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Old 09-10-2007, 12:26 PM   #6 (permalink)
Ilya
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Moscow, Russia
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Quote:
For example, you've probably heard these types of statements:
1. "Why doesn't he just take responsibility for his drinking problem? Everybody knows alcohol is addictive."
2. "Doesn't she know that taking in more calories than she burns keeps her fat?"
3. "Didn't she know that a guy like him would cheat on her?"
I know that's beyond the point but I'd say these statements fall under "it's not your business" category. Judging other people like this behind their backs is quite irresponsible.

But let's talk about the real issue.

Quote:
On the other hand, many people would be horrified if a civil engineer said something like this regarding the bridge collapse:
"Duh! Weren't they smart enough to realize that the bridge was old and was supporting too much of a load during rush hour? They should've just waited until they could have traveled over the bridge at a more reasonable time."
The people would be offended on such a statement mainly because this sounds like a lame excuse by a person who tries to shift his responsibility for messing up his job and causing deaths of other people.
(I'm assuming the engineer was responsible for keeping the bridge in good shape.)

The question is - should the engineer be responsible for deaths in such a case? I believe the answer is yes. But that does not eliminate the responsibility of the users of the bridge!

Sometimes we delegate our responsibilities to government officials, contractors and so on. We do it in the same way we delegate work.
But any manager knows, that delegating the work does not necessary mean that he won't have to do this job. It is so, when the delegation process works. If it fails, the manager will have to do the job, or will have to delegate it again.

The same is with responsibility. We delegate it to other people or organizations so they will help us with carrying out our responsibilities. If they are successful, everyone is happy. If they are not, they are responsible for not doing their part of the deal, but we are responsible for delegating to them and ultimately for the end result of any action.

The "you are responsible for everything" motto in PD literature is not like "pleading guilty" in litigation.
Taking responsibility for everything is the empowering position that puts ourselves in control. When accepting total responsibility we do not waste time and emotions for blaming somebody, even if others objectively failed us. We pretend "as if" we are responsible for the situation and that lets us to act immediately, gives us the ability to give response to any situation, which is the literal meaning of the word "responsibility".

In this context something being specialized knowledge is irrelevant.
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