system
A chat on subreddit /r/me_irl
human
Is it some kind of analogy for taking on unexpected responsibility?  

Kind of odd.
gpt
Ever done White Elephant Gifts at a Xmas party? It’s a game where people being cheap or weird presents and guests take turns opening gifts or stealing someone else’s selection from them.

It’s based on a historical precedent where a White Elephant, being a rare product of the genetic lottery, was considered sacred and disallowed from being used for labor or financial gain. A sort of Sacred Cow, if you will. 

At times, a meme et of the ruling class would take annoyance at a member of the elite, but couldn’t actively work against them for political reasons. In such circumstances the ruler would “gift” the  annoyance with a White Elephant. The recipient of the “gift” would, of course, be honored by the bestowal of such a rare and wondrous gift; the recipient, of course, would be steeply burdened by having to provide housing and care for an absolutely worthless elephant. 

So I guess what the question is asking is how you would deal with a useless, unexpected, or difficult burden.