Re:Dark Motives and Elective Use of Brainteaser Interview Qu...
by adrianmonk on Tuesday September 11, 2018 @05:01PM
(#17963331)
I have a pet theory that it's related to the difficulty of accepting a painful truth.
In that moment, you face a choice. Either you do the same thing that was done to you, or you don't.
If you break with tradition and avoid doing whatever it is, you will end up asking yourself why, and you'll have to answer "because it was abusive". It some cases, that thought may be too horrible to even admit into your mind, or at least it's unpleasant enough that you prefer not to deal with it.
If you go the other way and stick with tradition, then you can just do whatever it is, and you can say this happened to me, it's normal, it's part of the natural cycle of things, etc.
Also, sometimes you are blindsided by this and don't realize you're making the choice until the moment it happens, so you don't have time to mentally prepare to do the harder thing.
Point being, it's not always sadism. Sometimes it's denial.
TLDR: The corollary of "that would be abusive" is "I've been abused". It hurts to confront that possibility, so people look for ways to deny it. And the organization offers them one.
In that moment, you face a choice. Either you do the same thing that was done to you, or you don't.
If you break with tradition and avoid doing whatever it is, you will end up asking yourself why, and you'll have to answer "because it was abusive". It some cases, that thought may be too horrible to even admit into your mind, or at least it's unpleasant enough that you prefer not to deal with it.
If you go the other way and stick with tradition, then you can just do whatever it is, and you can say this happened to me, it's normal, it's part of the natural cycle of things, etc.
Also, sometimes you are blindsided by this and don't realize you're making the choice until the moment it happens, so you don't have time to mentally prepare to do the harder thing.
Point being, it's not always sadism. Sometimes it's denial.
TLDR: The corollary of "that would be abusive" is "I've been abused". It hurts to confront that possibility, so people look for ways to deny it. And the organization offers them one.