How do you handle it when FOX News is playing on TVs in businesses you frequent?

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'll take "hide the remote for $2000 Alex". 

OmahaBlueDog (9,489 posts)

How do you handle it when FOX News is playing on TVs in businesses you frequent?


Last edited Sat Nov 23, 2013, 11:30 AM - Edit history (2)

This thread is an adjunct to: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024078684

..which was inspired by: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024078587

If you haven't visited those threads, please do that first.

So you walk into a fast food joint, a bar, a hotel, the dry cleaners, the quick lube shop, etc. and there is a TV and it plays FOX news perpetually. How do you handle it? Do you simply ignore it? Do you ask the manager to change the channel? Do you boycott the place?

ETA: Please (without giving away identifiable info) indicate whether you live in a "Red" (conservative). "Purple" (mixed), or "Blue" (Dem) area, and whether you live in a large, medium, or small town.

A few selected and predictable responses:

arely staircase (8,293 posts)
1. I let it ruin my whole day nt

JimboBillyBubbaBob (959 posts)
2. I have had the expereince.

I have quietly asked for the manager or owner and told them that I was taking my dollars elsewhere, that I found their display an expression of their rights and my leaving was an expression of my rights. I have never had an argument back, always the look of "duh!"

OmahaBlueDog (9,489 posts)
4. In some parts of the world (like mine) you'd run out of places to shop quickly

I find threats just get met with digging in. JMHO, YMMV

broiles (542 posts)
5. I ask them to change the channel. Then leave when the don't.

MurrayDelph (1,658 posts)
7. I was once at dinner at a restaurant with a TV directly overhead

that was running the 2004 Republican National Convention.

It was for times such as this that I installed the Universal Remote App on my phone.

ScreamingMeemie (62,595 posts)
9. I ask them to change the channel.

If they don't change the channel, I leave.

Faux pas (3,189 posts)
10. I look for or ask for the remote.

Usually they're so shocked, they give it to me.

BS, I work at a bar on occasion, and we NEVER give the remotes to customers.

Ranchemp. (983 posts)
12. If the business does a good job, say a auto repair or such,

I could care less what they're showing on the tube, I'll just ignore it.

  The best response of all.

Bennyboy (9,702 posts)
14. I have reacted in many ways......

At my local watering hole, of which I am a former regular, (not one now) I popped in on a weekday and FOX was on. I knew most people there, all older and very redneckish, including Judy the bartender. I can't remember the story but the comments by the patrons of the bar led back to Ted Kennedy and Chappaquidick.
I asked the louder one if he know the story about Laura Bush running a stop sign, killing someone and not even getting a ticket. Not one person in the bar knew the story. I told them it was true and still they did not believe me. Ii went back n a couple of weeks later and not one of those people even tried to find that story.

Then there is a McDonalds near my former home that always has it on. I HATE TV being on everywhere, almost as much as I hate MUZAK. But FOX news in a teeny dining room? I asked them to turn it, they did not (Buncha geezers there) and then asked them to turn the TV off that I did not feel comfortable having that intrusion in my life....Again they did not.

So I contacted McD corporate and that Franchisee in particular and told them what I thought and they told me those geezzers were their customers and they win every time. So I have not spent one cent at McDonalds since and will never spend once cent there ever. (not that I spent much there anyway)

Then there is the Hotel that is in my town of Nevada City. Being eternally (apparently) single, I eat at the bar most nights when dining out. The Hotel has a steak and lobster deal (14.99) on Tuesday that I like to have. But lately the bar has had FOX news on. And a bunch of right wing older men that are glued to it. I can't ask them to turn in it, and I sure as hell don't want to sit there and watch it while eating, I would get in a fight in one second with the dumbasses at the bar. So after four straight weeks of this, for the last two tuesdays, I haven't even bothered going there. Too bad, that deal was nice and the bar usually had sports on, but the last few times it has been FOX> I am in the process of writing them a letter explaining my feelings about this, but cannot seem to do it without talking about the idiot customers who are the bar's patrons who would watch FOX news in the first place.....

pipi_k (17,940 posts)
17. Usually...

I fall face first on the floor, kicking and screaming in full tantrum mode.

Then I jump up and call the owners/managers some real nasty names before slapping around an old lady or two.



Um, not really...

I just ignore it.

Because I really don't care and it's not my place to tell other people what they should or should not be showing on their own TVs.

Yeah. Radical concept, I know...

SoCalDem (100,964 posts)
19. I ask them to turn the propaganda off..

If they do not, I shop elsewhere.

[JohnnyReb]

I watch it because I don't get it at home......and I hope some DUmbass DUmmie will jump up and try to change the channel....it never happens ....DAMMIT!

[Ralph Wiggum]

haikugal (1,350 posts)
22. Recently...

