"But they do so many other good things"

The following was written in response to a thread about how Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shlelter volunteers keep expecting support from Non-Hetero women, Intersexed women, Transsexual women, Kinky women, people in sex work, Genderqueers and male survivors of rape, despite actively tacitly or actively enabling marginalization and sexual violence against them (abetted by government funding):


"But they do so many good things" is a popular argument to justify... pretty much anything. Various conservative religious organizations? Warmongering, sexism and homophobia yes, but also charity and community. The US Army? Colonialism, militarism and draining billions from better uses yes, but also employment and education. The Hell's Angels? Violence, sexism and corruption, but they stimulate the local economy.

The underlying failure of reason comes when we attempt to weigh the bad against the good under the assumption that "the ends justify the means." But "ends and means" only make sense when the means *somehow lead to* the ends.

All of the organizations above, as well as Rape Relief, could not only cease their harmful acts and still do their "good works," they could do them better.

Rephrased:it would be like if I went around picking up litter and kicking people in the shins.

"Ow! My shins!" they say.

"But look at how much litter I've picked up." I say

I overlook that if I spent less time kicking people in the shins, I could pick up a lot more litter.