I enjoyed your article.. it sounded a lot like me trying to talk my way out of my last speeding ticket.. haha! But seriously.... A little story... If I may... I use to have a tea cup terrier puppy I loved dearly. One day my ex boyfriend and I were walking him on the dock downtown by the river. Well my ex let him off of his leash ( he wasn't supposed to but did it anyway) and right away he starting chasing some birds. So I'm chasing after him and the birds fly over the low brick wall and out over the water. Well my puppy was so small he couldn't see what was on the other side, which was water. So he jumped into the river. First time in my life I reacted to anything that fast.. I mean not even a half a second. I jumped in after him without even thinking about it.. didn't have time... I didn't think about me or my safety ( as there were alligators and deadly snakes in this river). I didn't even have time to consider how bad this would scare my son, who was with us at the time. I dove right in the water, came up, grabbed my puppy and threw him to safety. The second I knew he was safe I started screaming my head off for my ex to help me out because I finally realized I was in danger. It was impossible to get over that brick wall without help. Anyway point being... Logic doesn't always apply. Did l do it out of love, a maternal instinct, just being a good person? Truth is I don't know still to this day? Yes, I loved him very much! But the truth is my reaction was so fast I didn't even know I had done it until I was screaming for help! I didn't have time for logic, intent, love or anything else. I just reacted! This might not be the kind of reaction you were looking for, but I thought it was important to say! Take care!
I think there needs to be more gradations of morality. Because there's pure accidents, there's intentional malicious acts...and there's grey space between. Somewhat like failure to perform one's duty. Or what Christians might call sins of omission (but without the religious stigma). The good/evil dichotomy entraps us, and makes it harder to take responsibility, because admitting you messed up is the same as admitting you did it intentionally, to some. Or like when you were a kid, and you broke rules just cause you were a kid, and have a brain full of cats, where consequences don't exist, and then got called in and treated like you'd done something deliberately. (So many unpleasant interrogations, being asked "why" when I legit didn't know; I was having fun and lost my mind, then being treated like I was going to Hell for it. Fucking fundie childhoods.)
I enjoyed your article.. it sounded a lot like me trying to talk my way out of my last speeding ticket.. haha! But seriously.... A little story... If I may... I use to have a tea cup terrier puppy I loved dearly. One day my ex boyfriend and I were walking him on the dock downtown by the river. Well my ex let him off of his leash ( he wasn't supposed to but did it anyway) and right away he starting chasing some birds. So I'm chasing after him and the birds fly over the low brick wall and out over the water. Well my puppy was so small he couldn't see what was on the other side, which was water. So he jumped into the river. First time in my life I reacted to anything that fast.. I mean not even a half a second. I jumped in after him without even thinking about it.. didn't have time... I didn't think about me or my safety ( as there were alligators and deadly snakes in this river). I didn't even have time to consider how bad this would scare my son, who was with us at the time. I dove right in the water, came up, grabbed my puppy and threw him to safety. The second I knew he was safe I started screaming my head off for my ex to help me out because I finally realized I was in danger. It was impossible to get over that brick wall without help. Anyway point being... Logic doesn't always apply. Did l do it out of love, a maternal instinct, just being a good person? Truth is I don't know still to this day? Yes, I loved him very much! But the truth is my reaction was so fast I didn't even know I had done it until I was screaming for help! I didn't have time for logic, intent, love or anything else. I just reacted! This might not be the kind of reaction you were looking for, but I thought it was important to say! Take care!
Good analogy on much ignored topic.
I think there needs to be more gradations of morality. Because there's pure accidents, there's intentional malicious acts...and there's grey space between. Somewhat like failure to perform one's duty. Or what Christians might call sins of omission (but without the religious stigma). The good/evil dichotomy entraps us, and makes it harder to take responsibility, because admitting you messed up is the same as admitting you did it intentionally, to some. Or like when you were a kid, and you broke rules just cause you were a kid, and have a brain full of cats, where consequences don't exist, and then got called in and treated like you'd done something deliberately. (So many unpleasant interrogations, being asked "why" when I legit didn't know; I was having fun and lost my mind, then being treated like I was going to Hell for it. Fucking fundie childhoods.)