deliberate indifference | The Direction of Intention

Feigning Blindness [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on March 23, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Conscious avoidance, often termed “willful blindness,” is a legal doctrine where a person is held legally responsible as if they had actual knowledge of a fact because they deliberately avoided confirming it.” ~ AI

I was having some fun at the expense of the republicans-in-congress, imagining the endless fodder they inspire for cartoons. These self-proclaimed cowboys strut through the halls of government yet quake in their boots at the prospect of independent thought. They fear acting or speaking without first seeking permission from their authoritarian-wannabe. These pretend cowboys will not mount their horses without first seeking approval of El Taco.

It would be hysterical if it were not so destructive to our democracy.

Conscious avoidance is a term in criminal law: “It requires that the individual subjectively believed a high probability of illegal activity existed but took deliberate actions to avoid learning the truth.” If they were not protected by law it would be an easy-peasy no-brainer to prosecute the entire Grand Old Party for their conscious avoidance of the grift, their see-no-evil antics providing cover for The Epstein Class, for their “Deliberate Indifference” to the war crimes currently enacted by this administration.

There are many ways of defining conscious avoidance but my favorite is this: “Acting with “eyes wide shut” to avoid confirming a suspicious fact.” It’s yet another possible cartoon: the elephant , like an ostrich, buries its head in the sand.

And what about criminality beyond deliberate indifference? The sham otherwise known as The Save America Act is a prime example. They are doing more than willfully blinding themselves, they are holding the gun during the robbery. They are actively and specifically attempting to disenfranchise voters. They are no witnesses but are active participants. This is criminality beyond indifference. It is corruption. El Taco is in trouble and wants his coward-posse to stop the democracy train. Instead of rugged cowboys these republicans are cut from the same cloth as Barney Fife. Only, as Kerri just cautioned me, Barney Fife was harmless. These clowns are dangerous.

While they are busy feigning blindness to the obvious destruction, we will remind them with our votes and our protests that we see them clearly. As a democratic nation, as a community, we refuse to blind ourselves or look the other way.

read Kerri’s blogpost about CONSCIOUS AVOIDANCE