Here we go again.

One of the oft-repeated quotes about today's society is

Everyone has rights, but no-one has responsibilities.

i.e. It's always someone else's fault as far as many of us are concerned. This story http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050527/12/fjx92.html seems to be adding to that type of excuse. How long will it be before some defense lawyer is quoting this as an excuse for some gang-banger's behaviour? "My client may have shot randomly into a crowd of children, your honour, but he cannot be held accountable as, having been exposed to gang behaviour from an early age, he clearly caught the violence from those around him."

It's like this bollocks about addiction being a disease. Addiction is not a disease. It is a state of chemical or psychological dependency, certainly, but you get there by putting yourself into the spiral of addiction in the first place. You cannot catch alcoholism and you don't help addicts by telling them it's not their fault.

The current sorry tale of the woman whose three teenage daughters are all mothers is another example of this blame culture that has developed. All her daughters were having underage sex. One, by the age of 16 had had two miscarriages and an abortion before carrying a child to term. The youngest was eleven when she fell pregnant. But it's the school's fault for not giving them enough sex education. Never mind that this woman was allowing the eleven year-old to sleep with her boyfriend in her home. Never mind that she never had any kind of discussion with any of the girls after the first pregnancy. Why should she? It's up to the school to make sure that her daughters know what they're doing and don't get pregnant. Not that she'll see this (or be able to read it, probably) but listen up, lady: it is the school's job to teach children about the mechanics of the human body and that does include its reproductive systems. It is not the schools' place to be their mother! It is your job to ensure that they are moral, responsible human beings.

If we start saying violence is an infectious disease then no one has any responsibility for hitting someone else. Or stabbing them, or shooting them. Yes, violence begets violence, but it is still within the purview of every human being to make the choice of whether to respond violently or not in any given circumstance. There do exist circumstances in which violence is an acceptable response. I'd suggest some yob turning up at my door expecting to shag my eleven-year old daughter is one very good time when a severe kicking is clearly called for. However, we must all take responsibility for the choice to respond in that fashion.