Morality vs Fear of consequences

Trollheart · 02-02-2017, 08:33 PM

Say the rule of law disappeared tomorrow, and there was no way you could be charged for any crime, would you commit any? Is our reluctance (mostly) to engage in criminal behaviour more down to our inherent morality, the right and wrong we have learned from our parents and from society, or just the fear of being caught?

Note: I'm not talking about a zombie apocalypse or the aftermath of a nuclear strike or any situation where you would be expected to, even compelled to, suspend your moral compass in order to ensure survival. This has nothing to do with that. It's a theoretical tomorrow when the law disappears. What do you do? Do you take advantage of being able to commit any crime you want, or do you retain the moral codes you have (presumably) lived your life by?

Personally, would I murder anyone? No, absolutely not. Because I believe and have been brought up to believe it is wrong to take a life, plus I can see the consequences of that action: the possible children left behind, the loved ones, the ones who rely on the person I would murder. I find murder abhorrent in all cases, and while there may be some slight justification for same (Hitler, maybe Bin Laden etc) in general the idea of it is repugnant to me.

Would I rape someone? Again, not a chance. The wrongness of this act is ingrained in my psyche and I would never do such a thing.

Would I steal from someone? Not a person, no. Not like a burglary or a street hold up. Possibly from a bank. In fact, yes, if I knew I would never be punished for it, almost definitely. Banks have screwed me for all my adult life so I would not feel the same moral repugnance relieving them of millions that I would stealing a much smaller amount from a person, face to face. Does that make me a coward? Probably, but it proves I still have some moral compass I direct my actions by.

What do you guys think?

**Frownland** · 02-02-2017, 08:38 PM

I would get ****ed up in public wherever I want and drunk drive when I feel like I'm fine. I think DUI laws would be the biggest former law broken in this scenario, granted that society is still functioning. There are a lot of things that I could do that don't conflict with my morals that I could get in trouble for.

Pet_Sounds · 02-02-2017, 08:39 PM

I still feel bad about cheating on a biology test two years ago. I guess that puts me in category #1.

GuD · 02-02-2017, 08:42 PM

Vandalism and a fvckton of it.

GuD · 02-02-2017, 08:43 PM

Come to sf, frown. Public intox is practically an expectation here

OccultHawk · 02-02-2017, 09:16 PM

there's so many people I'd love to kill

**Frownland** · 02-02-2017, 09:21 PM

I could probably get down with some vigilante justice come to think of it.

Tristan_Geoff · 02-02-2017, 09:56 PM

Fucking if someone votes for rape I will personally slit your goddamn throat.

JiggleMonster · 02-02-2017, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tristan Geoff

Fucking if someone votes for rape I will personally slit your goddamn throat.

I'm tempted to do it just to piss you off.

But this response kind of ruins that, now doesn't it?

Chiomara · 02-02-2017, 10:21 PM

I'd have a grand old time doing various illegal but harmless [chaotic-good] things. Mostly just poking around where I shouldn't be. I've always wanted to snoop around in one of those ugly suburban mcmansions and find out what sort of sordid secrets they have. And probably steal their bourbon too. Maybe a tiny bit of arson? A small, perfectly reasonable amount of arson.

I can think of a few people who I would like to seriously injure. But they truly deserve it. (And the US justice system is utterly useless, the way they lock up nonviolent offenders for decades while allowing truly vile people go free)

It's interesting, because I've known a lot of absolutely awful people who pretend to be good, virtuous people, convincingly even (they manage to fool everyone), but it's just a performance. They're always smiling and virtue-signaling and then ****ing up everyone's lives left and right.
I suspect we all unconsciously harbor some dark, questionable urges though. Surely each person has something which would eventually rear its head if we lived in a lawless society. Especially since people habitually repress things so much.

View Poll Results: What crime, if any, would you commit if there were no consequences?
None; I have a morality that forbids or prevents me from committing criminal acts	3	25.00%
None; I would be too scared to commit a crime	0	0%
Grand larceny	3	25.00%
Petty larceny	1	8.33%
Murder	1	8.33%
Rape	1	8.33%
Other	5	41.67%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

02-02-2017, 08:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Morality vs Fear of consequences Say the rule of law disappeared tomorrow, and there was no way you could be charged for any crime, would you commit any? Is our reluctance (mostly) to engage in criminal behaviour more down to our inherent morality, the right and wrong we have learned from our parents and from society, or just the fear of being caught? Note: I'm not talking about a zombie apocalypse or the aftermath of a nuclear strike or any situation where you would be expected to, even compelled to, suspend your moral compass in order to ensure survival. This has nothing to do with that. It's a theoretical tomorrow when the law disappears. What do you do? Do you take advantage of being able to commit any crime you want, or do you retain the moral codes you have (presumably) lived your life by? Personally, would I murder anyone? No, absolutely not. Because I believe and have been brought up to believe it is wrong to take a life, plus I can see the consequences of that action: the possible children left behind, the loved ones, the ones who rely on the person I would murder. I find murder abhorrent in all cases, and while there may be some slight justification for same (Hitler, maybe Bin Laden etc) in general the idea of it is repugnant to me. Would I rape someone? Again, not a chance. The wrongness of this act is ingrained in my psyche and I would never do such a thing. Would I steal from someone? Not a person, no. Not like a burglary or a street hold up. Possibly from a bank. In fact, yes, if I knew I would never be punished for it, almost definitely. Banks have screwed me for all my adult life so I would not feel the same moral repugnance relieving them of millions that I would stealing a much smaller amount from a person, face to face. Does that make me a coward? Probably, but it proves I still have some moral compass I direct my actions by. What do you guys think? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

02-02-2017, 08:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I would get ***ed up in public wherever I want and drunk drive when I feel like I'm fine. I think DUI laws would be the biggest former law broken in this scenario, granted that society is still functioning. There are a lot of things that I could do that don't conflict with my morals that I could get in trouble for. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.* d e a f b o x

02-02-2017, 08:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,488	I still feel bad about cheating on a biology test two years ago. I guess that puts me in category #1. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

02-02-2017, 08:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
GuD Dude... What? Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 1,322	Vandalism and a fvckton of it. __________________ I spit bullets in my feet Every time I speak So I write instead And still people want me dead ~msc

02-02-2017, 08:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
GuD Dude... What? Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 1,322	Come to sf, frown. Public intox is practically an expectation here __________________ I spit bullets in my feet Every time I speak So I write instead And still people want me dead ~msc

02-02-2017, 09:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	there's so many people I'd love to kill

02-02-2017, 09:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I could probably get down with some vigilante justice come to think of it. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

02-02-2017, 10:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chiomara mayor of spookytown Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 812	I'd have a grand old time doing various illegal but harmless [chaotic-good] things. Mostly just poking around where I shouldn't be. I've always wanted to snoop around in one of those ugly suburban mcmansions and find out what sort of sordid secrets they have. And probably steal their bourbon too. Maybe a tiny bit of arson? A small, perfectly reasonable amount of arson. I can think of a few people who I would like to seriously injure. But they truly deserve it. (And the US justice system is utterly useless, the way they lock up nonviolent offenders for decades while allowing truly vile people go free) It's interesting, because I've known a lot of absolutely awful people who pretend to be good, virtuous people, convincingly even (they manage to fool everyone), but it's just a performance. They're always smiling and virtue-signaling and then ***ing up everyone's lives left and right. I suspect we all unconsciously harbor some dark, questionable urges though. Surely each person has something* which would eventually rear its head if we lived in a lawless society. Especially since people habitually repress things so much.