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Moral relativism will take you down a dark road very quickly. Because you aren't going to be able to limit to today versus 75 or 100 or 1000 years ago. You will also have to consider other cultures. So it makes any moral judgment suspect.Yep. No surprise, morality is a tough nut to crack in many cases. I understand the reticence to go down that road, but sometimes it's entirely appropriate. It's simply an extension of the moral judgments we make every day.
It's immoral to punch someone in the face. Well, it's immoral to punch someone in the face, except if you're boxing, when it's ok because the other guy gives his consent. But is it really even morally ok to engage in the sport of boxing, given that it glorifies combat and fighting and aggression, and given that it can have long term negative health effects? Who knows how people will look at it in 100 years? Will it be considered an immoral atrocity like pitting gladiators against each other in ancient Rome?
Moral relativism may be a dangerous term, but it's ok, in my opinion, to consider whether some action we consider immoral today might be considered moral in a different time under different circumstances. Much of what constitutes judgment about the morality of an action is dependent on the intent and point of view of both parties to the action. And those points of view are influenced by the time, culture, and circumstances surrounding the incident.
If the baseline attitude of the time, shared by both men and women, was that it was generally socially acceptable for this type of celebratory expression, and if the woman in question has said she doesn't feel she was assaulted, and there was no intent on the part of the Sailor other than to express jubilation at the end of a world war (a feeling most people alive today can't really comprehend), then I think it's worth a discussion about whether we really should strictly apply our view of morality today to actions taken in 1945.
I'm ok if someone decides the Sailor acted immorally. I would appreciate if others could see the opposite side without feeling the need to paint people as immoral monsters. Unfortunately, this is the LR, and the internet is full of judgmental assholes, so I'm not holding my breath waiting for reason to prevail.
Slowguy
(insert pithy phrase here...)