4 ms·
I suspect that a lot of people forget the concept of mens rea (sometimes through lack of critical thinking, sometimes for deliberate conflation). Labels are eas
by tankenmate 6y ago
I suspect that a lot of people forget the concept of mens rea (sometimes through lack of critical thinking, sometimes for deliberate conflation). Labels are easy to throw around; unconscious bias gets lumped together with racism. One is culpable behaviour, the other not paying attention. But again if someone wants to push a particular point of view it's just easier to label someone else as "bad" without having to explain exactly what is bad or how bad.
For every problem there is a solution that is simple, neat—and wrong. -- H.L. Mencken
and from a different social issue but highlighting how easy it is to go from "good guy" to "bad guy";
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist. -- Hélder Câmara
- Nasrudith 6y agoMens rea as a cultural notion has been undermined by the growth of strict liability laws to be "tough on crime" plus it spares any prosecutorial inconveninces like having to prove the barest level of intent. I am no domain expert but an ammendment to require mens rea for far more felonies as opposed to the farcical nonsense where picking up an unidentified feather could be a crime if the feather turns out to be from a bald eagle.