In Wednesday’s paper, a news story about a man jumping off a bridge seems to blame society for his decision. As reported in The Durango Herald, “it appears (Ian) Taylor died by suicide.”

Richard Dilworth’s comments about “cultural judgments and disparagement of houseless people” seems to conclude that Taylor had no part in his decisions.

It seems this paper never prints any articles about people taking responsibility for their own life decisions. The use of drugs and alcohol are frequently discounted and the unwillingness to work is almost never mentioned. Dilworth does not mention the fact that drugs and alcohol can have very adverse affects on mental health.

There are plenty of jobs in town for people willing to work and this country of ours was not built by supporting those who do not contribute anything. We have to look at both sides of this problem and stop enabling people who are able-bodied and don’t want to work.

It is not our responsibility to continue to talk about spending tax dollars for those who refuse to contribute to society. Work programs would be a much better use of tax dollars and would have a positive return. It is time to stop all the handouts and only offer hand-ups.

Time to stop the blame game and make people more accountable for their own decisions.

David Green

Bayfield