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Henchman21yesterday at 11:56 PM1 replyview on HN

> If someone is bad and worth condemnation, all their actions must also be bad.

> I don't have to take a brain-dead shortcut of claiming every deed is bad.

What? Reconcile these seemingly opposing statements?


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s1artibartfasttoday at 12:11 AM

The second sentence of the first post was explication of the sentiment described and criticized by the preceding sentence. It is the sentiment I am calling out.

The first post could or should have been more clearly written with an em-dash, but then people would start calling me a clanker. /s

> Actor and action conflation is incredibly common these days — If someone is bad and worth condemnation, all their actions must also be bad.

My position: Bad person can do good thing for bad motives. example: The evil wife beating doctor who saves a baby just because they get paid for it.

My "autistic" brain can recognize that saving babies is still a good thing. I don't have to like the doctor, or their reasons. For whatever reason, a large portion of people see a comparable situation and instantly start arguing that saving babies is bad.

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