Good. This woman could have sickened not only her target, but anyone who came in contact with what she sent. While I share her politics, hate makes monsters of us all, and she crossed the line. While I don't think the "there are good people on both sides" argument holds much water, actions like hers remind me that there are definitely bad people on both sides.

Good men have to do bad things to make the world a better place.

Every time I come upon that dynamic in real life, it's always turned out to be the wrong decision. The ends may justify the means, but the means defines the ends.

Tell that to the men who fought the Civil War and burnt down the south to free my ancestors.

I would, many of them are my ancestors (both sides of the conflict, and some freed by it). And the results were horrifying, even if the means were justified by the evil of slavery (which was a far greater evil than what was inflicted on the Confederates).

Sherman's march made martyrs of the Confederate cause, and those that weren't martyrs turned around and started the KKK, using Union brutality as a rallying cry, and the political backlash derailed Reconstruction with Jim Crow laws.

The means defined the end result, which we're still dealing with today in the form of MAGA.

This is the dynamic I speak of. I don't believe fighting evil is the wrong decision, but per Sun Tzu:

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Had a peaceful solution been worked out, or a surrender negotiated before the razing of the Georgia countryside, I believe that Reconstruction would have been a success. Needless to say, those were unrealistic options at the time, so I do not fault my ancestors (those that fought on the winning side) for the choices they had to make. But those destructive actions led to more evil - driven underground - hiding until recent years, and still potent enough to affect our political discourse today.

would, many of them are my ancestors (both sides of the conflict, and some freed by it). And the results were horrifying, even if the means were justified by the evil of slavery (which was a far greater evil than what was inflicted on the Confederates).

Then you have no room to bitch and you thinking you can support a position so vile makes you not one of us, but just some fascist pretending to be. No actual Black person thinks that way. You are a cynically hateful racist by pretending to be one of us thinking it will legitimize your horrifying position.

Sherman’s march made martyrs of the Confederate cause, and those that weren’t martyrs turned around and started the KKK, using Union brutality as a rallying cry, and the political backlash derailed Reconstruction with Jim Crow laws.

Imagine blaming the Civil War for the KKK and not.m the actions of a group of people determined to keep slavery no matter what. Imagine not thinking they would have done what they did subsequently regardless.

The means defined the end result, which we’re still dealing with today in the form of MAGA.

Nope, it was their choice to try to undermine democracy to bring back slavery, and theirs alone. The moral responsibility to accept what they believe and do was wrong was solely on them, but they didn’t.

This is the dynamic I speak of. I don’t believe fighting evil is the wrong decision, but per Sun Tzu:

And once again you completely misinterpret history to fulfill a political agenda. Sun Tzu wasn’t just talking about peaceful solutions. He was talking about intimidating opponents into surrendering, usually with overwhelming shows of force, to stop further bloodshed, which Sherman did with his campaign and the U.S. did by nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki almost a century later.

Had a peaceful solution been worked out, or a surrender negotiated before the razing of the Georgia countryside, I believe that Reconstruction would have been a success.

And that’s you showing you’re here in bad faith. That never would have happened because the South chose to fight and die for slavery, because for them white supremacy is a part of their culture. There never would have been peace without a resounding defeat and intimidation to surrender. They and they alone chose to be that way. The rest of the U.S. didn’t.

That kind of sick slavery apologia is why we reject that kind of “ends never justify the means” moral outlook and why we look at the reality of a situation before passing judgement.

Racist alt-right dipshit. As if we haven’t seen your ilk pretending to be different races to win arguments before. 🤦

That kind of sick slavery apologia is why we reject that kind of “ends never justify the means” moral outlook and why we look at the reality of a situation before passing judgement.

I know you're running hot after that one, but - didn't you mean "we reject ... ends never justify the means"?

I know you’re running hot after that one, but -

We can soundly dismiss you based on the tone policing alone. Bye

That first part, before "Wait no," was the entirety of my initial comment. I was trying to be kind with what I thought was a correction.

And then I realized you actually meant that - that the ends justify the means. Which I firmly and wholly disagree with, for the reasons I explained above.