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I disagree, though I note your adherence to the dictionary definition of the word criminal.
by diminoten 12y ago
I disagree, though I note your adherence to the dictionary definition of the word criminal.
- sanderjd 12y agoThere isn't another workable definition of the word. Maybe you want a word like "deviant" or "degenerate".
- diminoten 12y ago(of an action or situation) deplorable and shocking. Now that we've gotten to quoting dictionary definitions to words, I think we've killed any good spirit that may have been left in this conversation.
- yellowapple 12y agoWhat dictionary does your definition come from? According to multiple sources[0], the closest match to your definition (American Heritage's "Shameful; disgraceful: a criminal waste of talent.") is typically used in a figurative sense ("that spinach dip is criminally awful"). [0]: https://www.wordnik.com/words/criminal https://www.wordnik.com/words/criminal
- AnthonyMouse 12y agoDefining "criminal" to mean wrongful rather than illegal doesn't actually help you. Aaron Swartz or graduate students publishing crypto code would not be doing anything wrongful either. And no one is suggesting that we remove the laws against unarguably wrongful things like fraud or homicide, none of which could plausibly be used to charge any of those people.