The quest to eliminate all personal responsibility for anything continues. A man has sued Charter Communications, a cable TV provider, saying that cable TV is addictive and it has resulted in his wife’s obesity and his kids’ laziness.
I expect this case will be thrown out, as it should be, but the fact that I paused for even half a second to decide if I think it will be thrown out or not shows the bad shape of our society. Just like the person suing because Oreo's made him fat (surprise!), this case just smacks of irresponsibility. It seems that even the slightest notions of personal responsibility are quickly disappearing from our society.
The article does give me some hope though. You see, Timothy Dumouchel, the plaintiff, is seeking either $5,000 or three computers as a reward. Three computers? Legal rewards are supposed to remedy the problem the plaintiff sued about – in this case laziness and obesity. Three computers will in no way fix either of those problems, it may even enhance them. Instead of being addicted to cable TV now, Dumouchel’s wife may now be growing fatter and fatter by dialing into the web a little too often.
The strange three computers request, which would likely cost less than the $5,000, thus more appealing to Charter Communications, makes me think that there might be more to this case than originally thought. Considering his request of 3 computers, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Dumouchel is just trying to score some free stuff off of Charter and thought the lawsuit was the easiest way to go. If that is true, that actually might be a good thing. I’m not sure.
Which is better, someone with absolutely no personal responsibility who allows himself and his family to become “addicted” to cable TV or someone who is conniving and greedy enough to try and pull this stunt?
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