There is to a degree, victums, but they are the victums of thoses who should know better. Like if I were to let my children play with cobras, they get bit, I, not they, should know better. Children above a certain age, should have a measure of common scence(sp). But they don't use it. Adults, though, should have the common sence and should have the understanding to know better. But these days, people don't care. If they get hurt, just sue someone else, make them responcible.

"It wasn't my fault" is the easiest approach, the more as it seems to work on many occasions. Responsibility is a burden fewer and fewer people are willing to carry
US seems to be a leader in this field, but I believe that it's pretty much a worldwide tendency (well, at least in the Western world). It's more human nature than tational trait.

An idea came to my head and is now desperately searching for brain

I hate it when people don't take responsibility for their actions anymore. I'm probably one of the few people left in the U.S. that actually takes responsibility for what I do and don't do. If something's my fault, I'll admit that I've made a mistake. It wouldn't be the first time. It's all about integrity. A lot of people here in the U.S. don't have it. People would rather blame the media or blame their neighbor for bad stuff that happens to them. You know what? S**t happens, get over it. Take responsibility, if you can understand that word.

"Violence is the supreme authority from which all other authority is derived."

Aye, 'tis like that story of the two boys who killed a baby. They weren't punished of course, indeed they were protected with the taxpayers' money (there home town would have killed them if they ever saw them again, as would I), oh no. And why? Because they watched a violent film. Of course- silly me! Never mind that were two years younger than I am, I had seen far more violent movies, like Battle Royale (Brilliant movie- best sting I've ever seen), and yet, against all odds, HAVEN'T gone on a killing spree. Amazing.

DUCK!

I agree that there are far too many cry babies in society today. Like the guy who, after two years on the Atkins diet develops sky high cholesterol and clogged arteries, so he sues the Atkins people.

BUT, it is not fair to single out the whiners who sue. How about the guys who deny the truth and drag things out because they have the money to do it?

All those people who developed lung cancer from smoking tobacco also had the tobacco companies telling them every day that there was no medical proof, that nicotine was NOT habit forming, that there was no medical connection with heart disease, etc., etc.

OK The smokers should have known better, you can say, so I guess that means that the smokers should have realized that the tobacco companies were liars?

That, as a business, they have no responsibility to tell the truth and have immunity from lying to the public so that they can keep making their profits?

I think that as well as making it tougher for professional victims who refuse to take responsibility for themselves, we need to make it much more tough on businesses who deliberately witthold the truth to protect their sales and profits.

"lung cancer from smoking tobacco"

tell me it isn't so!

..sweetness, sweetness, I was only joking when I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed..

I just think it's a shame that this inevitably has a knock on effect on everybody. Companies, councils, schools etc get scared of being sued over any minor mishap so they put warnings on everything, waste money putting employees through training sessions in using an office chair and place restrictions on any activity that could be dangerous. I seriously worry that one day I won't be able to play rugby or go mountain biking legally without full body armour and a lawyer in tow

@Corsair, Maybe it's just me but it seems you bring up the Jamie Bulger killers quite often. Any particular reason?

LOL.....Rec said:

---

. I seriously worry that one day I won't be able to play rugby or go mountain biking legally without full body armour and a lawyer in tow

---

As long as we focus on the extremes, this nightmare may become true.

There really ought to be a happy medium between absolute responsibility for one's own actions and truthful disclosure of latent risks with which reasonable people may make an informed choice.

<edit>
corrected spelling

Edited by - Indy11 on 6/7/2004 1:36:05 PM

I've always been against the "we were only following orders" sort of mentality. Think of all of the atrocities have been committed over the years by people " just following orders" *shakes head*. That's no excuse in my book.

Just a note: be careful with this thread people; you know what I mean .

I personally believe this culture has been fostered by the extreme amount of lawsuits filed in the US. The cardinal rule in a lawsuit case is to never admit blame. So the sooner high school kids are taught to shoot lawyers instead of each other, the happier we are all going to be.

Very much along the lines of a multitude of lawyer jokes over here but....

I am convinced that the US's most effective strategic weapon would be the exportation of lawyers throughout the world. That would bring everyone else to their knees and maybe bring us some peace.

And lighten the amount they take from the wallet.

Hmm, didn't Ted Allbeury write a book called "The Only Good Lawyer"?

The "I was following orders" line can be valid sometimes. In some military forces, disobeying orders can result in your death, so the soldier really has no choice. Then he gets punished for doing it, while the superior officer gets away with giving the order. That makes me angry. But anyway, I can't believe how stupid people can be. How can they not tell smoking is bad for them?Even when tobacco companies said it was fine, and that it didn't cause any medical problems, couldn't these people notice the negative effects? Lower fitness level, bad breath, that annoying cough, or did they think that was all adding sex appeal?

I am just a worthless liar,
I am just an imbecile,
I will only complicate you,
Trust in me and fall as well.