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Saul_Firehand t1_jd56qxo wrote

Reply to comment by AwTekker in Los Angeles police accidentally release photos of undercover officers to watchdog website by BearJew1991

Tell me you don’t understand Hanlon’s razor without telling me you don’t understand it.

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Daripuff t1_jddz3qc wrote

Problem is, once it becomes a pattern, stupidity is no longer an adequate explanation.

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Saul_Firehand t1_jdi71z8 wrote

Because stupid can’t form patterns?

Animals can form patterns that harm others it doesn’t mean they did it out of malice.

Bad or stupid habits are easily formed.

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Daripuff t1_jdiks9m wrote

And you’re assuming that malice can’t pretend to be stupidity.

If there’s pattern of “stupidity” that just so happens to benefit the “stupid”, it’s very safe to assume malice.

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Saul_Firehand t1_jdj3srm wrote

That is literally the opposite of hanlons razor.

It is like you willfully ignore that and need to believe mustache twirling evil is why people do dumb stuff.

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Daripuff t1_jdj5w7y wrote

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

A pattern of apparent stupidity that benefits the “stupid” is not adequately explained by mere stupidity.

The fact it benefits the “stupid”, and the “stupid” keeps doing it, despite the harm it’s going to others (because malice wouldn’t even be a question if there were no harm happening) is all the evidence you need to assume malice.

Even if they are truly ignorant of the harm that’s happening, willful ignorance is malice.

Additionally lying and claiming stupidity is a common defense for the malicious who get caught. The intelligently malicious will make sure that their actions can appear to be explained by stupidity.

No, the variables of “The stupidity is a pattern” and “The stupidity benefits the one being stupid” change the equation enough that you’re the stupid one if you think that “they don’t know that they’re doing, they’re just dumb” is sufficient explanation.

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