Well, crap. I had a passion that left me feeling good; hating those infomercial salesmen. First it was Billy Mays, who has made we sit bolt upright in bed in a hotel room on more than one occasion after falling asleep with the TV on. I pride myself in that I have never purchased a single item from Billy Mays or his Chuck Norris like beard, despite him shouting at me about how good OxiClean is. The best quote I have found yet: Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him “a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown”.
But, more recently, I have turned to hating Billy’s douchebaggy replacement, Vince. Vince sells products like the ShamWoW! which after further inspection is not a Warcraft Shaman Powerlevelling service. Vince has a different approach then Billy, prefering more to stare wildly into the camera and not blink you into buying whatever he’s peddling.
Turns out that the not blinking thing has a source. And after reading this article from Skepchick.com I have reluctantly had to shoulder the hate I have for these guys in order to fuel the other hate I have for the Church of Scientology.
Turns out Vince is a castaway from the CoS and is using the money he makes from selling his products into paying to fight the cult.
From the article,
He filed suit against them in 2004 for ruining his movie, his life, his business, and being dickholes. I couldn’t find any information on the outcome of this lawsuit, but according to ESPN, Vince is still fighting the good fight. And he is using every dime he makes from selling ShamWows and SlapChop as well as all the proceeds from Underground Comedy to fight them.
Taking on Scientology is one of the bravest things a former member can do. The Church doesn’t take kindly to dissent. Though they claim that fair game is no longer a Scientologist policy, there are plenty of stories to indicate that fair game is still alive and well, if technically “unofficial”.
Good luck Vince.
