When does personal responsibility become a part of the question?

[jenjayfromSA]

A gun is a tool. It is not inherently right or wrong. It cannot be blamed. It is the one who pulls the trigger who must take responsibility. Anything can be used as a killing weapon, from a rolling pin to a garden fork. A gun simply makes it easier and, perhaps, more tempting. Nobody HAS to kill.

[Camille Turner]

I believe while the shooter does bare total responsibility for his/her actions, the companies and people with political/monetary agendas are to blame as well. Those at the top create horrible propaganda that fuels the fire for their own selfish gain, which I see as almost equally responsible.

[VictoriaMcMillen]

I very strongly believe in taking responsibility for one's own actions and in every case in Final Notice, I solely blamed the shooter. I didn't blame Vitaltech for the Final Notice alert, I didn't blame the NRA for their marketing efforts, I didn't blame the gun manufacturers and sellers.

Thank you for your comment! Please do understand I feel the same, as the reason I asked the question. Guns are weapons. They are a bit violent in nature- as they have the quickest power to kill an animal, a living thing, out of all weapons- and that IS why they were created and continue to be sold. They are most certainly not evil, yet demanding of respect.

I think that too much falls on others, and not enough self-responsibility. My biggest problem lies with the amount of money that is put into preventing proper legislation- as possibly illegal or putting them somewhat at-fault. If we looked at every piece of legislation, the timing it was introduced, along with what tragedy it stemmed from- and then track payments to legislators and lobbyists by the NRA to block such legislation- if the instances coincided- that would show the ongoing cycle- it shows collusion to enable a destructive process to our citizenship and democracy. If a citizen obstructed justice and incited violence- they would be charged for it, but all to often corporations dilute our paths to justice.

Please know I do not want huge restrictions- just real education for gun buyers and users - like a drivers license. Registration of weapons like cars. Contingency plans we can all handle in case people get out of hand with their weapons and pose a threat. Again, thanks for the comment!

[Dolor]

We are all "our brother's keeper" in some regard. If we know someone or something can bring about harm we should report it. VitalTech is responsible indirectly because they should have changed the watch options when they learned people were getting hurt. Ultimately, it is the shooter who does bear the most blame. It was their choice to pull the trigger.

Very well-said! On the other hand, the shooter's mind is not working well. That's a realistic reaction of someone who knows when and how he dies. Some people these days even did more than that.

[CataclysmicKnight]

Definitely the person who does the shooting/revenge/whatever else they may do is responsible. It's not like they can lock up people when they're given their final notice to keep everyone else safe or else no one would want to know. Maybe there could be some kind of mental health test given to people every 6 months or every year that sees if they're still okay with the idea of death and how they might handle their final notice; if they were to fail or not get tested that functionality of the smart watch would be disabled until they're successfully tested again.

[Quithilion]

I don't think there is any question here. The responsibility always lies with the person concerned.

The responsibility of companies is to make money. Even though I don't agree with bribing people to make money, they are fulfilling their responsibility.

The responsibility of the FBI is to catch people who commit a crime. Can they prevent someone from committing murder. I guess so but only during the act, if they act before then you get "minority report" connotations and all the controversy that comes with it.

So, as with all aspects of life, the only person with responsibility here is the person who got the final notice.

[authorswrite]

The shooter. Period. But everyone must arm themselves with the truth. And decide for themselves what their truth is.

[holsam_87]

I think that the responsibility falls to those that could have prevented the situation. Actions speak louder than words and showing interest and care would be one of many ways to help prevent a shooter situation.

[GabbiV]

I think the supplier of the weapons holds responsibility only second to the actual shooter. I tend to think more leniently towards the people that could have prevented the actions, such as guards or anyone at the shooting. But on the other hand, I think more responsibility should be placed on the people closest to the shooter for not doing more, even if you cannot legally do anything about perceived future events.

[Jeyasivananth]

It is the individuals who make any society. If each individual owns his act and acts responsibly; collectively the society too would become a responsible one. The tragedies in the book could have been averted if each of those characters had acted differently. Individual responsibility is the building block.

[bookiegalke]

I think its every one involved. putting blame on one person is unfair in my opinion

[stacie k]

I agree that the shooter is ultimately to blame. However, I can't ignore the carelessness of other parties, such as the NRA, Vitaltech, and even the Green Valley retirement home for their roles in this fictional, but not far from reality, situation.

[britt13]

We are all "our brother's keeper" in some regard. If we know someone or something can bring about harm we should report it. VitalTech is responsible indirectly because they should have changed the watch options when they learned people were getting hurt. Ultimately, it is the shooter who does bear the most blame. It was their choice to pull the trigger.

I have struggled with VitalTechs level of responsibility. I feel very similar to some in the book that talk about how it is just like a doctor telling someone they only have X amount of time to live. That is something that I kept finding odd. I know people had a more precise timeline than doctors can normally give but it seemed odd that just because they knew they were dying they turned into murderers. The suicides made sense to me, going on your own terms, but not the murders.

[britt13]

I think that the responsibility falls to those that could have prevented the situation. Actions speak louder than words and showing interest and care would be one of many ways to help prevent a shooter situation.

So in terms of the book, who do you think could have helped show interest in those that were doing the shooting? I know people keep focusing on VitalTech, but I could not help but think that if there had been some sort of therapist involved in the process it would have helped. I know the watch said to go talk to your doctor, but I think someone who is equipped to deal with emotions would have been better.

[britt13]

I think the supplier of the weapons holds responsibility only second to the actual shooter. I tend to think more leniently towards the people that could have prevented the actions, such as guards or anyone at the shooting. But on the other hand, I think more responsibility should be placed on the people closest to the shooter for not doing more, even if you cannot legally do anything about perceived future events.

I agree. I kept wishing that the shooters would talk to their families when they got their Final Notice. These were everyday average people, not bloodthirsty criminals. I feel like if they had just talked to someone they would have realized that this was a crazy plan they had.