We judge people by their decisions. Innocent asks us to look one step earlier, at what they had to choose from: “Sometimes we blame people for making bad decisions when it is more appropriate to blame life for giving them bad options to choose from.”

Not everyone can fight the options life deals, or force new ones into existence — that takes willpower, courage, perseverance. And in his experience, people don’t knowingly pick bad; they always believe they’re choosing right, even when the belief is wrong. Without a better option, what’s available right now seems best.

It isn’t a free pass — creating better options through action is still the braver path. But it turns some of our blame into something more useful: understanding.