THIS is what's wrong with this country....

Published on January 6, 2005 By dharmagrl In Current Events

I just saw this and I simply cannot believe it. Link

A man is suing 'Fear Factor' over an episode where contestants had to eat dead rats.

Is the man a contestant, suing because the rat made him ill? No.

He's a viewer. He's suing because he says the episode made him vomit, get light headed and dizzy and adversly affected his blood pressure. He says he was traumatized.

Give me a freakin' break. Please. Hmm....how about, instead of filing suit, he turn the channel? He could even have gone so far as to turn the TV off. He could have walked away, walked out of the room, written a letter to his senator, the TV company, his local newspaper.....

But no. In the grand American tradition, he decided to sue.

I'm totally and utterly disgusted and dismayed by this.

And people say we don't need Tort reform in this country....

Comments (Page 1)

Silver_and_Jade_Tears

on Jan 06, 2005

America has lost all concept of common sense...

M-Post

on Jan 06, 2005

Oooooo... but if this wins I could be rich!!! Then I could sue whatever broadcast company it is that has Limbaugh for getting me angry for his pompous headed ego-centrical comments!! Then I could follow that up by suing whomever has Al Franken on for insulting my intelligence!!

The possibilities are endless!!

Silver_and_Jade_Tears

on Jan 06, 2005

Then I could sue whatever broadcast company it is that has Limbaugh for getting me angry for his pompous headed ego-centrical comments!! Then I could follow that up by suing whomever has Al Franken on for insulting my intelligence!!

Then I could sue you for taking all the humour out of radio!!

M-Post

on Jan 06, 2005

Yep, I have to agree that you could!

This is kinda a case of the Snake eating it's own tail....

I seriously doubt this case will win... or maybe I'm just desperately hoping it won't? In my opinion you could basically restate the case name to something close to this "Joe blow suing that he isn't liable for his own actions and choices"

dharmagrl

on Jan 06, 2005

America has lost all concept of common sense...

You got that right, my sistah!

Then I could sue you for taking all the humour out of radio!!

The I could sue the both of you and claim you traumatized me by filing frivilous and unneccessary lawsuits! We can all tie ourselves in up legal knots that'll last the rest of our lives! Yay! I can't think of anything else I'd rather do!

If this guy is 'traumatized' irreperably by watching other people eat nasty things....then i have to wonder how he's able to function. Things like tsunamis must leave him almost catatonic.....

Cordelia

on Jan 06, 2005

I read the article, and this is my favorite quote:

'In a brief telephone interview with Reuters, Aitken (the plaintiff) said, "I am not at liberty to discuss the complaint unless it is a paid-interview situation." '

I hope that gets admitted as evidence. Thanks Dharma!

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 06, 2005

Then I could sue you for misspelling "frivolous"!

I KNEW I could get a piece of the pie here somewhere!

dharmagrl

on Jan 06, 2005

This is kinda a case of the Snake eating it's own tail....

I have a tattoo of that on my arm....

In my opinion you could basically restate the case name to something close to this "Joe blow suing that he isn't liable for his own actions and choices"

When did we as a people stop accepting responsibility for our own actions? When did we start playing the blame game?

This has to stop. I hope that this gets squashed flat...and I think that there ought to be some kind of penalty for bringing ridiculous suits like this. The loser ought to have to pay court costs....perhaps that would make people think twice before filing.

Silver_and_Jade_Tears

on Jan 06, 2005

I think that there ought to be some kind of penalty for bringing ridiculous suits like this.

The problem is what someone may think ridiculous may not be considered so by someone else...what would be the guidelines for "ridiculous?"

iamheather

on Jan 06, 2005

That is crazy! What was the guy doing watching Fear Factor anyway? He should have known better? Does he want them to put a warning up beforehand. I have 6 year olds and an 8 year old that watch that show sometimes. Yes, it is gross. But they walk out of the room and do something else if it makes them sick. Even my children are smarter than this guy.

I love this part:

His suit added, "NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning (sic) and in most cases against their will."

Wrong message? Cash can and does make people do crazy things. Last I checked, the contestants were volunteers and could quit at any time. How can the message be wrong if it is true? It isn't a message, it is a fact.

dharmagrl

on Jan 06, 2005

His suit added, "NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything

Like file lawsuits claiming mental trauma from watching someone else eat a rat, you mean?

what would be the guidelines for "ridiculous?"

And there's the rub...what one person considers silly, someone else might think is perfectly valid.

I think I might file suit myself....I was watching a shoe about Phillipino food a couple of weeks ago and they featured this stuff call 'baht'...duck eggs, with the ducklings still in them , hard boiled and eaten, beak and feathers and all. It made me feel ill and I was so upset I had to change the channel. D'ya think I have a case?

on Jan 06, 2005

I felt sick after watching 'event horizon'. I think I'll sue! Thanks for the tip on this new suing gold lode!

Btw, don't ever watch event horizon if you love sci fi and hate horror movies.

UBoB

on Jan 06, 2005

What is really wrong with the country is that a show like Fear Factor exists in the first place.

dharmagrl

on Jan 06, 2005

What is really wrong with the country is that a show like Fear Factor exists in the first place

That's a very good point!

island_gurl12

on Jan 06, 2005

crazy stuff!!

America has just got into the habit of suing about for whatever reason. And the worse part is that justice find the cases worth of going through trial etc. I mean isnt justice already snowed under with rape, theft, fraud and other 'serious' cases??? Dont they think such insignificant trials are a waste of money and time? Heh, obviously not, cuz all in all it is the lawyers who get it all!

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