Responsibility

I've always considered myself a fairly responsible person - not driving drunk, getting my work done on time, making sure that any animals I have are well cared for. But I'm only good at being responsible for myself - I am terrible at being responsible for other people.

I've had a huge fight in the past with fellow college students who got upset with me for not driving them home when they were drunk (they had to walk the mile back to their dorm.) I know of other people who happily shepherd their group of drunk friends to wherever they need to go, but I just can't be bothered to hang out with people who can't figure out how to get themselves home.

Responsiblity for other people

Mostly, it seems this is a problem around drunk people, but at what point do you think you are responsible for taking care of your drunk friends, and at what point do they need to start thinking responsibly before they get drunk? The worst-case scenario I've heard of is a group of friends I made when I studied abroad. The previous semester, they had been friends with another American exchange student. They went to a party one night with her, but when it was time to leave, she refused to go with them. They talked and tried to convince her, but short of picking her up and shoving her in their car, they didn't think there was much else they could do. So they left her at the party and she ended up getting raped that night. I don't think that she blamed her friends, but they carried around a lot of guilt for that night. For not going back to the party after an hour, and seeing if she would leave then for example.

How far does your responsibility for drunk humans extend? How well do you need to know someone before you find yourself their appointed guardian for making sure that they get home in one piece?

Related posts:

1. Stresses of responsibility