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So by now you may have heard about the woman in California that is suing McDonald’s for “getting into the heads of her children”. She says that McDonald’s knowingly makes it hard for her to say “no” to her kids by including a toy in their, what I read one person call “Shut Up in a Box”, Happy Meals.
The Right is up in arms. This is the Left and Liberalism run amok! And you know what? I have to agree. Let me state here that I am a card-carrying member of the left side of the aisle. I believe in social progressiveness. I believe that big government can work. I believe in welfare and Medicaid. I believe it is the government’s job to help make us a better society. I believe the very rich should pay higher taxes. I believe in spreading the wealth. I used to like John McCain before he went crazy. I think Michelle Bachmann is an entertaining, dangerous nutjob. I believe Sarah Palin is just plain dangerous.
But this woman, this Monet Parham is giving me agita. It is people like her that give the rest of us on the left a bad name.
I am not very political. I generally keep my politics to myself. I’m with Jon Stewart, who believes that the extreme 15% at each end of the political spectrum has taken over the system, while the “middle of the road” 70-80% of us are busy with our every day lives.
Monet,
Are you really serious about suing McDonald’s because you’re tired of saying “No” to your kids when they ask for McDonald’s? Seriously? Really? I’ve seen parents like you. The ones that just can’t say no because then their kids will cry. You deserved to have your parent-card revoked. Someone should call DSS and have you’re children taken into foster care. You know what happens to those kids who never hear “no” ? They become brats who walk around with a sense of entitlement and then can’t figure out why the real world doesn’t cater to their every need when they are grown-ups. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. McDonald’s doesn’t advertise themselves as a health food restaurant. They advertise themselves as a fast food restaurant. It’s not meant for daily consumption darlin’. You think they have a moral obligation to produce a healthier product? How about YOUR moral obligation to raise your kids properly? To teach them proper nutrition? To teach them restraint and moderation? To teach them about wants vs. needs? Fast food is not the enemy. Refusal to take on personal responsibility is. McDonald’s isn’t good for you? Guess what, Monet? WE ALL KNOW THAT!!!
This is one of the few time that I find myself in agreement with the likes of Michael Graham and Jay Severin, and that really ticks me off. The truth is the food at McDonald’s sucks…but it tastes so good! It’s salty, it’s fatty, it’s all the things that aren’t good for you in large quantities. That’s why in our family we tend NOT to eat it more than once, maybe twice a month. That doesn’t stop the kids from asking for it every time we drive by a McDonald’s. That’s their job. They’re kids.
An amazing thing happens though 95% of the time we drive by one. I say no and we move on. This may seem magical and mystical to you Monet, but you might want to establish who the boss is in your house. The problem today is not the soulless corporations; it’s the parents who are unwilling to be the hard-ass at home. It’s the parents unwilling to say “No’ or the ones who deliver empty threats – the ones that say, “if you do that again there’s going to be a consequence,” and then when the child does it again, the parent simply shrugs his/her shoulders and says, “what can I do?”
What can you do, Monet? Stop whining and be the parent!
Run Luau Run 
Excellent post. Totally agree with you. People in America need to take responsibility for their actions, starting with parents. My wife teaches kindergarten at a “failing” school, where the poverty rate of the school is around 80%. She works her a$$ off each and every day and gets little to no support from the parents. She has a lot of educating to do, not only with the kids, but the parents too. She is telling the parents how to parent. “No, it’s not OK for Billy/Jenny to stay up until 11pm watching R rated movies or playing xbox, ps3, etc. You need to read books to them and put them to bed. They need their sleep to function in school!”
Before the school year started she made a home visit to each of her 24 students and gave them each crayons, scissors, and pencils in a nice little box. She had a student tell her last week that he couldn’t work on something at home b/c he didn’t have his scissors anymore. His mom threw them away b/c he was cutting things he shouldn’t be cutting. She was not happy about him losing his scissors, but refused to give him a new pair. The child felt that he deserved a new pair, wasn’t his fault they were thrown away. Why don’t parents sit down with their kids and show them how to use the scissors, crayons, etc. Wait, I know….it takes work!!! Just like a lot of things in life, they take work. Why do people continue to bring kids into this world if they are not going to take care of them? .
Sorry for the long post, but felt I had to vent.
Thanks Luau!
My sentiments exactly.
It’s McDonald’s fault cause Monet doesn’t want to parent or does she just want to be paid off to go away quietly.
The lawyer who took this woman’s case needs to be disbarred. I hope McDonald’s tells her to stick a Happy Meal toy where the sun doesn’t shine.
Amen.
