Calling fouls
I think that far too many people responding to this post have taken a very narrow perspective on the question... especially those who say you should call the foul on yourself "everytime", "definitely", "without exception"..."the only ethical thing to do"..."It's the right thing".
Quite simply, there are exceptions to every rule. Nothing is definite and as far as ethics and doing the "right" thing....well these are very subjective attitudes/ terms that have different meanings to different people.
The choices we make in life are often situational. The way we interpret those situations influence our behavior.
When it comes to human behavior, there's no such thing as "definitely", "without exception" or "everytime"...these are just expressions used to drive a point home but have no foundation in reality.
When it comes to my personal perspective....
If I hold myself accountable to be at the table, pay attention and participate....then I also hold my opponent to the same standard.
I shouldn't have to call a foul on myself because if my opponent is really competing, he's observing every shot I take and will obviously see the foul or at least ask if it was a foul should it seem unclear.
If my opponent is just standing around and not paying attention to the game then he's not competing and what does it matter whether I fouled or not. If he's not competing, then he's just wasting my time.
Do you think the antelope calls a foul on the lion because the lion didn't tell the antelope he was on the menu? Competition can be brutal. It's important to keep your wits about you and pay attention.
If you didn't catch a foul, it's not your opponents fault and as far as I'm concerned, should they fail to inform you, their integrity is quite in tact. It's the person who wasn't paying attention who is ultimately to blame. It's far too easy to blame our opponent for our own short commings.
Try to ask the distracted antelope about integrity right before the lion pounces. Do you really think it was ever an issue?
I think that far too many people responding to this post have taken a very narrow perspective on the question... especially those who say you should call the foul on yourself "everytime", "definitely", "without exception"..."the only ethical thing to do"..."It's the right thing".
Quite simply, there are exceptions to every rule. Nothing is definite and as far as ethics and doing the "right" thing....well these are very subjective attitudes/ terms that have different meanings to different people.
The choices we make in life are often situational. The way we interpret those situations influence our behavior.
When it comes to human behavior, there's no such thing as "definitely", "without exception" or "everytime"...these are just expressions used to drive a point home but have no foundation in reality.
When it comes to my personal perspective....
If I hold myself accountable to be at the table, pay attention and participate....then I also hold my opponent to the same standard.
I shouldn't have to call a foul on myself because if my opponent is really competing, he's observing every shot I take and will obviously see the foul or at least ask if it was a foul should it seem unclear.
If my opponent is just standing around and not paying attention to the game then he's not competing and what does it matter whether I fouled or not. If he's not competing, then he's just wasting my time.
Do you think the antelope calls a foul on the lion because the lion didn't tell the antelope he was on the menu? Competition can be brutal. It's important to keep your wits about you and pay attention.
If you didn't catch a foul, it's not your opponents fault and as far as I'm concerned, should they fail to inform you, their integrity is quite in tact. It's the person who wasn't paying attention who is ultimately to blame. It's far too easy to blame our opponent for our own short commings.
Try to ask the distracted antelope about integrity right before the lion pounces. Do you really think it was ever an issue?
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