Cross at the crosswalk
Transportation for America has Raquel Nelson on the Today show yesterday. It’s very hard to watch, but worth watching. She’s impressive, and obviously not just some giddy irresponsible parent dragging her children into traffic because she can’t be bothered to walk down the block to the intersection.
It also has a guy called Ken Edelstein of Green Building Chronicle in Atlanta showing us the bus stop, the street, how far away the intersection with traffic lights is, how obvious it is that the bus stop is there for the apartment complex, how people who live there never go to the intersection to cross, how like a highway the street is, how heavy the traffic is and how fast it goes, and, above all, how infuriatingly tiny the strip of concrete in the middle is. I don’t have a car; I use public transportation; I’ve crossed busy suburban roads and stood on strips of concrete between two rivers of traffic hoping no bits of me were sticking out as the cars flashed past. I thought of standing on that thing with shopping bags hanging off my arms and three children – not because I wanted to but because it was getting dark and walking back from that distant intersection in the dark would also be dangerous – and I shuddered.
It’s an insult. It’s as if human beings are trespassing on the property of automobiles. It’s as if human beings are worms and cars are gods.
By way of more insult, Cobb County transport put a big sign in the bus shelter saying CCT Cares – oh right! – and be safe and cross at the crosswalk. Cross at what crosswalk?! There is no fucking crosswalk! “Cross at the crosswalk five miles from here.” What the hell is the point of that? People need buses to take them where they’re going, not 3/10 of a mile down the road and then 3/10 of a mile back up the other side.
It makes me angry. It’s typically American and brutal and it makes me angry.
Green Building Chronicle thinks just maybe CCT will be sued.
It never occurred to me the neighborhood might be dangerous and that it might be risky behavior to walk to the crosswalk. It is something to ponder I feel terrible for this woman but I still feel the child is the victim and not her. I am however talking from the privileged position of not having to take a bus, thinking about it, if I had to walk through my neighborhood after dark with my children I might be tempted to take a risk like crossing a busy road like she did if it kept me out of certain areas.
I should have said I do feel the prosecution was wrong, and there should be a crosswalk someone should be held responsible for there not being one.
I just watched the video that guy made, I dunno, that’s pretty damn scary I don’t think I would cross that with small children no matter how tired I was or how dark it is. Not with that many cars going by. I still would not prosecute I mean it probably cost more to prosecute her than it would to put in a crosswalk. But really that is some risky behavior to take with a 2 a 4 and a 9 year old.
I remember the fear I felt at the end of my first bus ride after moving to this country. I was dropped off on a grass verge at the side of a busy 5-lane road (41.253256N 73.018396W). An elderly woman got off at the same time, waited for a small gap in traffic and hobbled across as quickly as she could manage. There’s no sidewalk, the busy intersections don’t have pedestrian crossings, and if you come here in Winter you have snow banks to climb over too. New Haven CT doesn’t have a single supermarket, so this is where people come to go shopping. If you don’t have a car, you’re the butt of a sick joke. All the more sick since it’s very clearly only poor people who take the bus. I miss the UK.
Just because the state fails to specifically cater to desires of this woman does not excuse her sheer laziness and unwillingness to absorb the small burden of waddling down to appropriate crosswalk. Seriously, I am grossly overweight due to self-discipline issues and utter laziness and I still manage to follow traffic laws or accept the consequences of my refusal to do so. Hell, I am physically handicapped after a line-of-duty injury which despite multiple surgeries and having hardware implanted into my leg, will never heal properly, yet I can conjure up the will necessary to either follow the law or accept the consequences. Then again, my parents were big on personal responsibility.On the other hand, this Personal Responsibility Denialism and blame everyone but the architect of their own folly promoted by Benson here ensures a never ending supply of children in dire need of the services I provide. Hell, if we started disciplining bad parents for their failures, I would rapidly become unemployable as child- care quality would improve or the people who produce the clientele in need of my services would stop doing so.
I agree about the personal responsibility issue. The guy who was actually driving the car the killed the child should CERTAINLY have received more than six months in jail.
I’ve met several parents who had no major problems with their kids. No suicides or significant issues with behavior or illness. No deaths due to traffic accidents or a neighbor kid who found a gun. No big drug problem. Their kids finished school and went to college. And a couple of them actually think that it was their own Personal Responsibility that did it, and that they are experts in childrearing. They are without a doubt among the most insufferable jackasses you meet in life. History Punk, you remind me of them.
