True or false: anything wrong is illegal?

[DreamCrescent]

Too often i see people responding to questions on here with “it’s not illegal, it’s fine”.
Most commonly to the notorious question “she’s 19, he is 43, is this okay?”
I can’t help but wonder do people not realize that not everything wrong is illegal. I’m trying to gauge how many people push their morals and ethics all the way to legality, if it’s not illegal, they’re doing it.
The 19/43 age thing is just an EXAMPLE. Not the topic here.
Better example, even: here in california, the law has been adjusted so that shoplifting charges wouldn’t be made unless it was for more than $900 dollars worth of merchandise. Would that mean any time you steal for <$899 worth, “it’s not illegal, it’s fine. the state consented”

True

False

Updates

1 y

Again, the question isn’t “is this scenario right or wrong”. It was: do you realize that “it’s not illegal” doesn’t make something right

Noticing people making my point for me by restating both of my own examples. The examples are not the intent

The law has had a long history of not catching up to right or wrong. Till very late, interracial marriages were illegal. We’d probably all agree they’re not wrong, though

Just supplied another example.

[Chazmatazz269]

“Wrong” is very subjective. “Illegal” is less so.

You’ve chosen two very different examples to attempt to support your point.
In the first case, the entire documented course of human history demonstrates that young women being attracted to men who have accumulated the experience and resources to provide for her and her family is the norm. As an ADULT, she has the right and the responsibility to make the choices that are in her best interests. Some young women take advantage of older men in such cases. Some men take advantage of naive women in such cases. But we rarely legislate for the minority. Spring fall romance is neither illegal nor wrong. It has worked for millennia. It’s still working, and nobody seems to bat an eye when an older woman takes a much younger mate. Even when they’re literally still a child, there’s pushback against the laws.
In the other case, theft has always been wrong. So much so that all of the major religions have laws against it. Humans have all but universally accepted that natural fact. Before we built governments, communities were governed by popular morality and even then, theft was a crime. So the bizarre arbitrary legislation that corrupt politicians create and idiot voters abide in California is also wrong. To your point though, not illegal.

[DrPepper12]

Morality & legality are only tenuously related and it goes both ways. Some illegal stuff is completely moral - ie, giving drinks to people standing in line for hours to vote is the ethical thing to do but illegal in MAGA states.

[DreamCrescent]

bonus points for bringing your own example to the discussion as opposed to shortsightedly arguing my example instead of seeing the big picture. as most others have.

preciate you

[DangerouslyCute]

it depends on the personal moral compass... the law can't define everything, it's not possible...

so there are definitely dangerous and, in general, "not good" things that are not prohibited... and they are mostly related to your decisions about you... the law assumes, that as an adult you are able to predict different consequences of your decisions and you won't make a one that would harm you

considering that you are an adult:

no one would punish you for suicide attemp

no one would punish you for eating poisonous plants or animals

no one would punish you for having a relationship with much older or younger partner

etc...

there are also limitations related to the number of people working in widely understood lawforce... courts have no capacity to focus on smaller misdemeanors... so the shops or private owners have to carry the responsibility to secure their goods from stealing...

law isn't perfect and has to align to the reality...

[jshm2]

It's a false dichotomy you have there, kiddo.

It was not wrong to hang people from trees in the USA just over 50 years ago. But it was illegal to drink alcohol during prohibition.

You cannot equate wrong and illegal on the same scale as they are different things.

[DreamCrescent]

lol. that’s my point

[OneViewpoint]

You state the obvious.

Right and wrong are subjective morality and ethics judgements based on culture, religion, gender, and socio economic status among other things. Legality is a lot less subjective. A given society has decided to codify certain behaviors as a crime and punishable with financial consequences, jail time, public service, or all three, even death. Only major glaring departures from accepted behavior ever get codified into law while there are countless cases of less serious violations of morality and ethics that are simply left up to the individual and their conscience.

Yes, everyone knows this. Not everyone does the right thing every time. Including you. What's your point?

[NathanDavis]

definitely not true...

there's a whole lot of things that are dangerous, unhealthy, wrong, and even cruel that are still legal, or not illegal yet...

[DreamCrescent]

i know. it’s definitely a coo out when people use the “it’s not illegal” justification. like it’s their excuse to not do better

[AviatorTom]

Not everything wrong is illegal.

Some examples:

It's wrong for me to show up to work late, but it's not illegal.

It's wrong to put mayonnaise on pasta, but it's not illegal.

It's wrong to never wash your car, but it's nit illegal.

[Shiprex]

Pushing morality into relationships is a personal issue and nothing to do with the consenting adults involved in the relationship so it is WRONG to judge and interfere. As for theft of property without paying irrespective of amount, that is inherently wrong because that does not belong to you and others are negatively affected by it. So theft is WRONG.

[msc545]

The law does not always mirror perceived morality, and vice versa.

[DreamCrescent]

👏👏

[exitseven]

If so ethi g is illegal it is a subjective term for rules a government has made up. Whether something is right or wrong is up to a higher power

[WonderingManII]

I'm going with false, on this question. Not that I entirely understand it.

[DreamCrescent]

whooops lol. sorry.

false is correct, for what it’s worth

[WhiteThought]

Nothing is wrong. Nothing is right. These are social or moral constructs.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

slavery was once legal and that is definitely wrong

[eagle1951]

i agree

[DreamCrescent]

thank you. i feel validated