4 ms·
They, not it.
by readthenotes1 3y ago
They, not it.
- freedomben 3y agoI think "it" in GP was referring to the malfeasance, not the person/people.
- readthenotes1 3y agoWell, it is not the action that needs to be punished but instead the actors. It is kind of interesting to trouble that a pronoun can bring, isn't it?
- mjan22640 3y agois this an https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacoluthon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacoluthon ?
- stronglikedan 3y agoIn the English language, it's understood that punishing a behavior is the same thing as punishing the actors, since behaviors cannot directly be punished. So when OP said, "malfeasance will stop if it isn't punished", it's a common and correct usage. It's all about the context.
- dghf 3y agoThis is perfectly standard English usage. You can punish (inflict a penalty on) a person, and you can punish (inflict a penalty for) a behaviour. "To reward" is similar.