Posts Tagged ‘abilene paradox’
Who is making politicians do what no one wants them to do?
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
When we blame others for making us do something we say we don’t want to do — we are simply holding the gun to our heads OURSELVES while accusing others of holding the gun.
The months of lead-up to sequestration (Public Law 112-25, passed by Congress and signed into law on Aug. 2, 2011) were covered by media as political gamesmanship. Who was to blame? Both political parties said that it was a stupid way to make budget decisions. As the Feb. 28, 2013 deadline neared, the blame angle was supplemented with dire predictions about the effect of withdrawing federal dollars for the defense department, the FAA. Sometimes, but not very often, cuts to Head Start for children and the WIC program to feed mothers with children in poverty were mentioned.
Stupid as it was, sequestration was implemented. Despite most saying this was preventable, no one prevented it. I direct readers to my description of the Abilene Paradox to understand how “reasonable” people can make stupid group decisions while fully aware of the stupidity throughout the process.
American politicians also seem reluctant to accept responsibility to serve and help citizens who lack the status granted to wealthy individuals and corporations which protects them during these tough economic times. So, when 750,000 people are predicted to become unemployed, and the losses were totally preventable by Congress, I see the problem being a self-inflicted hostage scenario. Cue the 1974 movie Blazing Saddles and actor Cleavon Little playing the new sheriff. The video clip below says it all. And be sure to watch until the end when the sheriff comments about the audience for his charade. That’s us, the public!
Tags: abilene paradox, blaming others, Blazing Saddles, Gary Namie, gun to head, poor decision making, sequestration, stupid public
Posted in Commentary by G. Namie, The New America | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Unhelpful Co-Workers? Abilene Paradox
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Why Team Members Won’t or Can’t Help
Abilene Paradox
Jerry Harvey honored his Texas roots when he named this phenomenon. The group dynamic is perhaps the most relevant to understanding why bullies can be witnessed by so many people and still get away with it.
Tags: abilene paradox, coworkers, Harvey, The Bully At Work
Posted in Bullying-Related Research, Tutorials About Bullying | 2 Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Loading ...
Follow us on...