Blame game

In an unaired 1995 episode of The Jenny Jones Show, Jonathan Schmitz walked onto the stage. Awaiting him was Scott Amedure. There, in front of the audience, Amedure revealed that he had a gay crush on Schmitz, who is a heterosexual. Three days after the taping, Schmitz shot Amedure, killing him.

Two weeks ago, Amedures family brought a $50 million suit against Time Warner, claiming the=~ show played a role in promoting the death.

This is perhaps the most absurd and frivolous lawsuit since a woman sued McDonald's for serving hot coffee that was too hot. It was Schmitz, not Jenny Jones, who pulled the trigger and killed Amedure. It was Schmitz, not Time Warner, who decided to resolve his issues with Amedure via a gun.

The Jenny Jones Show was just doing its job, marketing the outrageous and sick to its trailer-park audience. They are in a dirty business, and their customers know it and love it. Schmitz knew the show was a sleaze-fest. He knew the types of people who appear on the show and what the goal of the broadcast was. Who ever went on The Jenny Jones Show touting their Nobel Prize?

Even if he was tricked as he claims he was, Schmitz still should be held responsible for his actions. One cannot blame a party for creating situation that makes someone murder another person. If that is true, a student could kill the professor in a competitive class, and the professor's family could sue the University for creating a high pressure setting which caused the student to kill. A postal worker could kill his boss, and the boss's family could sue the Postal Service for creating a mentally taxing environment. The action is the sole responsibility of the perpetrator. Murder is wrong in any situation, and mental stress is no excuse for it.

This whole concept of a third party being responsible for the individual actions is part of a disturbing trend in America: the trend of denying responsibility. Everyone looks to blame another person for their own mistakes and shortcomings. In the case of the woman who spilled coffee on herself, is she at fault or is McDonald's? Who did the spilling? Who knew that coffee is served hot?

In a society such as ours that gives such freedom to its citizens, personal responsibility and accountability are essential in maintaining order. With every right and privilege comes a duty to exercise that right responsibly. When these frivolous lawsuits are filed, it erodes that sense of duty. It promotes the mentality that nothing is anyone's fault; that all wrongdoers are victims of something bigger.

We cannot have a free society where citizens believe their actions are the fault of a third party and that consequences should be leveled against that third party. Every citizen should be held accountable for his own actions, regardless of outside interactions. A persons should have the strength to control his behavior. If he does not have that strength, then he deserves to suffer the consequences.