Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
I think the difference in this situation is that he likely won't face any state punishments. This is actually where public-shaming comes in handy, in cases where authorities can't or won't act but where consequences are necessary, not only for the sake of justice, but for the purpose of deterring perpetrator and others from repeating the acts.
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There are lots of cases like this where individuals go unpunished, and the state declining to act (or there being no law in place) does not somehow give license to the public to act in a gap-filling role. It's not my right nor yours, sitting behind a computer screen, to mete out life-destroying "justice" to human beings because we, in our subjective wisdom, have decided that it's "necessary" in this case.
The counter example that gives me major hesitation is Cosby. I don't know, maybe he's the exception because I can't conceive of any degree of punishment for him that this social justice machine could manage that I would consider excessive... those cases are rare. I think more likely the right answer is we just have to bite the bullet on those, because systemically, this trend is awful for society.