A Moral Conundrum.

[Dirty_bread]

Recently, in the place of my residence, four teens that attend my school were riding in a small car as it crashed into a canal by the road. All but one are now dead. The time that their car landed in the water was around 12:20 AM. This is where my delema begins. The driver and passengers were all 16 (perhaps one was 17), and where I live, there is a legal curfew for anyone under 18 without a 21 year old in attendence from driving after 11:00 PM. Everyone around me seems saddened by the loss, and yet, I find that they are at fault for not only driving at a time in which doing so was illegal, but for hitting another vehicle before their entry.

So, dear Escapist, am I a bad person for seeing the fact that 4 people made stupid decisions with their lives and 3 of them have now lost theirs because of this?

 

[Neonbob]

Uh...no.
No you are not.
You can move on now.

You are guilty of expecting a bunch of teenagers in a car to follow rules that have been set down, though.

 

[CloakedOne]

I have a cousin who was in a car accident. He was driving drunk and without his seatbelt on. He was in the hospital for months in a coma. I have no remorse for him because he was acting foolishly. I'm pretty sure what you feel is just fine, especially compared to my lack of feeling about my own kin.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

That's no conundrum you fool! I was expecting something interesting, these guys were retards, shit happens, people die, etc,etc.

 

[Wayte]

I wouldn't say you're a bad person if the accident was their fault. Curfew laws just seem like a measure to make the city look like it's doing something about delinquency though, so if that's your sole reason, its possible you're a bad person.

 

[Spaghetti]

Uh...no.
No you are not.
You can move on now.

You are guilty of expecting a bunch of teenagers in a car to follow rules that have been set down, though.

Yea, I'm going with neonbob on this one. I struggle to feel pitty for teenagers that are dicking about...especially when it involved cars or drugs or booze or all of the above.
And just so I'm covering my own arse from flames, if they're knowingly breaking the law then by definition the minimum of what they are doing is "Dicking about".

But on the other hand, it's always terrible when someone dies, so I see your dilema

 

[martin's a madman]

Geeze, curfews where you live? That's rough. I would be in violation of that law not even because I have anywhere to go but simply because I want to violate it. I won't have anyone restricting my movements. On another moral conundrum, would you say it is wrong that I care more about the curfew rule than the deaths of those kids? I wouldn't.

 

[benylor]

Whether they made a bad decision or not, this is still a tragedy. There is always always ALWAYS a third option.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

To be honnest, I dont really know or care. I'm in a bad mood tonight, so I will just say this: If you feel you should feel bad for them, then there is your answer.

 

[Godavari]

While the consequences were much greater than they should have been, you're not a bad person. A bunch of teens driving around illegally (and probably high or drunk) are equivalent to a guy swimming in a shark tank. When you do stupid shit, you take that risk.
On the other hand, you should feel sad for the friends and family of these kids. It isn't their fault that their loved ones made bad decisions.

 

[firedfns13]

No, because where I live we all have much more restrictions because dumb people killed themselves in much the same way. Except it was a tree instead of a canal.
While I don't believe in curfews, drunk driving is the dumbest thing of all you can do. It isnt hard to find a ride, and if it is, i guess you're stuck there so you don't kill other people since youre too stupid to realize that you suck at driving.

Which they do suck at, since they aren't me and I feel only I should be entitled to driving

 

[Suskie]

Yeah, I have the same curfew where I live. I say any time teenagers suffer an accident due to reckless driving, it's no one's fault but their own. Which isn't to say I wasn't every bit as reckless when I was 17, but nevertheless.

 

[Lullabye]

hhahhahahahahahahhahahahahahaha.....yet another funny thread. seriously, i can't believe your actually bothered by this. you need a life, a nice pimping life.

 

[Silver]

Without more information about them it's impossible to say. The driver is definitely guilty of a bit too much stupidity, and takes responsability both for their own and the other three's lives. The other three is more of a gray area. It depends a bit on motivation, and what they were doing, and why they were doing it. They had what was coming to them a bit (a lot), but it's still tragic.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person about it. You don't care about the hundreds of women getting raped and murdered in Africa every day, so why should 3 stupid kids breaking the law bother you? Sure, proximity and all, but still.

 

[Dirty_bread]

Not in the slightest.

4 people endangered their own lives and possibly that of others and 3 ended up dead. Being all 16 year olds, I'd wager they had been drinking and/or were speeding. As such, it's their own bloody fault and that's all there is to it. Of course, if they were my friends, I'd be sad anyway, but since they're not (and it doesn't look like you are either), there's just no way to empathize. Let's just hope the one who survived is going to be much safer on the road after this.

(Incidentally, where do you live for there to be a curfew?)

I live in Florida. The 11:00 time isnt a curfew per se, but the restricted licence given to 16 year old drivers mandates no driving between then and I believe 6 am

 

[Kpt._Rob]

That's not a moral conundrum. What you're really asking is whether or not it's okay for you to hop up on your high horse and act vindictively towards some kids who made a bad decision and paid the price.

 

[Gmano]

No, they made stupid, illegal choices. It was there fault.

However, it wouldn't be unreasonable to be saddened by the loss (regardless of whose fault it was), and if not that, be saddened that this means the curfew will be more strictly enforced.

 

[101194]

Hey! It's the Escapsit, You think we haven't thought about this ourselves? When people do stupid things and end up killing themselves, Give out a laugh, Chuckle a little. It's only sad if someone important was lost. I mean if he took IQ 160 kid with him then you can cry but I mean this is natural selection, Just let it work out and you'll feel better in the morning. These Moral quorums go away after your 21.