FFS, History Punk, that’s a nasty combination of arrogance and self hatred/self-pity you’ve got going there. Which is fine – I’m not your psychiatrist but you might to try not projecting it onto others.
Been here , felt that.
It was somewhat of a culture shock coming from a country where you cant walk on the sidewalks because of various reasons to a country that didn’t always have sidewalks (I was in Michigan for a year). And inspite of the fact that my workplace was 5 minutes away I had to finally give in and buy a car because it was too treacherous to run across the street in winter (the crosswalk was more than half a mile away).
idahogie,
It probably was their Personal Responsibility that made the difference. I know that this might shock you, but ensuring your kids don’t play out in traffic, don’t use drugs, and achieve in school are the products of parental involvement and work. They are the end result of years of decisions by parents to lay off the booze while pregnant, to discipline their children when they misbehave rather than spin tales of woe at the hands of racism or the white privilege monster.
Those parents you mock made decisions like going to bed sober so they could see that their children went to school at time. They chose to take 5-10 minutes a day to ensure that their kids homework was done. When their children broke the rules, they were disciplined. The ease which you saw was the product of probably thousands of hours of time out of sight child-rearing. And those parents probably did that while holding full-time employment which means they lacked the ample free- time possessed by recipients of social welfare benefits.
Like I said though, bad parents and those who shelter from the consequences of their idiocy keep me employed.
And those parents probably did that while holding full-time employment which means they lacked the ample free- time possessed by recipients of social welfare benefits.
Ah, the voice of conservative America. Just what we needed on this blog.
It was very moving to see the interview and the obvious grief that Ms Nelson was trying to hold back. I hope that she finally gets a break – the judge’s mercy seems to be all she has to go on.
Rather unbelievable that a repeat hit-and-run offender gets just 6 months and no lifetime- driving ban.
An optional pedestrian crossing that is not very expensive to construct and doesnt impede traffic flow is a bridge across the road – we have lots of them here which we call overhead pedestrian crossings.
An old, ugly one here but they save lives :
http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/old-overhead-bridge/
History Punk, I am going to assume you are a troll because you don’t (or shouldn’t) work in any field relevant to child protection or child care. If you did work in the industry, you would be aware that good parenting does not guarantee good behaviour patterns, and you would also be aware that bad parenting does not guarantee bad behaviour. What’s more, the manner in which you have expressed your views shows that you are not capable of acting professionally in child services, especially if it involves poor or disabled parents whom you clearly despise.
I don’t believe a word of what you say. A child services worker with a chronic illness due to a “line-of-duty” injury who happens to believe in Magical Personal Responsibility and is willing to “accept the consequences” even if that means conviction for manslaughter when one’s own child is killed by a drunk driver? Yeah, right. You just rolled up that character from the Tea Party RPG site, didn’t you?
Yet again, pedestrians are treated as second (if that!) class citizens. I am sick to death of the continual whining that emanates from the motoring lobby as soon as anyone complains about the deferential treatment they receive and the fact that every politician going kowtows to their every demand.
On the Island of Hawaii (and to a lesser extent Maui and Ohau) recently I found the comparitive lack of footpaths (as we call them in Australia) a little confronting. Likewise the lack of children’s playgrounds and open space generally. It felt like an accusation or threat or menace. You don’t own land, so don’t stand on any! It also felt a little constricting.
The place is so nice. The people are so nice (particularly on Hawaii). But I don’t know how people live like that. How much worse for Nelson and her poor son?
Ewwww. I don’t usually get much of that kind of trolling.
Shorter History Punk,
“Yeah, whatever. Lets talk about me for a bit.”
Don’t contribute or anything, just take your baggage, heap it on the table and gesture at it wildly.
If only that were shorter HP; it was a lot nastier than that.
I call Poe on ‘historypunk”. But just in case I’m wrong remember “don’t feed the trolls”…..
Ophelia, FYI
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/07/27/georgia_jaywalker_freed_in_sons_hit_run_death/
She got one year probation and 40 hours community service.
Judge Kathryn Tanksley seems to have her head screwed on right, even took it a step further and offered Nelson a new trial.
Of course, the county planners aren’t going to take a single lesson from any of this to fix the dismal nature of CCT or urban planning in general. So until the next death, let us toast.
Those of you who say you would have walked to the crosswalk are lying.
And, I think you know, it, too.
@13 The cost of the bridges and the maintenance can be more then some counties can afford. The issue becomes, in a county crisscrossed by roads such as the one in this case, where do you put the bridges? Bridges are of course are appropriate in certain situations. But not usually from one bus stop to one small apartment complex.
