Responsibility

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Does it exist? In love, in friendship? society?

What do you consider your personal responsibilities to be?

Does it scare you? Do you thrive on it? Do you ignore it? Do you take it (too) seriously?

― Will, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

new answers.

― Will, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I R thinking my responcibility is to annoy all the grumpy gut's on this board!

― I R annoyance, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Trying to fight my instant reaction that no woman would ever ask this question, but partly holding back as I realise that's kneejerk feminism. I just can't imagine the kind of solipsistic life that could completely dispense with the social bonds and connections between people that involve interdependence and hence responsibility.

So I'd differentiate between: the general idea of responsibility as an attitude (as in being a 'responsible adult')in which respect I think the binary that sets up responsible vs carefree, and ties both in with the process of ageing, should go in the bin and be rethought (it produces a lot of stupid youngsters and pompous oldsters); and

specific responsibilities to others, oneself, and sometimes institutions and organisations, community and the idea of a wider society, which are a careful matter of individual weighing and negotiation, which people handle with varying degrees of grace and clumsiness, and I think are probably equal parts pain and pleasure.

In general, I'd say currently and in line with liberal individualism, people alone bear responsibilities that would be better taken care of by the state, or better yet, by communities collectively. Case in point: old people. What kind of a choice is 'in the second bedroom' vs 'in an underfunded, understaffed and institutional care home'? A crap choice, is what.

My god, sorry for going on. I had no idea I had an opinion on this till I started typing.

― Ellie, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hi Ellie
Sorry if any offence was caused. I'm just interested in people's ideas on duty and conscience, I suppose. I was wondering why a woman would have trouble with this question? Is it because women give birth and they'd always have responsiblity to their children more than men/fathers? Or other reasons I haven't thought?

Also , I take your point, 'I just can't imagine the kind of solipsistic life that could completely dispense with the social bonds and connections between people that involve interdependence and hence responsibility.'

I suppose, having worked a lot with autistic people, I think about what social bonds keep people together and interested in one another, and what happens when those social bonds are not there, as what happens with autists... but maybe that's for another thread.

― Will, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Fritz - totally not offended, really. Sorry if I seemed prickly. No time to respond properly, but as I thought/wrote about yr question the sense of posing it as a kind of bleak rhetorical, as you did, became clearer. Plus yr further points are interesting!

― Ellie, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

...and now I compound the offence by getting yr name wrong. Sorry, Will, I'll now take my confused mumblings elsewhere.

― Ellie, Friday, 2 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

seven years pass...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7816511.stm

funny story, why in the hell are the parents being charged, sometimes the law needs to laugh things off imo

― I have "boned" two lesbians. Anything can happen. (country matters), Friday, 9 January 2009 21:21 (sixteen years ago)

"When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE," said Northumberland County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins.

well duh!

― Abbott of the Trapezoid Monks (Abbott), Friday, 9 January 2009 21:26 (sixteen years ago)

He and his four-year-old brother are now in protective custody.

^^ this beats out charges for significance!

― nabisco, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:30 (sixteen years ago)

wapo had a little more to offer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/06/AR2009010601195.html

The boy's parents were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment. Wilkins said the father, David E. Dodson, 40, was under a court order not to leave the 6-year-old and his 4-year-old brother alone with their mother, Jacqulyn D. Waltman, 26,

and

The sheriff said the boy told him that he had trained on video games such as Grand Theft Auto...

A+ parents there. this kid better keep driving the next time he lifts his dad's keys.

― extremely intoxicated & uncooperative outside a Hסּסּters in Winston-Salem (will), Friday, 9 January 2009 22:01 (sixteen years ago)

All we know is that there is some reason (legally speaking) that the dad wasn't supposed to leave the kids alone with mom. But he didn't! As far as I can tell, they're not guilty of anything but oversleeping. The idea that they might be charged for this, or even lose their kids, is just insane.

Then again, there could be big ol nother shoe waiting overhead.

― Calling All Creeps! (contenderizer), Friday, 9 January 2009 22:06 (sixteen years ago)

well they've certainly instilled in him the importance of school attendance. that's got to count for something at the hearing.

― extremely intoxicated & uncooperative outside a Hסּסּters in Winston-Salem (will), Friday, 9 January 2009 22:11 (sixteen years ago)

might be talking about GTA1 or 2

― Goodnight, Mr. Johnson. (country matters), Friday, 9 January 2009 22:12 (sixteen years ago)

The boy was taken to Rappahannock General Hospital, was released and was back in school for PE that afternoon. He was not identified because he is, well, 6.

lol okay which one of you ghostwrote this

― ^likes black girls (HI DERE), Friday, 9 January 2009 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

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