042224

Mistreating another human being is always wrong wrong wrong. Torture and murder, obviously, but any harassment, abuse, or other violation of the golden rule is unethical, even when it isn't a crime. It's a sliding scale from bad to worse, but it's always wrong.

This is especially clear if you are an atheist. After all, if there is no afterlife, if this is all we have, harming another person is far more heinous than if you believe that an eternity of bliss awaits them after they die. Denying another person a moment of happiness isn't a good thing, but denying them all the happiness they could ever experience is, dare I say, satanic.