If I have beef with someone, I could punch them and go to jail.

But I can also bully them, humiliate them, degrade them, psychologically annihilate them even, and that’s fine, legallly. Why?

  • remotelove@lemmy.ca
    0·
    24 hours ago

    Well, you can and it’s called harassment. This likely varies on the state or country, but in my state it’s illegal. As usual, if a person gets arrested for this likely depends on the mood of the officer that might have witnessed it, the length of time it’s been going on and if death threats are involved.

      • itsathursday@lemmy.world
        0·
        24 hours ago

        If it’s in the workplace you should actually have more agency to do something through HR, but this depends on where you work…

        • curiousaur@reddthat.comOP
          0·
          24 hours ago

          To clarify: I don’t have an issue. I have a coworker I’d like to punch. The alternative strategies I’m taking because I can’t punch him are leaving me feeling dirty.

          • dwindling7373@feddit.itEnglish
            0·
            23 hours ago

            You are right for feeling dirty, maybe reconsider everything about the situation and work on why would you even let hatred be part of your work environment.

          • BeN9o@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            23 hours ago

            So you can’t physically abuse your coworker but you can mentally and you want to know if you’re going to get into trouble for doing so?

              • Ogmios@sh.itjust.works
                0·
                23 hours ago

                Because society is so terrified of the technologies we have created that it has adopted the ideal that everything needs to be perfect right here and now, and so any deviation from acting out that Utopian fantasy is met harshly, even though it’s obviously not true to any rational person.

      • remotelove@lemmy.ca
        0·
        24 hours ago

        It’s possible, but unlikely because there needs to be proof and it needs to be extremely serious. That is the reason I mentioned death threats, actually.

        The biggest problem is that even though harassment is clearly defined in my state, “harassment” is still likely subjective.