McVictimization

This is a culture of victimization. If you can't or are unable to do something, then it's only right for you to believe the world is against you. If you make a stupid mistake, then, well, it's not your fault for doing something stupid, it's the manufacturer's fault for not expressly saying "do not put toaster in bathtub with you." Victims are ready to sue big corporations in order to stuff their own wallets with money because they just didn't know better.\nLong before the Thanksgiving holiday rolled around, long before any of us were thinking about stuffing our faces, numerous news outlets were toting the surreal story of a group of parents suing McDonald's because their children became obese after eating too often at the restaurant. The parents of said overweight teenagers claimed they were unaware of the unhealthiness of McDonald's food and that, if they knew, they would never have allowed their children to eat at McDonald's. One child, who is 5-foot 9-inches, weighs 270 pounds. The second, who is 5'3, weighs 200 pounds.\nNow, as ridiculous as that seems, this is not the first time this year McDonald's has been sued by someone claiming their food made them fat. New York City maintenance worker Caesar Barber claimed that eating a maximum of five meals a week at McDonald's is the reason he suffered two heart attacks and a case of diabetes. Barber weighs 270 pounds.\nBoth of these cases got quite a bit of media attention. There's nothing the public likes to hear about more than big corporations getting their comeuppance. Also, there's nothing like parading out a bunch of big, fat people to make fun of in the limelight.\nYes, I said the word no one is allowed to say anymore: "fat." America is getting increasingly fatter every year. According to a 2000 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a mean of 57 percent of all Americans are overweight. The state with the highest amount of overweight people, Mississippi, has around 61.7 percent of its populace overweight.\nI know there is a difference between "overweight" and "obese." However, is that just a matter of semantics? The real point is that Americans are getting fatter and lazier. Right now, during the holiday season, it is becoming more apparent than ever. This national "fatness" has infected our brains and the way we think about one another. As I was watching the "Dr. Phil Show" last week, the topic of the show was obese women who attempted to pass off their excessive weight as "sexy" or "desirable." One 325 pound woman still maintained she didn't care what others thought of her, just as long as she knew she was beautiful. This reminds me of the old adage a wise man once told me: "When one weighs more than Hulk Hogan did at the peak of his career, one can not and should not be considered 'sexy.'"\nThe United States is packing on too many extra pounds and not doing what it needs to get them off. It takes effort to lose weight, but effort means we can't stuff our faces all the time. It takes work to become healthy. Sadly, it takes a lot less work to file a lawsuit than it does to walk around the block. We all want to be victims. The settlement money will help pay when our unhealthy lifestyle sends us into the hospital. Instead of putting the blame of being overweight on others, the United States should just stand up and say "I'm sorry that I got fat"