Current Application
A modern version of attacking the messenger can be seen when persons blame the media for presenting bad news about a favored cause, person, organization, etc. The fact remains that 'shooting the messenger may be a time-honored emotional response to unwelcome news, but it is not a very effective method of remaining well-informed.'
Getting rid of the messenger may also be a tactical move; but the danger is that an ethos of non-disclosure may follow any hostile response to negative feedback. 'People learn very quickly where this is the case, and will studiously avoid giving any negative feedback; thus the "Emperor" continues with the self-delusion....obviously this is not a recipe for success.' Barbara Ehrenreich in Bright-sided/Smile or Die argued that a culture of "thinking positive" so as to 'purge "negative people" from the ranks... the bubble-itis ' of the 2000s.
Reaction to whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks led to calls not to shoot the messenger.
Read more about this topic: Shooting The Messenger
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or application:
“The English language may hold a more disagreeable combination of words than “The doctor will see you now.” I am willing to concede something to the phrase “Have you anything to say before the current is turned on?””
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“I think that a young state, like a young virgin, should modestly stay at home, and wait the application of suitors for an alliance with her; and not run about offering her amity to all the world; and hazarding their refusal.... Our virgin is a jolly one; and tho at present not very rich, will in time be a great fortune, and where she has a favorable predisposition, it seems to me well worth cultivating.”
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)