Republican Rep. Devin Nunes has warned about the “Straw Police” in a tweet his sent out over the weekend.
“At restaurant tonight waitress asks if we want straws,” the California representative wrote in the tweet. “Says she has to ask now in fear of ‘THE STRAW POLICE.’ Welcome to Socialism in California!”
The state enacted a new law this year that bars restaurants from giving customers plastic straws unless the patron requests one, according to The Hill.
There has been a trend recently among numerous cities and businesses worldwide to cut back on the use of plastic in an effort to reduce ocean waste that can be harmful to the environment.
Nunes was mocked on social media for the comment, with many emphasizing that the effort to reduce the use of plastic has nothing to do with socialism or questioning that the incident actually even happened as he portrayed.
“Paper straws are very annoying, but having to ask for a plastic straw is not remotely close to ‘socialism,’” Cullen Roche wrote on Twitter.
Another critic, Jennifer Unkle, said in a tweet that “People are saying he made this up, but I'm 99% sure the server was just making a light hearted joke and this humorless plank took it seriously.”
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