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They are only human. Check out "Mistakes were made (but not by me)" -- great book about the impact of cognitive dissonance! They likely got a feeling and stoppe
by will_pseudonym 11y ago
They are only human. Check out "Mistakes were made (but not by me)" -- great book about the impact of cognitive dissonance! They likely got a feeling and stopped being completely rational. They wanted to prove themselves right and avoid the psychological injury of admitting a mistake--for some people, their entire identities are tied to them being great at their job, so that particular psychological injury is existentially scary.
- dantillberg 11y agoThat is definitely a potential reason for people in positions of authority to act illogically and unfairly, but we never should allow that to be used as an excuse. We hold civil servants to a higher bar because they wield so much power yet are expected to be restrained in how they use it. I do tend to agree perhaps that there are more likely explanations for their actions than stupidity or corruption (as the GP suggested), but we should be wary when it comes to looking for signs of the latter, as a skilled corrupt civil servant / politician will always hide their malfeasance under the guise of slowness, stupidity, miscommunication, etc.
- will_pseudonym 11y agoAgreed. I hate the system and how badly it seems to be functioning for so many disadvantaged people. I just wanted to share that lovely book. It kind of humanizes the people who are "terrible" by giving color to why they kind of turn to the dark side. Most/all think they're correct and holy (just like most/all of the dark side does)...