Unintended

There is an internal "social media" platform at work, and a merry cast of regulars who inhabit the space. Part of it set aside for talking politics, and it's yet more proof that simply making people put their real names on things doesn't prevent conversations from turning into flame wars.

But recently someone posted snippets from a conversation they were having on a Discord server that mainly dealt with what has come to be called "Cancel culture." To put it briefly, it was generalized complaining about how they felt marginalized and threatened by a broader society that didn't recognize their good intent.

At first, I read the threat with amused detachment. The irony of these sorts of things always stands out for me. After all, "Cancel culture" isn't new. One could easily say that it was a thing seventy years ago. Back then, however, offending local social sensibilities could (and did) end in fatalities. But with the end of the work week, I spend some time this morning (you can see what an exciting life I lead) to unpack a couple of the statements people made. It was a disaster. But it was illuminating.

I was tempted to post the central thesis as an entry in "The Short Form" but it seemed that it needed context, so a standard post it is.

In a nutshell, one's subjective perception of the self as "a good person" is not a license to presume that no further evidence of this fact is needed, or useful.

Consider the case of Miya Ponsetto. It's been in the news quite a bit recently, but here's the recap: Ms. Ponsetto left her cellphone in a ride-share car. Realizing it was missing, she spotted 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr., who had the same model phone. Believing that young Mr. Harrold had stolen her phone, Ms. Ponsette attempted to that the phone from him. This was all captured on video by Keyon Harrold Sr.

Ponsetto insisted to CNN after the hotel clash that she always tries to do the “right thing,” and that she was the one assaulted — though neither video of the scene supported that.

Just hours before her arrest, Ponsetto, inexplicably wearing a cap that said “Daddy,” said on “CBS This Morning” that she considers herself “super sweet.”

But Ms. Ponsetto's self-perception doesn't change the fact that she was caught on camera assaulting a youth. And the legal consequences of that fact are no different, either. And, okay, maybe the problem is simply that Ms. Ponsetto is both flaky and has anger-management issues; those aren't defenses under the law, otherwise they'd likely be trotted out for a majority of the assaults in the nation.

Ms. Ponsetto wants to be seen as different from some random street criminal, not because she behaved differently, but because she intended differently. But intent cannot be seen in a video, only impacts. And so to the degree that people want to be seen in a certain light, they have to show themselves that way, not just tell people that they are.