Quantifying a Sin: How Much Bad, is a Bad Thing?

Just how much bad is a bad thing? What is the parameter, the scale to quantify a committed sin?

I am not quite sure about a social phenomenon being existent in the earlier times, but having been noticing it quite a while nowadays, I couldn’t resist myself from pondering over. The issue is- it seems that those people who are a bit successful in their lives, if they commit a cardinal sin, not a mistake, then their sins are forgotten by the people, just because of their popularity, fame and following. To exemplify my point, take the case of Michael Jackson. Yes, he was a star, the “king” of pop, had a huge fan following. But when he commits a sin- child sexual abuse; gets framed of it for not one, two or three but for seven times; the world forgets these as he’s successful!
After his death, a fan was quoted saying – “He created such a wonderful music and such terrific dance… He couldn’t have done the alleged wrong deeds…”

Just because he’s successful and has a great fanfare, can he escape from the wrong doings…?

After the surprise victory of the Congress led alliance in the recent general elections in India, a strange environment engulfed the whole country. Nobody wanted to disassociate oneself from the victor; even though many were against the particular political party and had voted for the parties standing opposite to it; but suddenly after the results were announced, Rahul Gandhi became the cherry of the eyes of everyone. “Yeah… He’s not too bad and naïve…”

As the Congress party was victorious, its follies, the governance record in its tenure is now not mentioned, not even recalled. Just because it was victorious…

So, should there be any difference between the mistakes committed by the rich and the poor? Between the famous and the common?

The law of the land punishes the poppy-smoking beggars under the narcotics act, but no one thinks of the drug peddling that happens in the parties of the rich.

Getting back to the main point, it seems that there is difference between a sin committed by the rich and the successful and by those who are poor or just common people.

How can we measure a sin? Can we offer discounts to the rich and famous, as is being done?

In my view, things done by people directly onto the others which causes them serious physical or emotional harm (Category I) have more weight than those things that are inflicted just on oneself (Category II) or those which happen to be negative externality. Someone who’s a paedophile commits a greater sin than the one who does drugs or gets drunk.

Offences of the first category are not mere crimes but sins especially when they are of child sexual abuse or of rape. These types of crimes break every single fabric, of which a human being is composed of. How can you let go a man who abuses children and exclaims, “I’m a kid just like them.” My question is, had MJ not been the acclaimed “King of Pop”, could he have escaped from those charges???

Cynic would say that a good thing or bad is a subjective, relative thing. But that’s not a pragmatic argument.