Don’t treat me like a baby

May 30th 2007

When I’m in the US, I always feel like I’m treated like a baby. People have been talking about it since the legendary McDonald’s lawsuit where a woman sued McDonald’s and won 2.9 million because the coffee they served was too hot. So now you see the famous warnings on the cups. But is it really necessary?

While we were in the US a few weeks ago on vacation, I saw this sign on the tram:

Tram Warning

The text reads “Warning: Contact with stationary objects outside the tram can cause serious personal injury. Keep hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Remain seated when the vehicle is in motion”.

Isn’t it obvious? Now don’t get me wrong, we get a little of that here in France. One example I can think of is the sign in the RER with the rabbit saying not to put your fingers where the doors close because you could get them pinched très fort. But that’s actually the only one I can think of, whereas I’m sure I could think up hundreds if I were living in the US.

So are Americans treated more like children? Or is it because of the out of control lawsuits (we don’t have those here)?

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Anonymous on June 1, 2007 6:08

    Are you naive? Those warning signs are posted to give some protection to the restaurants, bus companies, etc. just in case the public does something stupid (like sticking their arm out the window and getting it chopped off by a street sign as they go by). Sure, it’s also warnings to the “babies” out there in public who do the stupid things and then sue anyone they can. If we didn’t act like babies, then we wouldn’t have to be treated like babies, would we?

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