Pages

Monday, August 29, 2022

The Most Bizarre Ageist Law In All Of History

New York now has the dubious honor of having enacted the most bizarre ageist law in all of recorded history.  Passed in November 2021, it went largely unnoticed until a photo from an Albany convenience store about it went viral in recent weeks.  So what is this new and ridiculous law?

Apparently, in New York you need to be 21 or older to buy cans of....whipped cream.  Yes, you read that right.  That is because whipped cream cans contain nitrous oxide (N2O, whippits, or laughing gas) as a propellant, that can give one a brief high when inhaled.  If you honestly felt your IQ just drop ten points or more while reading this....

It is hard to begin to list all the ways this law is both stupid and wrong on so many levels:
  • Of all the abusable inhalants out there (glue, paint, gasoline, aerosols, gases, solvents, "poppers", "rush", etc.) out there, nitrous oxide, especially in the form of whipped cream cans, is probably the least dangerous one of all.
  • Many far more hazardous abusable but legal substances have either no age limit at all, or an age limit of 18 at most. Singling out whipped cream makes zero sense whatsoever.
  • There is not currently any reported trend of teens and young adults using whippets in large numbers, nor was there before the law went into effect either.  It is really not a very popular way for young people to get high.
  • Other sources of nitrous oxide gas can be readily purchased online.
  • Whipped cream is clearly NOT only used as a way to get high.  But it is yet another thing people need to show ID for these days, because reasons
  • And last but not least, setting the age limit at 21, fully three years higher than the age of majority (18), is inherently overreaching, illiberal, arbitrary unjust and ageist discrimination.
In other words, there is absolutely ZERO justification for such an ageist abomination.  But sadly, we are not really all that surprised that they would do this.  First it was alcohol, then tobacco, then cannabis, and then it was only a matter of time before they would find a way to make 21 the new 18 in other ever more illiberal ways as well.  As capitalism devolves to "late capitalism", so too does ageism devolve to "late ageism" as well, with all of its increasing absurdities.

UPDATE:  Apparently, the way the actual law is written, it really only applies to whipped cream chargers, those little steel cartridges containing nitrous oxide for use in fancy whipped cream dispensers, not cans of whipped cream itself.  Those chargers are the ones that are more likely to be used to get high by cracking and discharging the contents into a large balloon and then inhaling from the balloon.  Still a ridiculous law, but they are apparently attempting enforcing it beyond its actual scope by requiring ID to buy whipped cream cans.

For the chargers specifically, we could almost understand setting the age limit at 18 perhaps.  But 21 is way too ridiculous either way.  And any age limit on the whipped cream cans is beyond ridiculous.

(The UK appears to be even more into the moral panic about nitrous oxide lately, exaggerating the dangers, and there has been talk about banning it, but interestingly nothing about a 21 age limit.)

25 comments:

  1. It's ridiculous, but I couldn't help but have a good gut laugh when I heard it. At first, I thought it was a prank, but then I saw it on major news outlets. Imagine being a normal teenager and wanting a can when you bake brownies or something, and the cashier turns you away! Such nanny state nonsense; you really can't make it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I might be done with this country.

      Delete
    2. You can buy a gun before you can buy Reddi Whip, LOL

      Delete
    3. Stranger than fiction indeed. Poe's Law at work here.

      Delete
    4. Hopefully, the courts will strike it down.

      Delete
  2. I guess those under 21 will have to settle for the tubs of it when they go grocery shopping or have it shipped over Amazon or something. I can't believe this state put whipped cream cans on the same restrictive level as alcohol or tobacco.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There's a silver lining to this in that people now may start to see how stupid all of these age restrictions are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very true. And hopefully people will get so sick of it all that liberty will ultimately win out by default.

      Delete
    2. Only if they start voting how they feel about this issue.

      Delete
    3. I'm afraid I don't have your optimism.

      Delete
  4. This is why people should stop voting for the Democratic Party. That political party likes to enact discriminatory laws against young adults who are 18-20 years of age. It's why I'm now a Republican Party supporter. Since New York is a Democratic state, this is where asinine laws against young adults can be expected. A nanny state is what is championed by the Democratic Party as well. The best answer in reducing the number of ageist laws is stop voting for the Democratic Party.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey all, while still fairly ridiculous, the age restriction does not apply to the sale of actual whipped cream cans. It applies to whipped cream chargers (the nitrous oxide whip-its). You can still be any age for Reddi Whip. There was some initial confusion in the language of the bill that made retailers ID customers for Reddi Whip and other whipped cream cans.
    https://twitter.com/SenJoeAddabbo/status/1564309895628918784
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086VL8R9P/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_190?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, saw the update to the original post. Don't mind me!

      Delete
    2. Indeed, it the actual law as written is a *shade* less bad than how it was reported in the news. But the fact that anyone would even THINK it would somehow even be a thing at all to ban Reddi Whip for people under 21 really says something!

      Delete
    3. True, but there are already so many little things you have to be 18 to buy in some states. (cough medicine, air dusters/compressed air, spray paint, even sharpie markers). What is going on with society that feels the need to use anything available to get high?

      Delete
    4. Indeed, there are already several little things like that, but at least those are 18 rather than 21. To answer your second question, 1) a society that treats it's people, and especially young people like mere zoo animals will always provoke an urge to escape mentally from it, however brief or illusory that escape may be, and 2) when less harmful means of altering one's consciousness are censored, banned, or heavily restricted, there will always be some people who turn to the really stupid stuff instead when it is the lowest-hanging fruit they can find at the moment. Google "Rat Park", and see the parallels.

      Delete
    5. I can agree with that because not too long ago, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol were what teenagers were (dangerously) using to get a brief buzz, and the same with Nyquil. Of course, when they misuse these items, the brainless teenager stereotype gets reinforced, the responsible ones using the products for legitimate purposes get punished, and you end up creating laws that make no sense. At 17, I can drive a vehicle at speeds of 80 mph + on I-95 but don't stop at CVS to buy cough medicine? Lol

      Delete
  7. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving

    ReplyDelete
  8. The troll has now been deleted and shut down. He wants to spew his disgusting verbal defecation to get a rise out of us, and we will not let him.

    I already did. Aren't you guys over 21? The only people upset about this are 18-20-year-old kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of you are grown men, both old enough to drink and run for President, arguing about whether the stupid high school senior/college freshman should be able to buy a Bud Lite. Shut up already. The drinking age and smoking age will forever be 21. Cope harder, idiots.

      Delete
    2. You have no right to exist, Randy. You have no right to life. You are a lecherous subhuman and people who hold your beliefs deserve to be evacuated to the east by means of direct operations.

      Delete
    3. I don't give a shit what you think, Anthony. You guys are the only people who believe that requiring someone to be 21 to buy addictive substances is fascism, despite numerous pieces of evidence suggesting why drinking or smoking should not happen in your teens.

      Altering your mind is a sin, and I will not stand idly by watching young people consume that toxic substance with wanton disregard. I love interfering with people's personal decisions because society needs to make healthier choices. It's easier to pass laws against young people, and if we can prevent young adults from forming addictive habits, the next generation will be much better.

      Kiss my ass.

      Delete