The Idea That You’re Not Liable For What You Did Because It Was “Transactional” Is Total Nonsense

Lately, we’re seeing a new phony defense to doing the wrong thing: “I’m not guilty because my conduct was just transactional”

Image by Dariusz Staniszewski from Pixabay

By David Grace (Amazon Page — David Grace Website)

At the end of WW II we heard the German criminals’ repeated refrain, “I am not guilty of murder because I was just following orders.” Often this excuse was accompanied by, “I am not guilty of murder because I was just doing my job.”

• “Yes, I shot those Jews in the back of the head, but I was just following orders.”
• “Yes, I turned on the gas that killed those Jews, but I was just doing my job.”

We all know that “just following orders” and “just doing my job” does not excuse you from liability and punishment for your conduct.

Lately, we’re seeing an equally ridiculous, false, nonsense defense to doing the wrong thing: “I’m not guilty because my conduct was just transactional.”

• “Yes, I hired a convicted child molester to work in my elementary school because he would work cheap. It was not illegal. It was just transactional, so it was OK.”
• “Yes, we hired a convicted swindler to head our marketing department. That’s was not illegal. Because it was just transactional, it was OK.”
• “Yes, we sold our toxic pestacides in Africa, but those countries didn’t have any laws against that. It was just transactional, so it was OK.”
• “Yes, our AI program wrongly denied 90% of insurance claims, but there was no law against that. It was just transactional, so it was OK.”

The word “transactional” only means that you gave something to get something.

Everything anyone does or has done in exchange for some benefit is transactional.

If what you procured or what you did was dangerous, unreasonably damaging, harmful, illegal, or unethical then entering into that transaction to acquire it or to have it done is still wrong and you are still responsible for that wrong.

You don’t get a pass.

• I’m not guilty because I was only following orders
• I’m not guilty because I was only doing my job
• I’m not guilty because my conduct was only transactional

are all lies, are no excuse, and yes, you absolutely are still liable for the harm you knowingly caused.

— David Grace (Amazon Page — David Grace Website)

If you would like to know about David Grace’s new, always free, columns, click this LINK and then fill in your email address. When a new David Grace column is published, Medium (not David Grace!) will send you the new column as an email.

CLICK HERE to see some topic lists (Racism, Humorous Short Stories, etc.) and links in each topic list to some of my favorite columns on that topic.

To see a searchable list of all David Grace’s columns in chronological order, CLICK HERE

To see a list of all of David Grace’s columns sorted by topic/subject matter, CLICK HERE

To see David Grace’s Medium Home Page, CLICK HERE

To follow David Grace on Threads, CLICK HERE