Penitential rites
WILL a motorcycle driver swerving in and out of road lanes, then bumping against a car staying in its own place, ever admit fault? (Sorry po. It’s my fault. I was on the wrong lane and overtaking from the wrong side?) Can a goldfish bite into a double-patty burger?
Admitting fault is seldom an automatic impulse. There is no error key in the human brain that is easily activated. After some human failing, the first thought that comes to mind before admitting guilt involves thinking of an excuse or hoping nobody is paying attention.
Admission of guilt, like unwittingly spreading fake news about seniors being exempt from the numbers coding scheme for traffic control, is a last resort. A series of moves are taken to postpone a voluntary declaration of wrongdoing or incompetence.
The immediate reaction to making a mistake or causing unexpected damage to others, is a cover-up, which in PR lingo is called “damage control.” Everyone makes mistakes and may be forgiven for them. But often they need to be forced to admit the error of their ways.
Both traditional and social media (including Viber groups) receive letters or posts pointing to mistakes like misidentifying a person in a photo or attaching a wrong (often lower) title of Vice-President for a newly promoted (just yesterday) Senior Vice-President. Correction is found in a section called “erratum” or errata, for plural mistakes — wrong middle name and old title. Even here admission of a mistake is late and posted in an obscure page — some pesky busybody pointed to the inaccuracy of her title in our last post. (She is now with another company.)
To avoid penitential rites, dilatory tactics are employed.
Let’s form a task force to see what really happened. We must find individuals not involved in this mess (and not serving in the legislature) willing to serve in a high-profile investigation which is not time-bound. There is really no hurry in resolving this matter as higher priorities like a food shortage and WPS skirmishes are more important.
We are still finding out what happened in this matter. Of course, you saw her on TV walking out on the budgetary hearings. She had to go to the ladies’ room for a quick application of rouge on her burning cheeks. Some mud slingers will see this as an arrogant attempt to belittle the oversight efforts on her activities. It needs to be put in the proper context of lavatory urges.
A spokesperson can be appointed, preferably one who is not involved in the controversy — he was in Mexico when this thing broke out and is still gathering the facts. As soon as he is ready to meet with the media, he will call a press conference. (Don’t hold your breath.)
Such delaying tactics are aimed at blurring the admission of any fault. The hope is that the public will forget about the whole matter and move on to a new crisis. There’s always one around the corner waiting to distract everyone from his current preoccupation. Earthquakes and the attack on innocents in other countries are usually given some attention.
As the entanglements multiply and the story falls apart, some sort of confession becomes inevitable. There is no clear embrace of the accusation. This was just an internal memo and not intended for public consumption. A subordinate acted on her own and tried to protect the principal from the vicious press. She thought that would help defuse the crisis, but it did the opposite.
Penitential rites (Bless me Father for I have sinned) seem to be limited to religious practice, complete with its seal of confession. Making a clean breast of things leads to its own complications. Even a private admission to a friend may eventually find its way to social media — this was told in confidence, mind you.
Isn’t it simpler to go immediately for an admission of fault? Not really, especially if the deed is criminal and involves possible legal sanction. Unlike the errata pieces in the media, most corrections go beyond a misspelled name, a wrongly identified person in a photograph, or an inaccurate quotation.
Admission of guilt has its risks, especially when an action or statement resulted in some irreparable damage… that it may have intended to inflict in the first place.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
