3 ms·
> It isn't illegal if you don't get caught. Illegal seems like the wrong word for this sentiment as it's legal status does not depend on being caught. If I wer
by Zenbit_UX 7y ago
> It isn't illegal if you don't get caught.
Illegal seems like the wrong word for this sentiment as it's legal status does not depend on being caught. If I were to rob a bank, it would be an illegal act whether or not I'm caught.
Problem seems like an apt substitute.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- manicdee 7y agoThe phrase reflects on “illegal” being an act for which you are punished by a court or regulatory authority. There is never any question that laws or regulations are actually being broken. View the phrase as exercising poetic licence and using “illegal” as a shorthand for “leading to a conviction and causing the actor to face punitive action.” The backwards logic is that I didn’t face punitive measures therefore what I did is not illegal. Thus in your example robbing the bank is technically illegal but you aren’t going to court if you don’t get caught.