Every person should be responsible for their own actions. I don’t believe anyone should suffer because of the actions of a family member nor should they be treated deferentially because they come from a good family.

I always feel great empathy for the relatives of someone who commits a serious crime. Whenever a big crime has been committed, we experience media mania where everyone remotely connected to the story becomes part of the story. This may be viewed as only a minor inconvenience, but the real problem is the fact that a whole family’s name and reputation can be ruined in many people’s mind by the actions of another family member. On the TV drama, That’s Life, one fictional character has a construction company called Buttafucco’s Construction, and on the company truck it has in brackets (NO RELATION). This struck me as funny, but also a little saddening, becasue I’m sure there are businessmen who have had their businesses hurt, and not even by a family member, but by just having the same name as an unsavory or disreputable character.

We have all seen troubled children come from decent families, while truly good people raise themselves up out of the rubble of a poor home situation. The root of prejudice is when we judge someone by their family name and history, or where they come from, etc. It must be very frustrating when people receive suspicious looks, knowing their careers may be suffering - not from their own actions, but because Cousin Jed was always a few fries short of a happy meal and went on a shooting spree at the local convenience store last week. And since you’re related, maybe the grease in your bin doesn’t run clear either. In a perfect world, everyone would be respected for what they actually do, their contributions to society.

Everyone is the son of his own works.  -Cervantes