Morality Play

So we have our first nomination.

Category: Political Correctness

Item: People who accuse fast food chains of making them - or the "disadvantaged" others - fat.

Thanks to Evolver for the story.

Whereas the actual lawsuits have already received nominations (and quite possibly, awards)by the Stellas (awards for the dumbest lawsuits), I think it is the mindset of the plaintiffs that deserves special attention.

The idea that someone is "kept down" by the food industry is a great illustration of political correctness gone too far. Poor people now are "exploited" by the unhealthy food industry.

Never mind that food industry is actually more expensive than the healthier options one might choose. Never mind that in other countries, "poor" and "fat" is an oxymoron. Never mind that no one is forced to do anything, and besides, a good complement to even the unhealthiest of diets is exercises.

Exercise, my dear readers, is free. You do not need to pay money or special permits to swim in the ocean or a river in the summer or to jog in the morning. You do not neet to pay a singly penny to do your morning jumping jacks. And nobody is EVER forcing you to order super-size portions of the food you're supposedly being forced to it. If you see it's oily, and that you're gaining fat from it, eat *less*. Seems common sense to me.

But we're turning food into morality play. Soon it'll be considered immoral to give your children apple juice, because it's been linked to chubbiness in children. Never mind other contributing factors - lack of exercise, junk food, other sources of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are carbohydrates. They are neither good nor bad, but your own behavior makes them so.

It seems so easy to pass value judgments on something just because we don't like it. I'll be the first to admit it - I do it very often myself. But the level of absurdity this "victim psychology" is gaining is indeed, very unhealthy. Instead of blaming oneself, we blame the others.

Is it really about morality, however, or is morality just an issue for the middle-class liberals? Methinks the actual litigants were more concerned about getting lots of $$$, and were glad to exploit the "food guilt" the aforementioned parties are prone to. So who's really getting exploited here? The people who are taxing the system or the people who are allowing themselves to be taxed? Greed is the issue here, greed from the other end now.

In another context, I discussed the exploitation of the weakness by the weak. Bullying the "strong". And it's politically correct nowadays for the strong to take the beating, just because they are strong. Cases such as above are the prime example.
I'm not sympathetic.

Seeing through the act,
Irina