"But morality and social norms are supposed to be a different thing from law. In some spheres, it's more important to have hard-and-fast rules enforced by the government in a supposedly unbiased way; in others, it's more important to let communities make judgments using their own vague social norms."

"How Should We Think About Race And 'Lived Experience'?" by Scott Alexander in Astral Codex Ten https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/how-should-we-think-about-race-and

It's worth considering the specific case being examined here, but I wanted to highlight this broader point. I think it's similar to something I wrote about a few years ago https://collectedoverspread.tumblr.com/post/650122325515223041/truly-deserving-of-condemnation

I've started calling this sort of thing "legalistic thinking," where people apply the strict standards found in law to discussions about morality.