That is all – you summed up my thoughts on this PERFECTLY. It’s a parent’s JOB to be the boss in their house. This lady needs to shut up and do her JOB.
oh no you didn’t (hear the sarcasm)?we live in a litigious society, not a society where personal responsibility is held to a high standard anymore. shame on Monet, and her parents and friends who didn’t have the decency to stop her from doing this stupid stupid law suit.
I guess I’ll be the lone dissenter here, which is especially odd since I’m a registered libertarian, but I do think that the marketing and exploitation by Big Food and Big Agriculture is running amok and needs to be reigned in. I’m not sure that the lawsuit isn’t frivolous, but on the other hand, the only way to speak to these companies is by threatening their balance sheets.
No one complains when we put in regulations prohibiting Big Tobacco or Big Booze from marketing to children. So what is the difference with McDonald’s and all the other junk food companies that use Toy Story tie-ins, etc.? All of sudden that becomes a personal responsibility issue? Is it because we accept that alcohol and tobacco are addictive? Well do people realize how many millions if not billions of dollars are spent every year for either marketing junk food or for research & development into formulating the junk food so that it short-circuits your satiety mechanisms? The food is specifically designed by scientists (not chefs) to make you eat more than your body needs or wants and then crave it when you’re not eating it. How is that any different than nicotine addiction? In my life, I have quit smoking, quit drinking and lost about 50 lbs. I can tell you that losing weight was harder than both the others. But supposedly this is just because I’m weak minded and don’t have the willpower to say no? I think it’s hilarious that people will demonize Big Tobacco and Big Booze and yet give a free pass to Coke, McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, etc.
Sorry, but anytime the obesity problem gets discussed in the running community, the runners get all high and mighty about the fact they run and if you’re fat then it’s your own fault for not running. Now I agree that in the end, it does come down to individual effort – no one can force anyone else to be healthy. On the other hand though, the obesity problem is not going to be solved by just stating that it’s a personal choice and you just have to get off the couch. That’s just a cop out. If it all comes down to personal choice, then why is obesity so strongly correlated with poverty and eduactional levels? For that matter, why is obesity on such a rise? Are people now just somehow more weak-willed than they were 30 years ago? What are you going to do about people whose kids only eat McDonalds because they only have 1 parent and she’s working double shifts just to pay rent? What are you going to do about people who haven’t eaten a fresh piece of fruit or vegetable in years because there are no grocery stores in their area? Oh I forgot, poor people just have no willpower or moral standing. It couldn’t be because of time, access, money or education levels. The reality is, even if people wanted to make a change in their lives, they have many more roadblocks set up against them compared to the average upper middle class runner who lives in the suburbs and can afford to shop at Whole Paycheck every Sunday (and yes, that’s me). Suing the fast food companies won’t make our problems magically disappear, but at least it’s a step in removing some of those road blocks.
As always, an excellent and well thought out response! I find it difficult to argue with you. I would agree that some kind of regulation would be helpful, but I think that in this particular case, from what I have read and heard, this woman is suing because she doesn’t want to have to say “no” to her kids and that she wants the toys removed from the happy meals. I am totally with you on the fact that certain neighborhoods lack easy access to fresh, healthful foods that we take for granted, and in those specific cases, my belief is that the government should step in, however, I don’t think the government needs to be doing the parenting for this woman just because she doesn’t want to say “no” anymore.
I always appreciate your responses, MK. They are always educational and thought provoking!
Also, it seems that this lawsuit is directed at removing the toys so the temptation is removed for kids. Even if they removed the toys, that would do nothing to improve the healthfulness of McDonald’s food or improve the situation of a single parent who is working double-shifts just to make the rent.
I hear you. I realize I was extrapolating quite a bit from your original topic and digressed into a whole different problem (obesity). But it still amazes me that we give Big Food such a free pass to do whatever they want to in this country (not just McDonald’s, but also Coke, the cereal companies, the Corn Refiners Association, Archer Daniels Midland, etc). How about the power of Coke and Pepsi in our school systems? There’s a good book on Coke out recently called “The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World’s Favorite Soft Drink.” You should read it to get an idea of how desperately Coke fought to keep their diabetes inducing drinks in our schools. It’s repugnant.
As a parent of 4 year olds, it’s tiresome to have to constantly battle against companies trying to exploit my children. So I have no problem with them cutting out the toys. I really don’t. I have a feeling Ronald will end up doing just fine for himself. I mean he’s got millions and millions of dollars at his disposal – he’ll figure out how to get us. If we don’t start drawing lines in the sand now, we might as well just give up. And just for the record, my kids have never had McDonald’s in their lives.