So, here is an observation that illustrates the madness that is evident here in Arkansas: the condoms at the grocery store are 1) almost $2 a box more than they were in Texas or New York, and 2) kept behind a locked cabinet (much as cigarettes are in other places, but not here). This seems to me to be the height of folly. No matter how good your abstinence program, teenagers (and lawfully allowed adults) will be having some sex. Why make it do difficult? What self-respecting teen is going to want to go up the pharmacy counter at the grocery store where his/her mother shops and say "Please sir, I'd like to buy some condoms." Not going to happen. Heck, I am a married adult, and I quail at that thought.
The other sign of madness are the liquor laws. As in Texas, the ability for retailers to sell alcohol is controlled on a county basis - Faulkner County, our county, is a so-called dry county. Thus, beer is not available in the grocery store, and there are no liquor stores of any kind (I haven't yet checked to see if I can at least get cooking wine at the store yet...). Restaurants, however, can get around this rule, simply by becoming what is called a supper club. Patrons then become members (for a one-time fee of $5), and can order just about anything their little hearts desire. What a big joke! There are plenty of beer cans to be seen in the not-so-nice neighborhoods. They don't stop you at the county border for an alcohol check. What it means is that local retailers don't get the money for the beverages, but restaurants do, and the locals who drink go to Little Rock to buy their booze. Nobody can seriously think these rule stop anyone from having "unlawful" sex, or "prohibited" booze. And yet, the laws still exist.
1 comment:
My friend who just moved to Georgia says that there's a state law there that one can't build a strip mall without including a nail salon. And we try not to submit to stereotypes about the south.
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