I used to live up in Canada and we had flashing amber lights that where pedestrian activated. They didn’t stop traffic unless people needed to cross. Much less maintenance involved. Cheaper to install in less space then the bridges. CCT does not run that often so even the traffic being stopped would probably occur once or twice every hour.
http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/traffic/peds.htm
*were pedestrian activated.
What I’d like to see is residents of Ms. Nelsons apartment complex and activists joining together on foot to form a human chain across that road once a day, every day, until the case against her is dropped and Cobb County puts forth and follows a plan to provide safe streets for non-motorized users. Actually I’d like to see that on M-59 in Macomb County, MI. USA just a mile from where I live and have nearly gotten nailed when crossing legally at signalled crosswalks. But that’s just angry rabble-rousing me.
BTW, Michigan, the home of the (battered) US auto industry, has recently passed “Complete Streets” legislation. We’ll see how implementation goes. The national Complete Streets website is currently featuring Ms. Nelson’s story on their homepage. http://www.completestreets.org/
Chris,
You’d be wrong. However, we intellectual disabled types are frequently disbelieved and mocked for no other reason than our handicaps, so I am use to it. I really wish combating this form of bigotry was more popular, but until disabled studies starts becoming a separate department with its own tenure track positions, I doubt academics will give much concern to our issues. Plus, due to the discrimination the intellectual disabled face, we lack the political and economic power to attract political support.
To be fair, I probably wouldn’t take responsibility if my kids were killed due to my stupidity, but then again, I’d probably never face that situation because I have little intention to breed and, despite multiple-learning disabilities, I am not as dense as the woman in question.
Also Chris, if you were more familiar with children, you’d know that boys make up the majority of special education cases. They also make up the majority of those with behavior problems. This makes for a near endless demand for male personnel. However, not that many men are willing to do it. I was basically hired into the field because I was a guy. I show up to work on time. I am clean. I am sober. I perform with a modicum of skill, so I maintain employment. If you’re interested, apply at your nearest school district.
As for this ill-informed gibberish:
“What’s more, the manner in which you have expressed your views shows that you are not capable of acting professionally in child services, especially if it involves poor or disabled parents whom you clearly despise.”
This is nonsense. I despise bad parents. I am entertained, however, by your transformation of my remark regarding parents needing to be sober and to help their children with school work into slam against poor and disabled parents. Nice touch.
I’ll tell you what though, your Teabagger remark stings. I’m probably going to complain about it all day.
History punk, I went, literally overnight, from a young working class man with a promising career in academia ahead of me to someone destined to spend the rest of his adult life on a disability pension, so I know something about the vagaries of fortune. Yet I manage to avoid engaging in victim blaming. That’s what I call personal responsibility.
And don’t expect me to believe you are “intellectually disabled”. Sure you ain’t no intellectual but you’re not disabled either. You’re just someone who talks shit about responsibility but accepts none of it yourself.
@OB: totally off topic but the Norfolk eagles are being released this morning.
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfolk/Big–126197853.html
Of course we’ll never know if AJ would have been killed anyway by this, or some other, driver if Ms Nelson had used the crosswalk. And maybe flashing orange lights wold just have confused him…..
“Those of you who say you would have walked to the crosswalk are lying.
And, I think you know, it, too.”
I do not lie. I have 3 boys 5, 7, and 14. I will admit I do not hold my 14 year olds hand when we go places but I would never cross a road like that one in the video with my children. Granted I am hyper aware of how dangerous it is because my 5 year old has autism and will run into traffic just to see what would happen if we let him.
I will admit I am privileged to not need to ride a bus, although at the moment I can scarcely afford to put gas in my car. I still say the victim in this case was the child, would I prosecute the mother? No, her suffering is beyond anything the state could do, besides the state deserves a large portion of the blame. I’m am not even going to address the injustice of a drunk 2 time hit and run piece of garbage getting only 6 months because I simply can’t wrap my head around it.
The charge of vehicular manslaughter does not fit, the charge if anything should have been child endangerment.
Go watch the video of the road in question, if you still feel you would cross the street with your arms full of bags and a 2 a 4 and a 9 year old in tow, well I think your either a liar or should not have children.
Exactly
I’m not familiar with the US terminology but I assume a crosswalk is like a pedestrian crossing or a zebra crossing i.e. a series of white stripes painted across the road. Frankly the idea that you can be protected from a half-blind, drugged up drunk driver by the power of paint is risible.
