No offense, but your example has nothing to do with the story.
I beg to differ, both are about the intent to misuse power.
The difference is I saw it coming, Samantha did not. Reasonably, the town should not persecute someone who, through misfortune, cannot comply. Samantha, and my neighbors made the assumption that the town would be reasonable, I evaluated them objectively, concluded how they would act and made them impotent in this instance.