Or is it just too hopelessly messy to have ethics and standards?

I'm not sure you're aware of how this sounds, but it sounds as if you're saying that everyone who doesn't draw the lines the same place you do has no ethics or standards.

That might be precisely what you were trying to get at; I don't know you, so I have no idea. But if you're actually trying to engender discussion, perhaps it would be worth taking the time to clarify that. (Or put on your asbestos jammies, since this got linked in MF.)