When referring to “crosswalk” its assumed there is more than just paint, however even if it were just paint and signs warning cars of a pedestrian crossing it would in fact make it safer. Obviously it would not protect anyone from a drunk driver or even just someone who ignores pedestrian crossing signs.
So, David, you’re essentially saying Raquel Nelson should not have children. Do you think her remaining children should be taken away from her?
Thanks for the update, Maria. Judge Kathryn Tanksley is a great person!
One truly sad outcome (or lack thereof) beyond the obvious loss of life is that there STILL is no crosswalk from the bus stop to the apartment complex. We had a somewhat similar accident in my town a few years back. A young boy crossing at a non-crosswalk place where everyone crossed because it was the shortest distance between two frequented points was hit and killed by an erratic teen driver. The community rallied without delay and installed a proper crossing right there, where people–kids in particular–were already wont to cross because it made sense from a walker’s perspective. If a review and upgrade of pedestrian walkways can’t be the minimal expectation after a tragedy such as this, I don’t know what to think about the competence or the compassion of the decision makers at CCT.
Personal responsibility is great. The urban designers in Cobb Country need to resign/be sued/be charged, whatever, and take personal responsibility for their lack of foresight of not looking after the interests of pedestrians.
But no, personal responsibility is for the powerless, not for the powerful.
@35 There is a term in urban design for those “paths of preference” but i forget what it is, it’s the paths that actual inhabitants of an environment will take to get from point A to point B. These don’t always match up with what the designer wants them to do and it’s not always due to “laziness”. Time is a precious thing. You can see these paths worn into grass and organic material but it’s much harder to see them on concrete and asphalt. After hearing about this I went to that section of road. It’s obvious that getting to and from this CCT bus stop is such a path. It is also obvious that unless you’re strolling around the tourist town centers like Marietta or Kennesaw, or at a park, the county does not usually consider pedestrians as important.
My old uni campus had a section of lawn which was used as a shortcut. Well worn, trodden over the years. It was the most direct and logical route between two buildings. The planners had wanted users to meander around the edges of the green, probably enjoying the architecture on a nice spring day. The students just wanted to get to class and pee in the ten minutes they had to do so.
While I was there, the maintenance crew had set up a decorative ankle height fence to try and get users to stop walking that way. Of course that didn’t work. Everyone just stepped over it, then it was cut down by ninjas. So they put a big planter, people skirted around it, trampling an even bigger area at the mouth of the path. Finally the uni gave in and paved the shortcut, put a few benches and planters along the sides and voila. A utilitarian and pretty compromise that acknowledges that humans are alive and not just set decorations.
Maria: ” Desire lines”? A question on the QI TV show here in the UK a while back. Apparently, the folk who create these are referred to as “meander-thals” :-)
David of course the child is the victim; nobody is saying he’s not! But the mother is the victim too.
A crossing with pedestrian-activated stoplights is what I was thinking they could/should install.
Actually though a painted crosswalk might well cause even an impaired driver like Guy to stop, because other cars would be slowing and stopping, plus the way to do it is to wait to make sure everybody is slowing to stop before crossing. (I irritate drivers around here because I don’t use the crosswalk on a busy street that climbs a very steep hill in my neighborhood until I’m completely sure the cars really are going to stop. They want me to trust that they are, even though they’re still approaching at a good clip [with momentum going downhill, with the push to climb the steep part of the hill going up], but I refuse, because I have no way to know they’ve actually seen and noticed me unless they unmistakably slow down. I refuse to risk my life for their convenience.)
@David
I had a look on Google Earth and what I see are stripes painted across the road so I’m assuming that there are no lights, just paint and signs, which as you say would make it safer but not protect against drunk drivers. Can you seriously suggest walking half a kilometre for that sort of “protection” with three little tired children? Or more to the point can you really blame anyone for judging it to be not worth it? As for the video, it tells us nothing about the traffic conditions at the time of the accident. It’s not the road that kills pedestrians, it’s the cars. Can you say that Ms Nelson didn’t wait until there was a safe gap in the traffic to cross? In fact we know that she was waiting. The problem was that other people didn’t wait and her son tried to follow them. Now, I actually agree with you that legal sanctions are needed in case where parents who recklessly endanger their children. But I can’t see why you continue to insist, against the evidence, that this is such a case.
Ophelia: “A crossing with pedestrian-activated stoplights is what I was thinking they could/should install.” Absolutely, the fact that a year after the accident that hasn’t been done is a disgrace. I know Georgia is a poor state but if there’s money for prosecutions.
