Passing the Buck - [website] Published: 27th of Jun 2011 by: (c) Staff Training Reporter
It’s amazing how some people will try anything to shift the blame onto someone else, no matter what the incident.
You see it at home with the kids, at work with staff and in court with criminals.
One of the most interesting examples is the one concerning violent videogames, where the assumption is that the game itself leads the perpetrator to the act of violence instead of some deep-rooted problem in his psyche.
The answer to this debate is quite a simple one, I feel, and it seems obvious to me that no matter how much killing, maiming and blowing up of stuff one does in a videogame no rational-minded person would go on to act it out.
But being rational isn’t something we’ve always been good at – it’s kind of like how young girls are seen as provoking paedophiles by wearing ‘inappropriate’ clothes. It’s ridiculous to start blaming children for the horrible things some go through simply because of what they were wearing, or for that matter for any reason at all.
Level headed people are capable of acting appropriately no matter what video games they play or what young girls may wear, and there’s a line that they simply do not cross.
These individuals (the majority of us) know that they are accountable for their actions and are aware of the consequences thereof, which is what it really boils down to – accountability.
Embracing accountability means accepting that we are answerable for all that we do (no more and no less) and that the buck stops with us. In this way, with everybody being responsible for their own actions, everyone would act accordingly and would be aware of the consequences should they transgress.
This trend of blaming the victim (videogames, ‘inappropriately’ dressed girls etc.) seems to be a last ditch attempt by the public and the media to retain control of these unspeakable crimes and at least do something to try to prevent them.
Unfortunately this just isn’t the way to go. All it really does is lend credence to the idea that there is some level of normalcy in being a pervert if the dress code permits it, or that a bloody shootout is okay if you’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto for a couple of hours.
We should be promoting accountability, at home, work and in the legal system – not finding excuses for the way people act and thereby granting them sympathy.
