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Comment by zo1 | Hacker News Reader

But at what point do we draw the line of responsibility? There are many examples of poor/struggling people that made the best of what they had and made sure that their children had a good start in life.

Yes, my parents were poor and struggling. But they pushed through, made sacrifices and made sure that me and my sister had a good start in life. Free from the burdens that they bore.

To me, the line of responsibility does not cross over a generational boundary. All these individuals that have rough and tough childhoods, are responsible for their own actions. And they're also responsible for not ruining an innocent's or unborn's future by bringing them into this world, and then abandoning them by not doing their best to break the cycle of violence, poverty and lack of education.

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You were lucky enough to have parents who pushed through and made sacrifices. Not everyone is so lucky. That is exactly the point the article is making. You're blaming the children for having inadequate parents.

>"You're blaming the children for having inadequate parents."

Of course not. I'm blaming the children for having inadequate parents and forcing the same on to their own children! Quite a big difference.

Even if responsibility lands on the individual, rather than background circumstances, it's still reasonable to try to figure out how to break the cycle, isn't it? It's possible to hold someone guilty, and still have empathy.

"It's possible to hold someone guilty, and still have empathy." Of course, that's called charity! And is probably a very integral part of the progress of our society. But, let's be honest, most people when they discuss these topics simply dismiss responsibility from the injured/suffering party and are very quick to offload it onto society.

It's kind of sad, really. Because at the end of the day, there are a lot of individuals who will always suffer no matter how much we help them (or how much money we throw at them). And then we go ahead, with our noble, but misguided consciences and tell them it's not their fault. Relieving them of the single greatest motivator for their own success, perhaps their last.

If you don't believe in dualistic free will, then responsibility lies entirely with factors beyond the control of the poor, thus there can be no personal blame.

As my mother says: "I don't care which one of you is responsible, I want you both to stop fighting and clean up this mess you made, now".

Way to blame the victim. So bully does something, causes a fight, parental figure sees and intervenes... and finally, blames both of them for the resulting fight, compelling them both to take responsibility and fix the mess. That's horrible, I hope you didn't get beaten(child-abused) if you refused to clean up the mess.

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