In Reply to: Re: I'm no Mickey-d fan, but... posted by Perry on June 12, 2004 at 10:10:20:
I understand the appeal of a "little guy beats the big bad corporation story, but who is the real villain in the "Super-Size Me" movie?
Did McDonalds force this guy to foolishly eat nothing but fast-food three times per day, every day? No! He did this of his own free will, with the motive of making a film that would make him lots of money and hurt McDonalds in the process.
What if some guy went to a grocery store and bought all the ingredients needed to make and eat nothing but burgers and fries for every meal? Do you think he would have grounds to sue the grocer because he became fat from eating only high-fat high-cholesterol food? What about personal responsibility?
I think it's ill-advised to automatically cast all corporations as the villain, when in reality, they are often the victim. Take for example the following recent case:
A woman bought a cup of coffee at a McDonalds drive-through. She foolishly removed the lid from the cup, and placed it between her legs as she drove off. Of course, the coffee ended up spilling onto her lap and scalding her.
Instead of reprimanding herself for her own carelessness, she sued McDonalds for having the audacity to sell her a (gasp!) hot cup of coffee! The crazy jury awarded her several million dollars for her pain and suffering.
So much for accepting personal responsibility for our own actions. The attitude nowadays seems to be that wherever possible, blame a corporation and sue them in the hope of hitting the jackpot.
The McDonalds corporation really doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. They've been a very generous company, giving millions to charitable organizations. They built Ronald McDonald houses all over the country, in which family members of critically ill children can stay for free, while the child is hospitalized. McDonalds' founder Ray Krok, was a devout Christian, and his widow gave the bulk of her estate to the Salvation Army. Those millions will be used to build and maintain community centers all over the country.
So you see...the corporation isn't always the villain. Sometimes it's the "little guy" trying to take advantage of the corporation to make a fast buck.