“WORDS FOR CUTTING: WHY WE NEED TO STOP ABUSING “THE TONE ARGUMENT””
“Intentions are not magic, but they are data. They give you useful information about why a microaggression or some other harm happened in the first place, provide clues as to how it might be prevented in the future, and yield guidance on how to educate the person who committed the harm or how best to heal the person who was harmed. There is a world of difference, for instance, between dealing with a 4chan troll trying to ruin your life and someone who uses the word “tranny” because they think it sounds cute. Assessing that difference requires some attention to their differing intentions.
The trick is to recognize that you can simultaneously know that intentions do not, in and of themselves, heal wounds while also understanding that they are helpful for assessing the unique contours of the specific conflict you’re addressing. Judgement, in its highest sense, requires attention to what is unique about the case you are judging, not merely how it can be fitted into an abstract framework. If intent cannot be considered at all, then you are denying yourself potentially useful information that could help you better understand the situation.
Put another way, we need a moral framework that provides people with a path for redemption from their mistakes, and fashioning such a path requires an understanding of the intentions at work.”
Everything is data.
There are a lot of other useful thoughts in here.
