Ted Mayhall is a beef patty short of a hamburger. He’s one of three Mississippi state legislators responsible for proposing a bill which would make it illegal for Mississippi restaurants to “repeatedly” serve extremely obese people. Is it a ridiculous law to propose? Of course. I would write at more length about this, but there are two reasons I won’t.
1) Stephen Graham already did a great job of highlighting the general issue of freedom with regard to what we eat just the other day on this blog, an article in which he argues that it’s really none of the government’s business in the first place. What I’ll add is my astonishment when I think of how we’re now at a stage of having to fight for freedom from interference in our eating habits. It’s unbelievable. As Stephen pointed out, “The only obesity problem we should concern ourselves with is that our government is much too fat for its own good, and the state’s appetite for more power over individual rights is insatiable.”
2) The law is being proposed in the state of Mississippi. This is a state which peaked in the 1850s and didn’t adopt the thirteenth amendment banning slavery until 1995 (not a typo). It is also the fattest state, in which 30 percent of its inhabitants are obese and a further third are overweight. Honestly, given these facts, I’m not surprised that some lawmakers in Mississippi are willing to run roughshod over the rights of fat folks. Is it wrong? Of course. It’s as wrong as the law in Alabama banning the sale of sex toys. But I just can’t muster up the energy to write at length about yet another crazy law in the Deep South. My suggestion is to move to a state which will better protect your liberty.
Meantime, Chris Ayres writes today that he’s convinced there is a hamburger nostalgia going on in America at the moment. The proof? Starbucks’ profits are down and McDonald’s profits are up. But since when did Americans stop enjoying either coffee or hamburgers? As far as I can tell, both are still American favourites.
In any case, clearly they’re still enjoying whatever they’re eating in Mississippi; best leave them to it.