3 ms·
There is substantial evidence that the people in power in the Post Office Board dismissed the evidence from the sub post masters because they were, more often t
by dazzawazza 3y ago
There is substantial evidence that the people in power in the Post Office Board dismissed the evidence from the sub post masters because they were, more often than not of Asian descent (Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani,...). So the Post Office Board had a mental block to joining the dots because they were racist.
When they were eventually confronted with the overwhelming evidence of hundreds of false convictions they doubled down because they lack any sense of morality.
So while it is a sad technical tale it is also an indictment of British Board room culture.
The whole sorry affair has been covered by Private Eye magazine for over ten years.
- switch007 3y agoPrivate Eye is an absolute gem. It’s quite quirky and jokey but it’s the real deal if you want to know how this country is really run.
- envsubst 3y ago> they doubled down because they lack any sense of morality. I don't believe you know what their internal mental states are.
- atoav 3y agoMost internal mental states that have any impact on the actions of an individual are leaky. That is because they affect actual real world actions. So given a set of actions you can infer a likely set of mental states — this is also done in the court room. Can you always infer with 100% accuracy and with every colorful detail fleshed out? No. Do you typically need to? No.
- envsubst 3y ago> this is also done in the court room. And we have we gone through that process to look at the issue from all sides and hear arguments from all parties? No. You don't need to know intent to fire or punish someone anyway. In this case we can dismiss people for improper action, without demeaning them personally.
- atoav 3y agoIf you read my post again you will notice I didn't say anything about the situation at hand. I just refuted your general statement that one cannot reason about mental states from the visible actions. I agree that one should be cautious with early accusations or hopping on trains just because they are rolling.
- envsubst 3y agoAnd if you read what I said, before your comment, you'll see its about this particular situation.
- atoav 3y agoYeah, but my comment doesn't has to be. I am allowed to go into your direction, generalize your statement or put it into a different environment and examine it. How else should people discuss things?
- iudqnolq 3y agoWe can and do reasonably infer mental states from actions. If someone knows they are sending innocent people to prison, benefits from doing so, and continues doing so we can reasonably infer they lack morality.