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

[OmahaBlueDog]

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.

[arely staircase]

1. I let it ruin my whole day nt

[JaneyVee]

73. Ha!

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

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]

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

[pipoman]

3. We alternate between cnn and fox

in our dining rooms..that way nobody is happy..

[OmahaBlueDog]

6. Double down and go for MSNBC

That way all the diners can argue amongst themselves.

[giftedgirl77]

8. At times CNN can piss me off as much as FOX

but then again so does MSNBC in the morning.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

64. CNN still angers right-wingers?

They've spent a good part of the last decade ballwashing them.

[broiles]

5. I ask them to change the channel. Then leave when the don't.

[MurrayDelph]

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]

9. I ask them to change the channel.

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

[Faux pas]

10. I look for or ask for the remote.

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

[hunter]

11. I don't frequent any businesses like that.

If there's a television in a business it's probably tuned to a Spanish language football match.

[Ranchemp.]

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.

[Big Blue Marble]

13. What I struggle with is TV's on period.

I do not watch television at home. It seems everywhere now there are televisions.
In doctor's offices, in restaurants, even nice restaurants, in stores.

It really does not matter what channel is on, it is all inane and distracting.
I prefer peace and quiet in these public places.

[Art_from_Ark]

71. Life is imitating art

Who knew that "Max Headroom" would be so prescient?

[Bennyboy]

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.....

[oneshooter]

27. So you are wanting to force these establishments to change to

make you happy? Are you that self centered? Are you willing to make up to them the money they may lose, just to satisfy you?

[Bennyboy]

29. Not at all.....

I do however want them to know how it affects me and might affect other people.

it is like MUZAK. especially the loud kind. I choose not to go to that store after I have spoken with the manager about it. If you are going to boycott a business I think it is best to tell them why. I boycott way more businesses due to bad music (If I hear Rosanna one more time I am going to explode!) than FOX.

I hate that TV is now everywhere. I presonally don't want one at gas station or at a restaurant unless I am in the bar watching a game. And never news, sports or off are the choices when it comes to TV's for me in public spaces.

[madinmaryland]

15. Rarely have I been a business establishment that has had a tv on. In the restuarants that I have

been in with tv's it is typically all sports. There was one bar I was in in Boston that had the New England News Channel on.

When I am at a business establishment I am not there to watch tv.

So I have never had the opportunity to even see fox noise on in a business.

[rudolph the red]

16. I do the same thing that I would do if any other network

was on, I conduct my business and leave. I try not to let the little stuff upset me.

[pipi_k]

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...

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. I walk out and don't come back

if they ask why, I politely tell them I want no part of Fox's biased agenda.

[SoCalDem]

19. I ask them to turn the propaganda off..

If they do not, I shop elsewhere.

[egduj]

20. I conduct my business and leave like a civilized human being.

[Codeine]

36. This.

Why some people always have to make an issue out of nothing is a real mystery to me. The world is full of shit (pop music, reality television, advertising) that I'm not interested in or just don't care about and I can ignore all of those things, so adding Fux News to the list of things I tune out is a fairly minor effort.

[HereSince1628]

21. The only place I run into it is at the V.A., Fuck's Snooze once a year

isn't a problem, especially when plugged into an MP3 player.

[hobbit709]

28. VA here has the TVs on the Local Cable News channel.

[HereSince1628]

30. Interesting...there is no local news channel option for Time-Warner in Milw.

As I understand it, Time-Warner makes a special limited channel package available to the Milw V.A. at low cost.

[haikugal]

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.

on edit…an MP3 player might be an answer in the future if I can scape up the money.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

23. I walk the fuck out.

[OmahaBlueDog]

56. You'd walk out of a fair number of businesses in this part of the world.

[LuvNewcastle]

24. I carry a book with me when I know I'm going to be in a waiting room,

so I'm usually oblivious to what's on the tv. If I'm forced to sit beside the tv, I ask if I can turn it down. I can't stand a fucking blaring, obnoxious tv. If I happen to be alone in the room, I change the channel to something benign, like a game show, and keep it low. Most people will get caught up in a game show, so that's a good compromise. Sports watchers tend to think everyone likes sports and they always want it on ESPN or a game. Not everyone does; in fact a lot of people don't, but sports fans can be rather self-centered.

