6.05.2005

Inability to Foresee the Consequences

Among the many truly weird incidents in Bangkok this week - at least the ones that made the newspapers - one truly stood out, if only for the classic quote (or maybe it was more of a case of creative translation by the reporter) from a Thai mother.

A story in The Nation reported that a third grade Bangkapi (a Bangkok suburb) student had fallen from his third-floor classroom to a second-floor balcony while "trying to pick up the lid of a milk bucket that was dropped onto the balcony" (Note: just so you don't think we're a bunch of country farmers here in Thailand: I have no idea what this "milk bucket" is supposed to be. I'm assuming the reporter is talking about a plastic milk carton and not an actual bucket used for milking cows). The schoolboy was hospitalized with facial wounds and cracked ribs but is expected to make a full recovery.

Now here's the real kicker. His distraught mother, to her credit, didn't blame the school or threaten to sue anybody, as so many lawsuit-happy folks would be inclined to do back in the states. Instead, the boy's mother, Jitra Nathkitseth, told the newspaper that she believed the accident was due to her son's "inability to foresee the consequences of his actions."

What a great comment! Sorta reminds me of the Bush administration and their lack of foresight before engaging in overseas military maneuvers. "Damn, Rummy, I guess we just didn't accurately foresee the horrible consequences of this invasion!"

But unlike the Thai mother, I can't imagine Dubya and company actually accepting responsibility for the mistakes they've made.

2 comments:

John in Atlanta said...

Had that happened here in the states the lawyers would have already been involved. When did the US become a nation of people who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions? Probably about the time of Watergate.

Anonymous said...

Hell,if that had happened here,the lawyers would have been waiting for him at the bottom before he even hit the ground !