Monday, August 6, 2007

Don't poison me Elmo

Pity poor Mattel. They are going to lose $30 million dollars this year because they are too cheap to make their toys in the USA. Yep, that's right. They are too cheap to make their toys in the USA so they contracted some companies in China to make their toys for them. But it turns out those rascals in China used too much lead paint on the toys and now the nosy Parker Feds in DC are making Mattel take those toys off the market, hence losing them $30 million dollars. Everybody together now and let's tell the pricks at Mattel how we feel, "Awwwwwwww." The thing about this is if those toys had not been tested they'd still be on the market. Mattel did not test them for lead paint content, the Feds did. Mattel, no matter what they claim now that they have been caught, could care less about the lead content in the paints used in China. Why do you think they got the toys made in China in the first place? They got the Chinese companies to make their toys for them because they wanted to make more profits and to escape the labor laws and environmental laws of the USA. They wanted more profits for themselves and their shareholders even if that meant using Chinese companies who get the job done for the least amount of money and with the least amount of environmental oversight.

The top brass at Mattel are trying to place blame for this shit storm on the Chinese. One of them said, "Our safety record is exemplary. All of us at Fisher Price are devastated." Fisher Price is a subsidiary of Mattel. He might as well say, "It wasn't our fault, it's the damn Chinese fault! We didn't do nothin' wrong. Honest!" Bull shit. Their safety record is exemplary because they shut down most of the plants that used to make their toys here in the USA and they then contracted the making of their toys out to the Chinese. It's not hard to have a great safety record when you don't make a fucking thing.

Honestly, you can't blame the Chinese for making these toys so cheaply, that's what Mattel and Fisher Price paid them to do. So the blame for toys coated in lead based paints lays with Mattel and especially with their management team. Give them a ring sometime and ask to speak to their CEO and tell his or her ass that they are a bunch of greedy pigs who only care about how much moneythey can squeeze out of us and that they could care less about kids and families, send them an email with those sentiments as well.

If I had small children or very young grandchildren I'd be off the hook mad at these greedy bastards. I'd package up all the Mattel and Fisher Price toys and I'd send them to the CEO and I'd demand a refund and a written apology. But I know what I'd get back for my trouble, not a damn thing because they dont care. Oh sorry, they only care when they get caught and then they act like they care so very much. As long as we let the multi national corporations run roughshod over us and we do not reign them in, then we can expect more of this type of crap. And we can expect their handmaidens in crime in Washington DC to stand by them and to shield them from lawsuits. Corporations will never do the right thing, they will always put profits before people and we will always get screwed over until we demand that the corporations stop being given the same rights as flesh and blood citizens. A corporation is not a person and they do not deserve the same rights as we do. When we reign in the corporations and the runaway greed that they instill in all of us then we will see a huge drop in terrorism and we will begin to heal the divisions in our society.



Until we force some sane regulation on the mutlinational corporations let's hit them where it hurts and stop buying their cheap ass shit and if they don't get in line after that, then let's take a tip from Mojo Nixon:

10 comments:

J.D. said...

They're destroying the essence of childhood, so why not kill the children themselves?

Batocchio said...

I'm with you about the corporate rights. I thought, though, that Mattel actually did have a better record on safety than many other companies. I'll be doing some more research...

Meanwhile, many of the powers that be would love to eliminate federal regulatory agencies altogether! Yup, we all know those drug companies can be counted on to never market something unsafe on their own! If it's as bad as it is now, can you imagine what it would be like without the FDA?

Distributorcap said...

china
poisoned pet food
poisoned toys

2008 olympics?????
winning gold medals???

sense a pattern

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

JD-You have a point.

Bat-No coproration has a good record on safety, they are all unsafe if you ask me.

Distrib-Actually this is more about the greedy corp than the Chinese winning gold.

Fran said...

Once again, the great American tradition of shame and blame takes center stage!

It's not my fault! No way! Mom- Monkey did it, not me! Really.

This, to me anyway, is the intersection of a couple of things... corporate greed (make it cheaper, sell it higher) that takes jobs away, increases profits and creates dwindling middle class and growing poverty and a total lack of any personal, professional or social responsibility.

Hey- wait- THAT'S THE AMERICAN WAY!

Suddenly the phrase "get the lead out" has a whole new meaning.

SamuraiFrog said...

Mattel broke my sister's face. When I was a little kid, they made some kind of toy that kids sat on and it had wheels and they pushed themselves around. It was top-heavy, though, and kids kept flipping over. One of them was my sister, who fell over into a ditch and landed on her face and had to go to the emergency room (and even had some reconstructive cosmetic surgery). You can bet there was a lawsuit and a recall. Fuckers.

Pam said...

This is EXACTLY why I am not a libertarian. The government, when it works correctly and is not corrupt, is very necessary.

We have the Dora stuff that has been recalled. It is older (bought used) so supposedly it's safe. I would box it all up and send it to the CEO except my three-year-old would cry for a month. She plays with that crap every single day!

I am blindly trusting that it is safe. I may buy a home testing kit to be sure though....

Anonymous said...

my SNL Bag of Glass is still my favorite toy. and it's lasted in our family for generations.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Fran-It's time we got a new "American way"!

Samurai-Yikes! I hate them even more now!

Pam-I agree, government should be there to safeguard, protect, and serve us.

Commander-Oh the happy times I had with my Bag O' Glass.

Mark said...

That's my telephone! I used to play with that toy back in the day. Now my daughter has it.