If I get into an argument with someone, let’s say because I am having a bad day, this person does something stupid in front of me, I call them out for it, tell them what for and then that person goes home and kills themselves, am I somehow responsible for their action?
Am I morally culpable for their killing of themselves?
I’m sorry, Joe, but this world is a hard place. People are not always nice. In fact sometimes they are evil. Other times, they simply refuse to take responsibility for what they decide to do, and others refuse to assign responsibilty to those whom have done.
If we start treading down the road that we are responsible for the actions others take based upon how we interacted with that person, or based upon how others interacted with that person, then we simply go further down the road of our own insanity, which is exactly what I expect that man will do.
It goes to intent. If you have a coworker, employee, friend, or even a complete stranger that does something stupid, and you "call them out," I would suggest that ultimately, your actions are not malicious, but rather have that person's betterment or safety at their core. Of course some people are more tactful and skilled about it than others, but even if you cuss somebody out for running a red light, you're ultimately pointing out to them that they violated an agreed upon rule of the road and that their persistance in doing so endangers others and themselves. Of course you may do so in a series of foul expletives, but at its base, it's actually a civilizing action since the other person violated common sense, convention and societal norms of behavior. That's not the malicious intent to which I am speaking; you're actually in a sense, giving that person advice to improve their behavior.
Now, if you walk up to a random person in a mall and start berating them just to make them feel small and embarass them and they then go and kill their self, you may not have any legal culpability, but if indeed that was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak, that your belittling of the person was just the latest in a long string of events unknown to even you, then yes, you have at least a small degree of moral culpability.
Ultimately we are all accountable for our own actions, but to say that others don't influence our behavior is nonsense.
Suppose you take a new job on the assembly line at the widget factory. Your trainer shows you how to do your assigned task incorrectly. You work diligently all day doing exactly what you were instructed to do. At the end of the day, the production supervisor tears you a new A-hole because you screwed up every part you worked on that day.
Is the trainer not at least partially culpable?
Similarly, in moral matters, while children who grow up having a strong sense of values instilled in them may go off the rails of their own volition, those that retain those values often act as they do as the result of their parentage.
Let me ask you this...if you were going on vacation for two weeks and needed somebody to watch your house, and you knew absolutely nothing about the two candidates you had to choose from apart from the fact that one was raised in a rigorous Christian household with strong values, and the other was raised by a couple felons, who do you select? With no further information would you not operate on the assumption that the parents and environment of the candidates' respective upbringing most likely had some influence on their potential behavior and demeanor?