[cryptoz]

FWIW, I used to love this phrase but over recent years have come to understand it is quite damaging. We live in a society where evil frequently hides behind a ‘stupid’ label, and people bring this quote up to defend or soften actions that are indeed done out of specific malicious intent.

[12_throw_away]

Right? "Never attribute to malice what [... etc]" is always just a thought-terminating cliche these days.

TBH I have a hard time imagining how anyone, in the year 2026, thinks that we should default to assuming good intent behind words on the internet.

[pixl97]

It's because we don't treat evil and stupidity the same when we should.