Shorty drinking a troppy...

October 28, 2009 4:25 PM

In the early 1990s the drink Tropical Fantasy was the subject of African American conspiracy theories alleging that it sapped the fertility of black men.

Snopes debunked the myth, but it survives. Welcome to the ballbuster

posted by A189Nut (17 comments total)

It's health panic day!
posted by clarknova at 4:26 PM on October 28

How's that white supremacist endorsed fruity soft drink working out for you?
posted by Balisong at 4:33 PM on October 28

That's why I only drink Anaconda Malt Liquor.
posted by qvantamon at 4:35 PM on October 28 [2 favorites]

I like how the piece spends most of its time on conspiracy theories of some black Americans while the sidebar hawks products to deter RFID scanning of credit cards. I guess you play to your audience.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:35 PM on October 28 [2 favorites]

After the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, I think white men like Mr. Pipes lost the right to say jack shit about paranoia in the African-American community.
posted by Joe Beese at 4:38 PM on October 28 [6 favorites]

Pipes has problems, but his article is useful. Anita Water and Patricia Turner are better, but not online. But then again, it was the video that I wanted to share.
posted by A189Nut at 4:39 PM on October 28

Just looking at their list of endorsers should persuade anybody to drink St. Ides.
posted by box at 4:40 PM on October 28

Anyone know how much saltpeter is in it and I'll tell you whether or not it's true.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:41 PM on October 28

Anyone know how much saltpeter is in it and I'll tell you whether or not it's true.

I'm more worried about its thermasil content.
posted by clarknova at 4:44 PM on October 28

(lights a smooth, refreshing Uptown cigarette; takes pull from Powermaster malt liquor)
posted by porn in the woods at 4:45 PM on October 28

But then again, it was the video that I wanted to share.

For some reason it was loading way slow for me, so only watched the first 40 seconds, but I thought the guys in the car were assholes. Even the first comment says as much. A well written youtube comment, huh!

And while I don't agree with how Joe Besse got to his conclusion, I do agree with the sentiment. Truth is truth, what horrible things were done in the past don't change the reality of whether or not a soda pop makes a black man's penis go limp. Either there is empirical evidence to support this or there isn't. If there's not, it's a stupid pervasive belief. Don't know the author, so don't know how he's approaching the material, but this kind of reads as LOLblacks to me.

I honestly don't see this thread going well. Already two malt liquor jokes and a reference to what I consider a crime against humanity, all to support a youtube video of asshole in a car.

Not flagging, but only because "other" doesn't seem correct, and there's no "mods pay attention to this potential shitstorm" flag.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:52 PM on October 28 [1 favorite]

What's wrong with malt liquor?
posted by clarknova at 4:56 PM on October 28

Not flagging, but only because "other" doesn't seem correct
How can "other" not seem correct? It's an exhaustive category by definition, and thus includes my feelings about this post. Flagged!
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 4:57 PM on October 28

I could name lots of well-known people from many socio-political and ethno-religious groups who spew nonsense from their soapboxes, but that doesn't mean that "Conspiracy theories may well be most prevalent in [their quadrant of] America." Is this best of the web?
posted by twistofrhyme at 5:28 PM on October 28

what
posted by fixedgear at 5:31 PM on October 28

Whoah that Snopes link is some low-grade faux intellectualism.

(But even though Pipes or whatever is complete jackass, I do not believe that it is remotely possible for a drink to cause sterility in one specific race, nor do I believe it remotely plausible that, in the event it were possible, the secret could be maintained for more than a few years).
posted by molecicco at 5:32 PM on October 28

Pipes starts the article with a quote from neoconservative mediocrity Richard Grenier: "Conspiracy theory is the sophistication of the ignorant." This is an unattributed reworking of August Bebel's better but more specific formulation, "Anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools."

This is particularly of interest because Grenier has replaced the emancipatory political tradition of socialism with the sophistication more appropritate for a partisan of the ruling class. The modified quote is a neat encapsulation of the neoconservative outlook.
posted by stammer at 5:35 PM on October 28 [2 favorites]