An Ohio family is suing Kings’ Island amusment park because they were struck by lightning in the parking lot. This family was leaving the park one fine summer day in 2001 when a thunderstorm approached. While they were still in the parking lot a lightning bolt struck a car that one of them happened to be touching, destroying the car and causing brain damage and other injuries to the unlucky fellow.
An act of God, you say? Not according to their lawyer. He claims that the amusement park should keep track of the weather and warn patrons when severe weather approaches. Excuse me, but are we expected to have any responsibility for our own actions at all any more? A woman carjacked somebody the other day, sent a cop into the hospital, led other cops on a 33-mile chase, and endangered lots of people, and she blames it on post-partum depression. A guy is arrested for attempting to lure children and blames it on his being molested as a kid. No one is responsible anymore.
I just read a story about a bunch of people who invested in dot-com IPOs and lost a lot of money who now want to sue the companies (or venture capitalists or investment banks) because they lost a lot of money. Doesn’t every stock broker list in its disclaimer that investments are inherently risky?
This is a symptom of the “nanny culture” we live in today: we want someone else to clean up our messes. We didn’t do it. And you owe me money because you have more than I do. What a fat, lazy lot we have become.
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