ToshiroOC

Recently there have been a spate of legal cases in which individuals are suing corporations for various reasons, from creating games too realistic and violent (the 'GTA shootings' that those teenagers did) to obsesity lawsuits against fast food restaurants. What do you think of these? Is it the responsibility of the individual to inform themself of the risks involved with certain actions, or the responsibility of the corporation or company involved? Should parents be responsible for giving their children violent games that they imitated to fatal effect? Should the children be responsible? Should the game maker be responsible?

It is my opinion that personal responsibility is key, and that it is ridiculous to sue fast food restaurants for selling their product, or sue game makers for their artistic expression, and it is soley the problem of the individual to make wise choices, not the problem of the corporation to make wise choices for the individual. The onus is on each person, in my opinion. However, I do believe that there should be some minimal amount of accountability and auditing of corporations in this respect to make sure that there is enough information available to allow the individual to make informed choices about their actions, but not necesarily in the form of a large warning spanning every product regarding every possible risk involving the product from possible injury by ingestion to death by product-packaging-fueled self-immolation, just in a manner easily accessable to the average consumer regarding the most significant risks.

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merry

Freedom of choice comes with personal responsibility. If someone is incapable of making an informed choice - as long as information is available/accesible - that someone is better off (and safer) without that freedom .

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Smoothdrive

We always have a good laugh about Americans suing for spilled coffee slippery sidewalks and what have you.

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Al_Vampyre

The problem is people don't want to accept responsibility, its always someone else's fault - its getting beyond a joke now and the scary thing is claims and payments in the UK are now getting to be as silly as they are in the US.

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Rayder

I vote personal responsibility. But hey, if I came across some way to sue a company for lots of cash.....Dollar bill y'all!

JavaFox

One of the big problems this sort of frivolity exists in our courts and our country is because we have created one of the few legal systems in which the plaintiff runs virtually no risk in suing. If the defendant wins, ends of story. The plaintiff does not even have to do so much as say sorry.

In various countires in Europe, plaintiffs --as well as defendants-- face losses. This creates a vested interest in not filing dumb or weak lawsuits.

pww2250

As many have said, our judicial system seems to be little more now than a means of legal extortion. This needs to change!

Vote Republican!

toddsmack2k

It is a personal responsibility. Things have gotten way out of hand with very meaningless lawsuits for actions and results of individuals who are looking for an easy way out. Most if not all cases as these are done with nothing but dollar signs in peoples eyes. It is almost as if anymore people themselves should not be responsible for what they do. That we for every bad thing that happens to us have no one to blame but someone else. It is a shame as these people who sue for such idiotic things dont see how sad and truly ignorant they are. How IMO they look very incapable of making the most basic, common sense choices in life.

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mike2h

while a little overboard, i basically agree. personal freedom is not free nor without responsibility. this is something this country seems to have forgotten(along with a few others). we can pretty much thank the legal proffesion for enabling this state of affairs. along with many other bad policies that are turning this country into something i believe is going to crash & burn in the not to distant future.
and of course, people not taking reponsibility for the continuance & preservation of personal freedom is how they get away with what they(lawmakers) do.
there was a book written 30-40 yrs ago called atlas shrugged. it had amazing social commentary in it, that, if i remember correctly, is even more relevant today. think i am going to have to pick up a copy & read it again(it has been almost 30yrs). i believe this book was the 2nd or 3rd most influential book of the 20th century(bible1st).

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@/2ct!<

Couldnt agree with you more. Even if the defending corporation wins, it is still defaced. Same kinda thing with Kobe, if it turns out he didnt do it hes already screwed in american opinion of people that think he did it. (not that he wasnt already down the drain for adultery, but still...) Same thing with OJ, if he was found innocent then we shouldn't have to know that he was accused, etc. Gotta change some things in this country, but I dont believe its that bad either.

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BluntmaN

Personal responsibility = Corporate responsibility.

Corporations are run by people and theese people should be punished not the corporation the CEO for example a dump bitch sticks her poodle in a microwave to dry it it is her fault she has a coocked poodle BUT a corporate giant dumps chemicals and you get cancer the CEO of the company should be rounded up with all responsible the driver the managers etc and be executed in public for murder. No stupid fines and money to the familly it is MURDER.
America has to review all their laws in this matter and change the justice system to reflect that the choices of a corporation are choises of people. Till then just go down wall mart and buy a Sniper Rifle to kill the bastards that are ruining it for everybody else and when you get caught use the Matrix defence. C ya in court gentlemen.

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'Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'
Donald Rumsfeld (And then they say that the White House knows what it's doing)

Esaz666

I think people trying to sue, blaming a game for a murder are totally stupid.
That kind of nonsense is the staple diet of the American Law system. Who ever has the most cash
wins.

If you go out, Nick a car then squash some fool in it , your a psychopath and thats that. A computer game has nothing to do with it what so ever, Ohh no remember the children, They dont know right from wrong.

Hey I killed a guy it was the game, It made me do it.

pass the buck.

Idiots and politicians , lawyers , whoever will say anything to suit their own agenda ie. Censorship or Money to be made or more power for me by exposure, Dont believe a word of it.

I voted personal if you noticed.
interesting thread.

Maiky

The people have to choice free by theirselfes, no the govermen.

The problem is inside us, we have to blame anyone for our faults.

Purevil

Add a third choice some where in the middle, some people just don't have the control over themselfs, but the people who make the stuff need to make it right also.

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Dyre Straits

It is definitely Personal Responsibility. The whole fabric of a successful civilization rests upon the performance of the simplist unit....the individual.

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