You physically attacked a person because he was being chased. Later on, you learned that he might have taken a pair of shoes that were in all likelihood manufactured using slave labor. Can you explain how you are in any way different from a person who would have participated in a lynch mob in the rural south less than a generation ago?

Edit: I got downvoted, so I want to clarify that I didn't say this person is like a lynch mob participant. I'm just curious how they distinguish their conduct.