it's not MY responsibility

A few days ago, 5 young lads stole a paddle boat from within an enclosed municipal area in Eastern Johannesburg, and upon taking the boat for a joy ride in the Blauwpan dam, capsized the boat and 2 of them drowned.

You cannot believe the furore that has blown up around this. One radio DJ was heard to comment that although they shouldn’t have stolen the boat, they don’t deserve to be punished by dying.

Indeed, in this case the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. It never does in South Africa (this is another story for another time), and one can only feel enormous amounts of empathy for the families who are left behind at the loss of their sons. They say that the worst thing that can happen is to lose a child. My heart breaks for the parents. But the war cries of the community somehow lessen the empathy and harden my heart towards the mother who speaks out on radio trying to sue the municipality for negligence at leaving the boat in an un-seaworthy (or whatever) condition where it could be used.

First of all, it was in fact locked up in an enclosure behind fences and padlocks. Second, the children did wilfully and with malice break in to that enclosure to steal the boat. That is to take the boat without permission and consent or authorisation even though they all knew that none of the five of them could swim. I mean how thick could you get?

Is the boat yard to blame? I don’t think so. Will this go to trial? I hope not. Should the municipality counter sue? I believe so. Will they? Never in a million years. They dare not because the community wants to blame someone for the loss of a child’s life. They want to blame someone for the dreadful loss – a loss which was avoidable. Not only could it have been avoided, but it should have been avoided. But not by blaming the municipality for having a boat locked up by a dam. Rather let’s point the responsibility back where it belongs – squarely back on the shoulders of the parents. Parents are supposed to teach their children not to steal, not to break in, not to run across busy roads in front of traffic, not to do things that are dangerous, and so on. Parents should accept the responsibility for the lives of their children (and this is children until they become adults and then they are responsible for THEMSELVES) and not keep blaming everything and everyone else for everything that goes wrong.

My child got run over on a highway – let’s sue the driver and the road’s company. NO – teach your children to use the pedestrian crossing and not to run across highways in front of speeding cars.

My child got cancer from cigarettes – let’s sue the cigarette company – NO – read the warning and don’t smoke. Teach your children to take responsibility for what they do.

My child drowned in the deep end – let’s sue the swimming pool – NO YOU look after your children and supervise them and not leave them to their own devices all day and hope that they will magically be all right.

Let’s not perpetuate this folly of assuming that someone else will take the responsibility for everything we do – especially the government. WE ARE ALL responsible for the choices we make, and will have to bear the consequences. WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.

Grow up and face the music. If you want to do what you want, fine. But then don’t moan if you get what’s coming to you. After all, do the crime, to the time.