Actually – there’s something that could be done immediately: just move the bus-stop to the complex carpark.
“So, David, you’re essentially saying Raquel Nelson should not have children. Do you think her remaining children should be taken away from her?”
Depends, do you think she will do it again with her remaining children? If so then yes.
@Francis Boyle There are no crossing lines painted there. It is essentially breaking the law for a pedestrian to cross there.
@Ophelia The difference being she is the victim of both her own actions and society. The child is a victim of society and her.
However that said I will admit I may be wrong and I may be suffering from this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
I do not feel that I am, however that is the nature of these things, is it not? It is possible I can not see my own personal bias here because I wish to believe my children will always be safe so long as I do not make such silly mistakes.
David jaywalking is not “breaking the law” in a meaningful sense. It’s a traffic offense; it warrants a ticket at most. As the resident of the apt complex said in Edelstein’s excellent video, everybody crosses the street at the bus stop.
It’s not a “silly” mistake. The intersection where the traffic lights are is a long walk away.
“I irritate drivers around here because I don’t use the crosswalk on a busy street that climbs a very steep hill in my neighborhood until I’m completely sure the cars really are going to stop. They want me to trust that they are, even though they’re still approaching at a good clip [with momentum going downhill, with the push to climb the steep part of the hill going up], but I refuse, because I have no way to know they’ve actually seen and noticed me unless they unmistakably slow down. I refuse to risk my life for their convenience.)”
I don’t want to continue the argument, when I have already admitted my probable bias, however I can’t help myself. What you said here struck a cord with me, I would not risk my life in that way either, and my children are worth a million times what my life is (to me). Crossing that street with 3 children of any age is a large risk for a small gain. Like playing Russian roulette (with your children) for petty change. I just can’t understand it.
@38 Yes! Thank you. That’s exactly it. Good urban planners and designers appreciate the importance of paying attention to them and understanding why they are there.
“David jaywalking is not “breaking the law” in a meaningful sense.”
Ok now your just going too far, “jaywalking” is against the law for a reason. It endangers not just the person doing it but the people driving as well. But that is not the issue here even though it could be.
She admits her hands were full so she was not even holding her children hands what she did was not jaywalk or at least that isn’t the issue. She crossed a 5 lane highway with 3 children without even basic precautions. Do I want her in jail for this? No. Should someone say “hey guys don’t do that” Yeah.
No. Should someone say “hey guys don’t do that” Yeah.
I agree. Three young kids, grocery bags and that road. That’d make me pause if I were in her shoes.
I’ve refrained from commenting on her case specifically because it’s pointless but, she did pause. Others didn’t. Her boy slipped out of her grasp.
She and countless others need to cross that road to get home or to get to work and the shops. She, like others at that complex, like thousands of people nationwide, have probably done it many times before. Using their best judgment for when it was safe to do so. Without fatalities, without incidence.
That’s the thing. She and everyone else who takes that bus have likely taken those steps countless times. Day in and day out. Using their best judgment in a dangerous situation that need NOT have been as dangerous if only the simplest amount of urban planning and thought had been done.
So this one time, this single time, she was hit by a a drunk and medicated, repeat hit and run driver. And her child died as a result. Did she make a mistake? Of course. Should the county be only focused on that? Hell no. What happened to her is a symptom of what makes Cobb, and many places like it depressing places to live and thrive.
There are no sidewalks in our neighborhood, no crossings. I essentially jaywalk every day. I suppose I should just stay on my property and only drive my car off it, never entering the street on foot lest I get hit by a speeder. It would be quite something. Then someone who “Knows Better” would get to say, “Well, tsk, she shouldn’t have been in the street in the first place. It’s her fault for being in the street.” And they would be so missing the big picture but utterly and completely right!
Please do not misrepresent what was actually said, it is offensive. Look at the video of the road in question its a dangerous road the crosswalk with a light is 3/10 of a mile up the road. Inconvenient I agree and I also agree the bus stop should not be there in the middle of a block where it is obviously meant to service that apartment complex its stupid and probably would not happen if it was a rich white neighborhood. I agree with every point about how wrong the distribution of resources is in this country and how priorities are skewed. I still do not think most parents would cross that street with 3 small children. Perhaps I am wrong and most parents really would do that.
Too easy. Way too easy. Her only alternative is not a viable alternative – walking an extra half mile with 3 children, one 4 and one 3, and a lot of shopping, as it was getting dark. She was trapped. She’s not rich; she can’t choose among good alternatives; she can’t just move to a place with good safe transportation and traffic control. It’s like telling poor people “don’t eat such crappy food” when crappy food is all that’s available to them within a two mile radius. It’s like telling poor people “don’t let medical conditions go untreated” when they don’t have the money to go to a doctor.