[Neoma]

40. I bring earplugs everywhere I go too.

[Art_from_Ark]

75. I bring an iPod with me

Fortunately, about the only places that I have been to recently in the US that have a TV going are some airport boarding areas. And my hometown airport doesn't even have TVs in my section of the boarding area, although in another part there was a TV that was set to The Weather Channel (which makes a lot of sense).

[Cairycat]

25. My ophthalmologist is now having Fox on the tvs in his waiting rooms

I have to have an injection every 8 weeks, and so I'm there for 3-4 hours on shot day, plus an hour or more for a follow-up a few days later. I just try to bring something good to read, talk to my husband, or listen to my MP3 player. MSNBC was on for awhile, then it was HGTV, then MSNBC again. But it's been Fox the last few times and I don't like it, but I do like the doc, and when you let somebody stick a needle in your eye every two months, it's good to have someone you like and trust.

That said, I've been known to walk out of a furniture store because they had Fox on.

Purple area, medium size, I guess.

[JHB]

44. Try just asking. Maybe someone else asked to put in on Fox, and since then...

...nobody has simply asked for a different channel, so they left it on.

A quiet "Is it all right if I change the channel?" is worth a shot.

[madamesilverspurs]

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.

[MineralMan]

31. That's a rare thing for me, really.

There are very few places I go that have TV on at all, and the ones that do generally have it on something innocuous. I don't like sitting in waiting rooms, so, except at a doctor's office, I never do.

One exception is my barber, who does have a TV on all the time. It's on either the History Channel or some channel that shows old TV shows all day. I'm not sure what cable channel that is, but the last time I was in there, Leave it to Beaver was on. I watched for a minute or two, and realized that I remembered the episode from its original airing. I'm really old, I guess.

I don't eat in sports bars or places that have TV screens all over the place. I don't enjoy that and usually don't like the food anyhow. There's an old-style Italian Restaurant my wife and I enjoy that has TVs in the corners of the dining room. They run all three Godfather movies non-stop, but the sound is off.

If some place was running Fox News all the time, I'd probably not go back to that place again. I live in a big city. There's tons of competition for my business. I wouldn't bother asking that the channel be changed. I just wouldn't go back.

[Fumesucker]

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.

[Nye Bevan]

59. Playing Jerry Springer in a mental health clinic?

Isn't that like serving vodka at an AA meeting?

[MicaelS]

33. I live in Fort Worth, Texas (it's in my Profile).

Fort Worth is very red, and Fox in on practically everywhere I go. It's either that or some sports channel. Luckily most places have the sound down, and Closed Captioning on. So as long as I don't look at the TV, I don't have to be disturbed. I don't frequent bars of any type, or morning cafes, so I don't have to put up with loud people BSing about politics.

I always have my phone and stereo earbuds with me. My phone has 50Gb of music on an MicroSD card, so if it gets too much, I put on the music and tune out.

[OutNow]

34. Thank goodness I don't have that problem.

Just one more reason my move from Texas to Oregon was a great idea. In Texas FOX News was on the TV at the oil change place, the doctor's office, etc. Here in Eugene I have seen FOX News only one time; at a McDonalds. I asked to change the channel and the manager was immediately apologetic and said she had no idea how the channel was changed to FOX.

[Codeine]

35. I don't fucking care what's on someone else's television.

I'm not gong to change some old-ass right-winger into a progressive by forcing a channel change, and ten minutes of Faux Noise certainly isn't going to turn me into a 'bagger, so why on Earth should I concern myself? Life is full of media I don't care about -- should I boycott my grocery store because they carry tabloids with the Kardashians or the royals plastered across the covers, or should I go on about my day like a normal fucking adult?

[renie408]

38. Ok, let me get this straight...

You won't say anything about FOX News being on the screen when you are out and about because you are a normal fucking adult, but you will attack this thread aggressively?

Cause, you know, one of these things does not match the other.

[Codeine]

39. "Attack this thread aggressively"?

I posted an opinion -- I think wandering around whining about someone else's television is stupid and counterproductive. Posting opinions and replies to the posts of others is the very essence of a discussion board, no?

[renie408]

45. Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion

and your aggressive delivery thereof. I just found it an odd juxtaposition....too mature to waste time commenting about the choice of television station in public places, yet scathing delivery of said opinion complete with expletives and the castigation of people who do say something.

Really...think about it.

[OmahaBlueDog]

54. I chose to take it as a strongly voiced opinion, and not an attack on the thread

However, I applaud every effort to keep conversation among DUers civil.