I walked into an appointment to have my teeth cleaned and found Rush Limbaugh on the radio. I sat down and politely asked for it to be turned off, that I found him objectionable and disturbing…not something I needed for my mental calm. She complied but couldn't leave it alone and we proceeded to have back and forth…not easy with someone picking at your teeth and gums.

It was unpleasant to say the least but not as unpleasant as having to endure Limbaugh.

I'm poor and have no other options for my dental healthcare so changing location is not an option. She was every bit as uninformed as you might expect her to be…ugh.

[JohnnyReb]

I'm poor and have no other options for my dental healthcare so changing location is not an option.....so the dentist is looking a gift desiring  horse in the mouth

[DLR Pyro]

It's so awesome how Foxnews lives rent free in their pea brains.

[txradioguy]

A more accurate title would have been "What have you found is the best way to silence someone's freedom of choice?"

[Bad Dog]

This pipi-k one will have to be watched carefully.  Talk about your counterrevolutionaries.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I honestly don't know why the DUmmies constantly bitch about Fox News.  It isn't going away, despite all their bitching.  Neither is Rush, until he wants to retire.  The ratings are just that great to bring in the almighty advertising dollar.

And to be fair, I rarely watch TV news at home, even Fox News.  Maybe right around election time.

[Delmar]

Response to OmahaBlueDog (Original post)Sat Nov 23, 2013, 11:31 AM
JimboBillyBubbaBob (961 posts)
2. I have had the expereince.

I have quietly asked for the manager or owner and told them that I was taking my dollars elsewhere, that I found their display an expression of their rights and my leaving was an expression of my rights. I have never had an argument back, always the look of "duh!"

The DUmmy says that he's taking his business elsewhere and the owner doesn't give him any argument.  It's probably a look of relief, rather than a look of duh.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The predictable bouncies ensue:

madamesilverspurs (7,399 posts)
26. I have asked, politely, to change the channel.

In most cases, they've been okay with the request. At one restaurant they balked, and all eight of us got up and headed for the door. The hostess, just coming out of the kitchen, asked if there was a problem, and we very politely explained that the propaganda was an appetite killer. She excused herself, walked across the dining room and turned the television off, then escorted us back to our table. No one in the very crowded restaurant objected to having the TV turned off.

Only place where complaining hasn't worked -- our hospital, which seems to think that Fox is good medicine. Rotten way to treat sick people.

[Dori]

I honestly don't know why the DUmmies constantly bitch about Fox News. 

Probably this;

Primetime  Thurs. Nov 21, 2013
FOXN   2,322,000 
CNN       814,000 
MSNBC   867,000

[Delmar]

The predictable bouncies ensue:

madamesilverspurs (7,399 posts)
26. I have asked, politely, to change the channel.

In most cases, they've been okay with the request. At one restaurant they balked, and all eight of us got up and headed for the door. The hostess, just coming out of the kitchen, asked if there was a problem, and we very politely explained that the propaganda was an appetite killer. She excused herself, walked across the dining room and turned the television off, then escorted us back to our table. No one in the very crowded restaurant objected to having the TV turned off.

Only place where complaining hasn't worked -- our hospital, which seems to think that Fox is good medicine. Rotten way to treat sick people

Eight DUmmies in the party.  The hostess was probably kicking herself in the ass for escorting the DUmmies back to the table after the waitress got only a three dollar total tip from the eight combined.  If it ever happened at all.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Fumesucker (34,686 posts)
32. I walked out of the mental health clinic when I couldn't stand Jerry Springer on the TV any more

I was in the waiting room to see a new doctor about getting my bipolar meds adjusted, Jerry Springer was on the TV there and after about twenty minutes I just couldn't stand it any more and walked out.

At the time I couldn't think of a regular daytime TV show less appropriate for that sort of establishment.

As someone who hasn't owned a TV for several years now I find most TV very distracting and offputting in the first place, something like Fox or Jerry Springer is like listening to amplified fingernail on chalkboard screeching turned up to eleven.

No way, a DUmmy being treated for mental health issues?  I guess Michael Savage is right...

[Freeper]

I asked the louder one if he know the story about Laura Bush running a stop sign, killing someone and not even getting a ticket. Not one person in the bar knew the story. I told them it was true and still they did not believe me.

How is this exactly like what the swimmer did? Laura didn't get liquored up, drive her car off a bridge and leave someone to die. She had a freaking accident and sadly some guy died. This moral equivalency game the DUmmies play is ridiculous.

[GOBUCKS]

Sat Nov 23, 2013, 11:53 AM
Bennyboy (9,704 posts)
14. I have reacted in many ways......

Then there is the Hotel that is in my town of Nevada City. Being eternally (apparently) single, I eat at the bar most nights when dining out. The Hotel has a steak and lobster deal (14.99) on Tuesday that I like to have.

