what is the meaning of "responsibility rests upon recognition and recognition is a form of agreement"

The narrator recalls an evening when he is walking down the street and accidentally bumps into a white man. The white man calls him an insulting name and the narrator begins to beat him. The narrator feels as though he is "one of the most irresponsible begins that ever lived" and cannot be responsibile for this act because he is never recognized. He uses this quote to declare that in order to responsible for any actions, he must first be seen.