[cherokeeprogressive]

68. Yyyyyyyup. n/t

[renie408]

37. Small town outside if a big town, REDDEST of RED states....

And I usually bitch loudly about whatever inaccuracies are being spouted, snort, roll my eyes, etc.

As you can see, I take the high road.

[Throd]

41. I don't. I have real problems to worry about.

[gulliver]

42. A couple of ways.

Once I told the management I was insulted by it and would dump them if they didn't change it. They changed it. They know that Fox News is beyond the pale and will cost them customers.

Sometimes I just watch Fox News with the crowd, but laugh out loud at at all the sinister little payload lines. That's fun too. The look on someone's face when the "news" that made them upset is just laughed at is hysterical.

[The Wielding Truth]

53. I always do your first measure. I think I'll try your second for some fun.

[Egalitarian Thug]

43. I give them a chance to change it. If they don't, I take my business away and make

sure to explain exactly why they lost my business and I usually follow that up with a note to the "home office".

[TroglodyteScholar]

46. I become infrequent. n/t

[bhikkhu]

47. I leave. Seriously, I might think about it a minute, but I'm all about voting with my wallet

Life's too short, and there's always other options but to finance hate.

I live in a small city, in a red area of a blue state, so I listen to plenty of ridiculous conversation, but overall noplace I've been in a few years has had fox news on. The last time it was W-mart during the Iraq war, and I left. I haven't shopped there for years since.

At the shop where I work they put on Fox news for a little while once last year, and I changed the channel, pointedly. They didn't change it back and it hasn't been a problem since, but if that were a regular thing I would go work somewhere else.

[OmahaBlueDog]

55. "Life's too short, and there's always other options but to finance hate."

OK - I respect that. However, I posed a question elsewhere, so I'll pose it to you. Local fast food place. Regional brand name, and run by a family franchisee. They play FOX on one of two TVs in the place pretty much all the time. But they also make a point to hire a lot of the local high school kids, and they are generous with donations to the high school football, band, etc. as well as local charities. Nevertheless, their view is it's their restaurant, and they'll put what they want on their TVs. Are they to be considered evil and boycotted, or does one tolerate some annoyance because they do some good?

[bhikkhu]

61. Just myself, I wouldn't eat there

Living in a RW area, I know plenty of people I can have friendly conversations with, as long as politics are avoided. So while I wouldn't make the choice to eat at a place playing fox news, I also wouldn't demonize the business, or the owners of the business, or anyone else who ate there. I know too many people who are generally good, but just a little twisted when it comes to politics (and especially when it comes to the president).

Life's also too short to go around judging and shunning everybody, or to hunt down reasons to when there really are other options.

[Coyotl]

48. I have not seen this in forever. Perhaps because I live in Oregon. But, if

and when it has happened, I just go turn it off or, if I cannot, I ask that it be turned off.

[aikoaiko]

49. Im a liberal. I can tolerate other people's politics.

[senseandsensibility]

50. I have complained about two local businesses with FOX on their TVs,

one in person, and one in an e-mail to their corporate office. The in person complaint yielded a slack-jawed stare from the person at the desk. This was after I politely explained my objection, and why I would not be using their business. There was literally no response. The complaint to the corporate office of the other business seemed to be successful, since I have returned there several times and FOX has never been on since.

[LWolf]

51. Red. I don't watch.

I don't watch crap tv news or talk regardless of what network or talking head is on. Why would I watch it in public? Here are a few examples of what I have done:

At McDonald's: Yes, I've spent time in there, to get out of the cold with a cup of coffee and take advantage of the free wifi. I'm in there for the wifi, not the tv, so I generally don't even notice it. In other years, when my grandson was much smaller, and it was too cold for the park, I'd turn him loose in the play room, sit at the door where I could see him, and read the local paper. Again, whatever was on the screen did not affect me at all.

At the dentist: That's kind of hard to escape, in the chair, mouth open, sharp implements hacking away at my teeth. It's only been on a couple of times, and before the technician got started on the cleaning, I asked her to change the channel, which she did. I spent an hour or so with tightly tensed muscles, trying not to flinch, trying to be "taken away" by some mindless hgtv show. Most recently, I guess all of my twitching and flinching made her feel bad. I got the laughing gas so I'd "relax" while she brutally attacked my mouth, and didn't even notice what was on tv.

