True or false? How so? “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I say. “I didn’t mean to hurt nobody—“ “Intentions do not matter, Todd. Only actions.”

[Chris]

Am I wrong if I hurt you when I intended something good?

[Clara]

I think both matter, but ultimately it is your actions upon which people will judge you. A drunk driver probably doesn't mean to kill an innocent person, but they chose to drink and they chose to drive, so in the end they are imprisoned for their what they actually did. Their intent cannot save them.

[Chris]

What if I do something I think is actually a good thing but ends up causing unexpected harm?

Like if I say to my friend, "I'm glad you found time for a nap because I know you were really tired," and the response I get from the friend is, "Yeah, thanks for pointing out how lazy I am, that all I got done today was sleeping when I should have been working on my part of our group project."

Or I see my mom is overwhelmed with housework so I jump in and start a load of laundry, but I don't sort things right so the red shirt bleeds and all the white socks turn pink? Did I do right for trying to help or wrong because I caused harm?

[Jenny]

I think you would be right for trying to help even if the results end up being disastrous. Having the intent of doing good is the first step one has to take in order to achieve good results.

[Taggerung]

I agree completely with Jenny.