MarkusRamikin comments on Rationality Quotes July 2014 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: VAuroch 06 July 2014 06:51AM

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Comment author: James_Miller 18 July 2014 02:00:07AM 27 points [-]

A law professor who was a practicing defense attorney whom I talked with during my ordeal told me of an experiment he had done. He was at a dinner party and told people at one table that he was defending a man who was wrongly accused of molesting a child, and was met with shock and accusations of trying to free a monster. He told another table that he was defending a murder suspect whom he was convinced was guilty, and got, "Oh, that's sounds interesting. Tell me more."

Ray Atkinson on Quora

Comment author: MarkusRamikin 18 July 2014 07:13:33AM 3 points [-]

I figure it's the "safe" reaction. Since child molestation is considered so much more repugnant, accidentally getting seen as having taken the side of a child molester (by allowing that he might be innocent when you don't really know enough to judge that) is a bigger social risk.

Comment author: [deleted] 18 July 2014 07:29:02AM 2 points [-]

child molestation is considered so much more repugnant

I guess that was the whole point of the quote...

Comment author: MarkusRamikin 18 July 2014 07:38:15AM *  4 points [-]

I guess that was the whole point of the quote...

And here I could have sworn it also had something about the way people judge guilt and innocence.