When I was a young angry kid it was sometimes pointed out to me that "yes, maybe that other kid deserves a real beating, but you should not do it." I was only

When I was a young angry kid it was sometimes pointed out to me that "yes, maybe that other kid deserves a real beating, but you should not do it." I was only so successful, I was liked - and somewhat feared - when I left one particular school. The idea still stands, just because something should be done doesn't mean the person who does it is innocent: If Eve is jealous and breaks into Alices house and kills her and that leads to someone discovering that Amice was plotting a bomb attack against a local school it still won't help Eve in court. Edit: I should probably point out that the person who said that would never beat a kid (or anyone else for that matter, and neither would I, now that I have grown up. It was a way of speaking, but I can easily see certain HNers reading it literally. )