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Originally Posted by alexamenos
the thing is....what you're calling an excuse might also be considered a natural right of human beings no less essential and fundamental than the right to free speech or the right to keep the fruits of their own labor. when you call this an excuse rather than a natural right you are making a presumption of guilt on the part of the person in question --
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Natural rights, yes. But our civil rights are tempered (often quite severely) in order to maintain order and provide peace. Probably overused, but you can't shout fire in a crowded theater and claim you are excused under free speech.
I am presuming guilt in my hypotheticals because that's when it is most ironic. Person A gets caught red-handed doing something clearly illegal but has the audacity to say, "oops you forgot to jump through all the hoops so I get to go free now byebye." I understand it's a balance of rights, trying to provide protections for the innocents, but wow does that situation seem wrong.