iWicked to the pissath power

Mr. Maiquez showed us another ethical dilemma which involved a third grader named Brendan who got into trouble for cheating on a math test and his father was angry. That weakend, they went to a movie and the father lied and asked the ticket seller for child’s ticket for Brendan’s older brother. Brendan asked his dad why it was ok to lie about that but it wasn’t ok to cheat on a test. His father said that sometimes it is ok to lie if nobody gets hurt. Brendan was confused because if he cheated on a math test and it didn’t hurt anybody, infact it would help him, then why was it bad if what his father said was “true”?

• What is Brendan’s dilemma?

Brendan doesn’t know what to do. His father said that it was ok to lie and cheat if noone got hurt, but cheating on a test didn’t hurt anybody. Brendan’s dad really needs to set himself straight and set a good example for Brendan.

• Have you ever seen an adult or friend do something you felt wasn’t right? What did you do? How did it make you feel?

Yes. My old friend (not my friend anymore) gets all his music from Limewire and it really bothers me because he is just stealing from those artists. I keep trying to tell him that it is wrong, but he says, “So what, it’s not like I’ll get caught”. I try to explain to him that it doesn’t matter if you don’t get caught, it is unethical and wrong. It is just like walking into a store and stealing a CD. But that kid was messed up from the beginning. His father sets a terrible example for him by buying illegal stuff from Taiwan. He also lets the kid download the music. Even the stuff that the kid’s dad sells is from Taiwan and is totally fake.

• Do you think Brendan should try to talk to his Dad again about his lying at the movies?

I think Brendan should really argue with his dad. If his dad doesn’t stop, then Brendan should just tell him that if he doesn’t stop, then he(Brendan) will just keep cheating on his tests. If that really doesn’t work, then Brendan should either pay the movie theater the money lost through his father after the movie, give the management a picture of his father and say not to trust him, or simply tell the ticket guy that his older brother is 16.

• Who might Brendan have hurt by cheating on his quiz?

All Brendan hurts is himself and his reputation. It goes on your permanent record if you cheat, and it is just unethical.

• Brendan’s dad said it was okay to be dishonest if no one was hurt. Who do you think might have been hurt by his lying at the movie ticket office?

The movie theater would get less money if his father did that, so it is pretty much stealing. If they went to a movie that was sold out, that would mean that there are other full-price-paying people who would

• Have you ever felt like doing (or have you actually done) the “wrong thing” because you felt like it was worth it? Do you still feel that it was worth it?

Yes, I often want to do the wrong thing, but I don’t because….it’s wrong. Of course I often have the urge to cheat when I know that I won’t get into trouble at all. I never do though, because I don’t like doing things like that. I can’t recall ever doing anything like what Brendan’s dad did. Before I knew that downloading music for free (or before it was illegal, I can’t remember) I got it by finding the song on the web then saving it after I played it on Windows Media Player. Now I get all my music from Itunes, because that’s the easiest yet ethical way.