RE: Not a word about OJ here...

["Sargent E. Schutt" <sargent@symposiafoundation.org>]

Unka Bart says:

> Has anyone here ever heard of the concept of "Personal Responsibility?"
> Regardless of the model, as near as I can tell, there was only *one* set 
> of controls in the car that crashed so spectacularly in that tunnel in 
> Paris so recently.  Unless the news reports have mis-reported, there were 
> no members of the media at the controls when the fan got brown and stinky.
>
> There was no media connection between unfastened seat-belts, 
> intoxication of the vehicles operator, or the rate of speed involved.  
> Now unless I miss my guess, one or more of those factors played the 
> determining factor in the outcome, and I haven't seen any credible 
> evidence that the press was somehow responsible for any one of those 
> factors.

"Personal Responsibility" extends the direct and foreseeable effects of
your personal actions in my book. There was a direct media connection
here, quite clearly. Two out of three's not bad, but I have to take
definite exception to the connection with the speed of the car. Definite
and crystal clear connection there. Simple cause and effect. Had they
not been chased, would they have been galavanting about paris at 120+
MPH? Nope. Not a chance. Evasion was the goal. The poparazi (sp) were
well aware of it.  Regardless, the cause and effect relationship here
btwn the pusuit and the crash is close and the outcome foreseeable
(though not intended).That a sober driver might have also crashed at
that speed is nearly as foreseeable under the conditions. Hence
manslaughter charges (almost fer-100%-sure if this had happened in the
US). 

Unka Bart continues;
> There are no excuses, boys and girls, just CONSEQUENCES and 
> RESPONSIBILITIES." 

Foreseeable consequences are no different. Defenses like "I didn't think
they'd crash if I chased them" only reflect a miserably low IQ.  The
rest of the legal analysis is an arduous waste of BW here. Anyone with
interest et/ou qui sais les regles français on this matter mail me
privately.

Like many of us, I also like to drive very fast, and I consider myself
responsible for all the consequences of my vehicles presence and its
impact on those in my presence. Certain responsibilities come with
potentially lethal public activities, all the more if your behavior is
anomolous to the environment.  In this case, derisive indifference on
the part of those poparazi (sp?) to the plight of that MB led directly
and predictably to a high-speed chase and a foreseeable appointment with
that chunk o' concrete. Not their fault the driver was drunk and the
passengers unbuckled. A foreseeable collision none-the-less. 

Bottom line:  No one was *absolutely* responsible for this mess, or most
such messes. But, as with the q-list, everyone puts there .02 and then
you've got a party. Some contribute more to the situation than others,
but always with knowledge comes responsilbility.

Driving fast is simple. Driving safe requires discipline and skill.
Being courteous requires self-control. Speed, skill and self-control.
I'll take a second helping any day.

Rant mode off. 

Sarge

91 200q
86 5ktq