A chicken wing, or a life

I have often said that much of the anger (or envy if you prefer) that America receives from the other nations of the world is due to us being

“Powerful, rich, and free... all at the same time.” – from The West Wing

Well that is mostly true. We are the king of the hill, whether other nations like it or not (and they don’t). But that isn’t the only reason.

Another part of the anger to us as a nation comes from some of the things we do. And occasionally that anger is well deserved. Take this wonderful item as an example.

In Philadelphia, home of the concept of police gang beat-downs, there is an annual chicken wing eating contest. PETA was not invited. In this contest the goal is to shove down as many wings as possible. This year’s winner was John “Super Squibb” Squibb, who ate 203 wings in 20 minutes. But of course there were no professional eaters in this years contest.

Think about that. Thousands came to watch a group of people stuff food down their throats for entertainment, not sustenance. And only in America could someone be employed to do such a feat.

Meanwhile there are millions suffering from famine around the world. Projections state that only 25% of Africans will be sustained by the land by 2025. And world food prices are soaring since 2007. Since the beginning of the year 39,304 people have died from malnutrition worldwide.

Now I understand that we are free. That includes the right to be wasteful and not care about other parts of the world. It’s something we do daily, to varying degrees, as does every nation on Earth. But some things just go beyond indifference.

Professional competitive food eaters? While children die across the world because they can’t drink clean water or have any food to live on? Seriously. It’s one thing to not realize the enormity of need in the world. No one expects us to give to everyone in need – even the U.S. is not that rich or powerful – nor should we be responsible for the world. But there is a line to all that. And competitive food eating contest cross it.

Am I wrong? Is competitive food eating contests perfectly fine? Should America not be singled out for such a waste of nourishment?

I think that on this one subject, under these conditions, international disdain is on the money. But you tell me.