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Every time I read a story about a “scandal”, I wonder why the subject didn’t do this or that, which seems armchair-obvious. It seems trivial, from the outside:

Every time I read a story about a “scandal”, I wonder why the subject didn’t do this or that, which seems armchair-obvious. It seems trivial, from the outside: you explain the context, apologise for doing something offensive, and ignore further comments from the fools who will never listen to or forgive you, because they aren’t worth a shred of your time. But I have never experienced this situation, so I’m wondering what it is about this kind of public ridicule and vitriolic reaction that makes otherwise rational people fail to do appropriate damage control. What am I missing? Has anyone undergone anything of the sort who is willing to explain the experience?

coding4all 12y ago
When you're potentially screwed for life, there's no obvious solution because you're probably panicking
protomyth 12y ago
Because the speed of rage is faster than any damage control, people have an agenda and your a talking point not a person, people don't care about the whole story because they heard a sound bite, or your apology will never be good enough because you committed a taboo thought, or retractions and misinterpretations don't get as widely distributed because they aren't clickbait and don't appear first in Google's search results. Given how many times I've watched a political speech only to be told the speaker said X when they said no such thing, I doubt any damage control will work.
scotty79 12y ago
> apologise for doing something offensive, and ignore further comments from the fools who will never listen to or forgive you, because they aren’t worth a shred of your time. Wasn't that exactly what "Hank" did? And it didn't 100% worked for him either, even though he managed to keep his name private. The best he got was internet revenge on person who caused his trouble. And he probably wouldn't get event that if Adria wasn't so incomprehensible in her motives.

coding4all 12y ago

When you're potentially screwed for life, there's no obvious solution because you're probably panicking

protomyth 12y ago

Because the speed of rage is faster than any damage control, people have an agenda and your a talking point not a person, people don't care about the whole story because they heard a sound bite, or your apology will never be good enough because you committed a taboo thought, or retractions and misinterpretations don't get as widely distributed because they aren't clickbait and don't appear first in Google's search results. Given how many times I've watched a political speech only to be told the speaker said X when they said no such thing, I doubt any damage control will work.

scotty79 12y ago

> apologise for doing something offensive, and ignore further comments from the fools who will never listen to or forgive you, because they aren’t worth a shred of your time. Wasn't that exactly what "Hank" did? And it didn't 100% worked for him either, even though he managed to keep his name private. The best he got was internet revenge on person who caused his trouble. And he probably wouldn't get event that if Adria wasn't so incomprehensible in her motives.