just how bombarded we all are every day with advertisements, subliminal advertisements and suggestive product placement PROMOTING alcohol. Whether you are reading my commentary this week in Puerto Rico, anywhere in the United States or probably anywhere else, we are all VICTIMS of the alcohol industry who appear to be unwilling to stop TARGETING the weakest among us with their various products.

Although I do not and have not ever had an alcoholic beverage, I have absolutely nothing against anyone who drinks responsibly and infrequently -- assuming they are of legal age.

There are all different kinds of drinking and all different types of problems stemming from drinking.

If you drink too much at home and the worst thing that happens is that you fall asleep, that doesn't seem too hard to take.

But as we all know, the effects of alcohol can and many times create so many problems for the people who USE it and those who come in contact with those who USE and/or OVERUSE it.

Nothing wrong with advertising alcohol responsibly, but there is something EVIL about advertising alcohol and TARGETING the weakest among us.

Whether you see a TV commercial, hear a radio commercial, watch a commercial on the big screen at your local Caribbean Cinema or look at advertisements in most newspapers, magazines, etc., you can see the alcohol industry's strategy of bombardment.

With the bombardment of many advertisements from many different industries, the worst thing that can usually happen is that you become irritated or bored or both. With the bombardment of alcohol advertisements, the best thing that can happen is that you become irritated or bored or both -- the WORST thing is that you or someone you love have a much greater chance to become the next VICTIM of the alcohol being advertised to the weakest among us.

I'd be interested in finding out what percentage of those people in Puerto Rico who are arrested for drunk driving, domestic violence or any other crime involving too much alcohol have access to only local television or if they have cable or satellite.

If I were to take an educated guess, I would say that the overwhelming majority watch only local programming -- AND THAT'S WHERE THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTION CAN AND MUST BE FOUND.

When Puerto Rico has such a horrific drunk driving and drunk almost everything else problem, you would think that ALCOHOL advertising would be kept to an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM and NEVER allowed to TARGET the weakest among us.

That's why this week, when I read about the inclusion of drinking alcohol during the "En mi País" / "In My Country" TV special, I had to scratch my head and figure out if there is even ONE influential person on the Island who not only actually gets it but has the guts to stand up and actually do something.

While I am not overly religious by any stretch of the imagination, it's kind of more than offensive to have and advertise a FAMILY ORIENTED program about a holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ and then show people drinking alcohol as part of the celebration.

I'm sure there isn't one really young child in Puerto Rico who feels they need a drink in order to be happy during Christmas and Three Kings. When you are really young all you know is what you see and hear. You know that if you are lucky enough to be part of a loving family, you will get at least one great present at some point during the holiday season. That's the way it's supposed to be when you are really young.

The only problem about being really young is that chances are pretty good that you will grow up and become a teen, then a young adult and then an adult -- and if you watch the "En mi País" FAMILY ORIENTED TV special chances are that you will open up an account one day at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and one day think you will not be able to celebrate the birth of Christ without boozing it up.

The way I look at it, if an adult cannot get through the best time of the year without alcohol, what's the chance they can get along without alcohol the rest of the year?

If you acted quickly this past Tuesday and read the article on ENDi.com regarding the Oficina de Control de Drogas / Office of Drug Control's disapproval of the promoting of alcohol during the "En mi País" FAMILY ORIENTED TV special, you realize what the people working so hard to PROTECT ALL OF US are up against.

The next morning, I was unable to find the article on any website in Puerto Rico. Luckily I had saved the entire text and placed it permanently on this website. The article is entitled "Zambrana lamenta promoción de alcohol en especial BPPR."

Banco Popular's promotion of CULTURE is definitely something POSITIVE -- however it is very NEGATIVE to insert the REALITY of drinking alcohol for no good reason during a program GEARED TOWARD young and old alike.

Culture is great, unless you are a VICTIM of an alcohol-related crime.

I'm still waiting for an extended TV broadcast on all the major networks in Puerto Rico to address the social problems we all face -- rather than a program CONTRIBUTING to those social problems.

The REALITY is that many people do drink at parties during Christmastime. That's part of many different cultures. There are other REALITIES as well that were NOT part of the "En mi País" FAMILY ORIENTED TV special.

There wasn't a section of the program where you saw a man beating the crap out of his wife or girlfriend.

There wasn't a section of the program where you saw kids out in the streets late at night getting into trouble or worse.

There wasn't a section of the program where you saw anyone smoking crack or selling cocaine in one of the many "puntos."

There wasn't a section of the program where you saw anyone Christmas shopping at Plaza Las Américas, being charged an OBSCENE fee at a Banco Popular ATH cash machine just for a simple $50. withdrawal or opening a savings account with money they "earned" participating in two other REALITIES -- drugs and la bolita.

All of those REALITIES were omitted -- NOT because they do not exist, BUT because it has NOTHING to do with a Christmas/Three Kings FAMILY ORIENTED TV special.

Why not have a FAMILY ORIENTED TV special celebrating the birth of Christ with SPECIFIC REFERENCES mentioning how UNIMPORTANT drinking alcohol is -- and how LOVE, PEACE, FAMILY, FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS are ALL THAT ARE NEEDED to enjoy a happy life.

I suppose there are some who believe the ALCOHOL INDUSTRY is a lot more lucrative and powerful than the LOVE, PEACE, FAMILY, FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS INDUSTRY.

There's a simple test you can take to make sure you OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE do NOT become too POPULAR this holiday season:

- NOT POPULAR AT ALL: Don't need booze to celebrate Christ's birth with family, friends and neighbors or at any other time of the year.

- A LITTLE POPULAR: There's nothing wrong with drinking RESPONSIBLY if you are of legal age.

- VERY POPULAR: When the occasional drink can EASILY turn into your own personal, extended -- maybe lifelong -- nightmare.

- "HEY, WHERE THE HELL AM I" POPULAR: You're too s**t-faced to feel the tight handcuffs. Better call Maaco! -- AND a lawyer.

- MOST POPULAR: When the lives of others are as UNIMPORTANT to you as your own.

And finally, the way things are going right now -- there is the off-chance that a federal judge may declare me the temporary or permanent president of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico sometime next week. If this does actually occur -- I am prepared to offer anyone who is a victim of an alcohol-related crime whereas the perpetrator watched any part of the "En mi País" FAMILY ORIENTED TV special a cashier's check for $1,000,000.00 per occurrence.

It will be my way of saying I GET IT and IT won't happen again.

Well, that's all folks! Until next Friday.

Keith

For motivational speeches, conferences, media requests and other things such as eating disorders, you'll have to contact someone else. My only qualifications for writing a weekly column are based solely upon having a lot of free time, unlimited Internet access and very little else.