At a restaurant/bar? News isn't on. It's always sports. If it's a sport or team that interests me, I may look at it from time to time. Usually, though, I'm too busy talking to the people I'm with, and listening to them, to pay attention to a screen in a noisy room.

Those are the only places I can think of that I've seen tvs on, turned to news or other.

[Incitatus]

52. Watch it with who I am with and discuss what is wrong with their arguments and how full of shit

they are. Hopefully, the owner or right-wingers are within earshot.

[Packerowner740]

57. I can ignore it

[Nye Bevan]

58. I put my foot through the TV and then get arrested by the cop who jumps out of the bushes.

Just kidding. I actually don't ever even look at what channel is playing and I don't give a shit anyhow.

[sakabatou]

60. Put on my headphones and listen to my iPod.

[IrishAyes]

62. I don't do business with those stores but I let them know why.

[Jamaal510]

63. There's not much to do about that except either

do your business and get out, or ignore it. You can't make them change the channel, plus there are probably other customers who actually are into FOX News. I was at my university's fitness center, and they had CNN on. I didn't want to listen to it, so I simply put my headphones on and played my music.

[840high]

65. +1

[Pretzel_Warrior]

66. When I see Foxnews playing, I throw my phone down on the floor and yell: "NOOOO!!! Fuck no!!!"

and then start pacing back and forth saying "You people are being fed evil propaganda! Either leave this business immediately or force these goons to change the channel!!"

Well, that's what I do in my mind. Then I just give a cold glare at the TV monitor and shake my head in disgust.

[Demo_Chris]

67. I question their business sense while I publicly ignore it. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

69. It's called Selective Hearing. I watch TV at home, I go to businesses to do business.

I live in a pretty conservative community but I don't even NOTICE if there's a TV in most places I enter to do business. I'm a "Man on a Mission".

If I'm the car wash waiting for my car to be finished, and the TV is broadcasting something I don't like? I whip out the Galaxy SIII and read some DU. When I'm inside my eyeballs, my ears don't work so well. Problem solved.

[Arcanetrance]

70. I moved to Houston I'll just be open about it like 6 months ago now I guess may be less

Anyway most of the places I end up frequenting that have a TV are usually on either the NFL channel or ESPN. There's only two places I go to where I run into fox news. The first is my girlfriends mechanic her family has been going to him for like 27 years and he treats them fairly and allows them to make payments on big repairs. So I don't complain there. The other is at her parents house when we visit and usually when we come in they turn it off. While I don't like fox I've never seen the point in letting it upset me.

[AnnieBW]

72. It plays in my office all day

Someone with control of the TV looooves his Faux Snooze. I tend to ignore it.

[JaneyVee]

74. I jump up on the tabletops screaming BENGHAZI and then tear down the TV.

[dballance]

76. I take my tablet and ignore whatever is on their TV

This saves me a lot of frustration.

Fortunately, I live in Blue, Portland, OR so it's not usually an issue. Until you get out of the metro area - then it gets red really quickly.

[Nika]

77. I really hate Fox, but I hate the TV being used as a glass tit to pacify and engage people in

businesses. I might mention I have not had a TV at home since 1995. I have no use for it in general, not just at businesses.

[Cha]

78. Not one business I frequent has a tv much less

gopropaganda blaring.

Lucky me!

[OmahaBlueDog]

79. You'll be thrilled to know that this thread was the topic of a conservative website owner's blog

Complete article at: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2013/11/26/far-left-democratic-underground-members-discuss-how-deal-menace-f#ixzz2lr9wIBZU

While normal people are fine with simply ignoring a show they don’t like or just leaving the room, the denizens of Democratic Underground simply cannot stand for that. Instead, thanks to the efforts of a poster named “OmahaBlueDog,” they’ve decided to come up with ways to force their viewpoints on others who either disagree or would rather not talk politics at all.

“How do you handle it when FOX News is playing on TVs in businesses you frequent?” OmahaBlueDog wonders in the subject line before asking what his/her fellow DUers just what they recommend doing when they encounter the world’s second-greatest menace after Bush Family Evil Empire.

“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?”

The ensuing lengthy discussion is pretty entertaining to read. Here are a few highlights but please be advised of the inevitable profanity.

Yes... please be advised of the inevitable profanity.

And thanks to all who participated.

Edited to correct that Mr. Sheffield is not a reporter:

Matthew Sheffield is the creator of NewsBusters and president of Dialog New Media, an internet marketing and design firm. Click here to follow Matthew Sheffield on Twitter.