So the enormous Bennyboy is dining on steak and lobster since pulling the plug on his parents? The same parents who employed him while he was collecting disability benefits from Social Security.

Now that he's disposed of them, the "squeamish carcinoma" that covered his face must have improved.

[dane]

I wonder if the DUmmy went on to explain how (according to an account I read) the boy's dad was in a car following, witnessed the accident, and stated that it was not Laura's fault.

Or, did they discuss how Laura and her friend stayed at the accident site until they were transported to the hospital (Ted, hero to DUmmies didn't)?

I asked the louder one if he know the story about Laura Bush running a stop sign, killing someone and not even getting a ticket. Not one person in the bar knew the story. I told them it was true and still they did not believe me. Ii went back n a couple of weeks later and not one of those people even tried to find that story.

DUmmies have selective memory loss.

[Karin]

Gee, they all look so powerless.  They make a demand to CHANGE THAT CHANNEL THIS INSTANT.  Person in charge just looks at them and says no.  They storm out.  They're not getting their way. 

[Ralph Wiggum]

Gee, they all look so powerless.  They make a demand to CHANGE THAT CHANNEL THIS INSTANT.  Person in charge just looks at them and says no.  They storm out.  They're not getting their way. 

I can't remember who made this GIF, maybe Daveman for you long-timers.  But I still love it!  Describes the DUmp perfectly.

[67 Rover]

How is this exactly like what the swimmer did? Laura didn't get liquored up, drive her car off a bridge and leave someone to die. She had a freaking accident and sadly some guy died. This moral equivalency game the DUmmies play is ridiculous.

More importantly she did not run for office.

[I_B_Perky]

Probably this;

Primetime  Thurs. Nov 21, 2013
FOXN   2,322,000 
CNN       814,000 
MSNBC   867,000

Yep Dori. The real libs, like obumbles, pelosi, et al, just cannot for the life of them accept the reality that they are the minority. When they were out of power... it was their message wasn't getting out. When they got the majority and passed obumblescare, and promptly lost the house, it was due to gerrymandering. Libs like the dummies just do not live in reality. 

[obumazombie]

How is this exactly like what the swimmer did? Laura didn't get liquored up, drive her car off a bridge and leave someone to die. She had a freaking accident and sadly some guy died. This moral equivalency game the DUmmies play is ridiculous.

I had never heard of the story, and since the story (with me) originated from a lib, unsourced, I was about to file it with all such lib stories. But now I will look it up.

[diesel driver]

I had never heard of the story, and since the story (with me) originated from a lib, unsourced, I was about to file it with all such lib stories. But now I will look it up.

From the DUmmie's description of how the patrons reacted to he/she/it when he/she/it returned, so did the patrons.  

FWIW, I don't get my undies in a bunch if the place I'm "frequenting" has the Commie News Network on, either.

I guess I'm one of those "intolerant" conservatives.   

[jukin]

"I like to hide the remote control after I change the channel"
Doug Bulna

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Ranchamp and pipi_k are both pro-2nd Amendment.

Conversely the biggest pro-gun control voices are also the ones demanding dissent be taken off the airwaves.


Go figure.

[vesta111]

From the DUmmie's description of how the patrons reacted to he/she/it when he/she/it returned, so did the patrons.  

FWIW, I don't get my undies in a bunch if the place I'm "frequenting" has the Commie News Network on, either.

I guess I'm one of those "intolerant" conservatives.   

Stopped in this bar restaurant that has a TV in all 4 corners.     All the TV's had some kind of different programs on and the bar customers were having one drink and leaving.

Hubby asked if one TV could be changed to the NASCA race just starting.    The waiter turned off some world shaking political discussion to NASCA and we watch as the few men at the bar all moved their seats to be able to watch the race.

Soon the management turned 2 other TV's to NASCA race but left the one last TV to Fox News.     Too many people wanted to watch the race and the waiter in our section was swamped with customers while 3/4 of the restaurant was empty.

How many years ago was it when OJ and his white Bronko went on an interesting ride ?

Pure gold for the bars   Our local cops were smart and ignored the laws.-----People refusing to leave these places even after closing hours. They, the cops, made sure they stopped in for quite a few bathroom breaks to keep abreast of the news. ----I swear I saw a few Cops drink something that looked like beer but most likely was a Ginger Ale.

A smart manager will try to keep customers spending, drinking and eating as long as possible.  Sometimes managers that have steady clients know their taste in what they wish to view, an occasional client that wanders in is no reason for the once a year patron to complain about not being able to forced to make the old timers that make up the bread and butter of the profits to change one darn thing for the benefit of some stranger.

Remembering the late 50's early 60's when some noodnick broadcasting a big time football game that was tied in over time, stopped the game and put on a old time movie.  Darn the switchboards at the broadcasters blew up with enraged viewers.   [ I thought my Dad would have a heart attack ]