Living in another country I constantly find myself drawing comparisons between places I've lived and places I've visited. I am always finding reasons I like countries more than the US or dislike them more. One reason I have realized life in South American countries, and most likely many places in the world, is more simple and seemingly free, is that there isn't a constant fear of being sued.
Yes, Americans are beyond idiotic when it comes to legal issues and try to sue anyone and anything the second something doesn't work in their favor. When companies, restaurants, parks, public properties, and individuals need to constantly worry about some asshole suing them for their own shortcomings or stupidity, it creates a tense atmosphere. Every potential hazard needs to be clearly marked. Every person enjoying themselves doing anything less than overly safe needs to be stopped, because if they get hurt, of course they will sue the shit out of you. Every item sold needs tons of warnings, no matter how obvious. Because in America, there is always somebody trying to put the blame of being a moron onto somebody else, or simply take advantage of a situation.
It really makes for a disgusting environment. Doing a little research about this I found that in 2011 there were over 15 million lawsuits filed in the US. That's one lawsuit for every 12 adults in America*. After some investigating I don't even know how many lawsuits were filed in other countries. Apparently there is little need or interest in these statistics outside of the US(if somebody finds any I would be curious of knowing stats for other countries). I do know the US has the highest amount, but I'm not positive by how much we surpass other nations.
A little more research revealed one of the more embarrassing Americans I've stumbled upon recently. A man named Jonathan Lee Riches, at the age of 35, has filed over 4,000 lawsuits against everyone from George W. Bush, Steve Jobs, Perez Hilton, Britney Spears, Nostradamus, the Roman Empire, Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party, the Lincoln Memorial and ALL survivors of the Holocaust. In one example he filed a restraining order against Grand Theft Auto and it's makers, stating that they "put me in prison." This is the classic American defense. This game showed "sex, drugs and violence, which offends me." So instead of taking responsibility for his own actions he chose to blame something else.
Other countries don't have this problem, or at least not to such a strong degree. If somebody is walking down the street and trips over a half open manhole cover and hurts themselves, they will deal with it and chalk it up to a mishap. In America the city will be sued for millions. If somebody gets sick because of something they eat in McDonalds in Chile, who gives a shit, that's life. Not in America, you gotta make your millions in the easiest way possible. People have no shame.
I believe this is one big reason why life feels more free in other countries. People can get away with so much more because there isn't a constant army of surveillance to keep everybody in line and from having ammunition to sue with. You could argue that it's about keeping the public safe. I'm sure that is partly true. But in Chile, people are taught to take responsibility for their own actions and not rely on other people around you to tell you you're doing something stupid or unsafe. That just seems logical, but clearly there are too many people who don't support logic.
*http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/infographic-america-lawsuit-happy-nation
I agree that Americans exaggerate, and many of the examples you cited were obviously ridiculous. But a poorly protected half open manhole is extremely dangerous and it *is* the city's fault, at least if it is not clearly indicated and somebody falls into it. Same goes for spoiled food in a restaurant. I agree : in Latin America (where I'm from) nobody would care. But that doesn't make it Ok. It's just that the US has gone a bit too far in the other direction.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that was a ridiculously silly example and in no way representative of the average person. It was the most ridiculous one I could find. And certain circumstances absolutely should have warnings, such as a half open manhole cover. My problem is, like you said, the fact that some people in the US have taken it a little too far. People begin abusing their rights which then makes society think it's ok to turn to lawsuits as solutions for problems they should be able to handle on their own. Or simply as a way to make undeserved money.
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