“Too easy. Way too easy. Her only alternative is not a viable alternative – walking an extra half mile with 3 children, one 4 and one 3, and a lot of shopping, as it was getting dark. She was trapped. She’s not rich; she can’t choose among good alternatives; she can’t just move to a place with good safe transportation and traffic control. It’s like telling poor people “don’t eat such crappy food” when crappy food is all that’s available to them within a two mile radius. It’s like telling poor people “don’t let medical conditions go untreated” when they don’t have the money to go to a doctor.”
Funny you should mention those examples I fit into those precisely and I agree…mostly. My kids eat poorly (By some standards) I wish I could afford fresh vegetables and better cuts of meat. When I buy fresh food it does not last long enough and I end up throwing most of it out. So we buy mostly frozen processed foods. Its very frustrating, I can’t afford weekly trips to the grocery store not with gas at the price it is. For the doctor we are lucky in that regard because we qualify for medicaid for the kids. ( before last year I had not seen a doctor in 20 years, and I pulled my own teeth when I really needed to, but that is more because i’m autistic and not inclined to go to the doctor)
Do you really feel this is the same situation? Honestly, I want to know because I did not think of it in that way before and I honestly do not think its a comparable situation.
I think I am being reasonable. I may not be, certain types of rules I am obsessive about, strange as it sounds jaywalking is one of them. I am also the person who would have you towed for parking in front of a hydrant, not because i’m a jerk but because I think you are risking peoples lives for little to no gain. I have called the police on one of my own sisters for driving with her children out of proper car seats, not out of malice, but because its wrong and dangerous.
Before watching the video of the road in question I agreed with you 100%, but after watching it how can anyone not see how much of a death trap that road is for small children. There were cars going by on that road at almost 70 mph the median in the middle is 2 feet wide. I can sympathize, really I can, but its just to big and too obvious of a risk to take with children. From your post above you seem to be willing to take less risk than that with just your own life.
My wife says I am being too rigid in my thinking and should bow out of the conversation, before I start biting myself in agitation.
Btw Opelia, yours is my favorite blog to read everyday. Thanks for having such a great place to argue.
:- )
I kind of agree with your wife, David!
I agree with you that crossing that street with children is horribly dangerous. I just don’t agree that she had any real alternative. But I do agree that it’s just a nightmare street. Peace out dude.
Why not? Do you have any experience in special education? Some background with learning disabilities? Even a handful of psych credits?
I know why. I ignore and actively despise privilege and other bogus stories designed to absolve guilt for personal failings.
As for personal responsibility, you notice the post where I state that I am fat because I have limited self-discipline and laziness issues? That is me owning my obesity as best I can on an internet forum. I could blame the fast food industry. I could sue McDonald’s. I could blame the DOD for the delayed diagnosis of the leg injuries. But let us be honest, I am not going to exercise even if I was in good physical condition. I am a fat because I repeatedly, of my own free will, choose to indulge in unhealthy foods while not engaging in enough physical exercise.
Of course, it’s hard to take personal responsibility on the internet, but if you can conjure up another means to do so, let me know.
I know one. Stop blaming deus ex, conspiratorial “privilege” meta-narratives for your personal failings. :)
History Punk:
And exactly what is your background in psychology and education? Because it seems that whatever you learned was not correct. There is no agreement on how to best promote personal responsibility. There are however definite things not to do. For instance, punishment doesn’t work. Nor do consequences that are not immediate or relevant. Neither does negativity, humiliation and the like. So prosecution and jail time (or in this case conviction and probation) are ineffective. They may make onlookers feel good but are a complete waste.
And as Karmakin stated earlier, why does personal responsibility fall only on one person? Why aren’t the planners responsible for not creating a safe environment for pedestrians? Why is the bus service not responsible for the placement of the bus stop? Why aren’t they also responsible for the foreseeable consequences?
I could say that I would never resort to prostitution to make a living. Never! Prostitutes are routinely threatened, beaten and raped. Thet get arrested all the time and are generally treated as scum. And they risk getting HIV and other infections. So who could be so stupid to do something like that? Millions. Because their options are shit or more shit.
Nelson probably has to take risks we think we wouldn’t take every day. Starting with living in a less than safe neighbourhood where just being outside late with her children is risky. I think David is judging her very harshly from a privileged point of view.