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I would say that a criminal is equally guilty if they commit a crime in a dark alley NYC or if they commit a crime in backcountry Idaho.

If I replace my bicycle u-lock with a nice hefty rope and start lashing my bike to whatever object seems solid at the time (this is a concept that actually appeals to me), then I should receive some blame when my bike gets inevitably stolen. However the bicycle thief is no more nor less a thief.



No you shouldn't receive any blame. The person doing something illegal should receive the blame.

You are making your life less convenient for yourself by letting your bike get stolen but you're not doing anything wrong.


I was talking about the guy who got mugged. What if he had never lived in the city.


What I was trying to say is that your hypothetical does a good job of showing why blame is not zero sum. Obviously in either case the criminal receives the same blame, but I think it is fairly clear that the victim who took drastic measures to reduce risk is less to blame than the one who did not.

The important thing to remember is that the blame of the victim, while present, has no relation to the blame of the criminal and should never be relevant in, for example, a criminal trial for the criminal. I really feel like I can't emphasis that enough.


I don't think we are talking about the same thing.


Perhaps not. I am just trying to expand upon what enraged_camel mentioned about blame not being zero sum.




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