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Article: Is denialism a national deficiency? South Africans have a habitual pathological terror of telling the truth, especially if we are in the wrong, writes Glenn Ashton.(News)
- Article from:
- The Mercury (South Africa)
- Article date:
- November 9, 2009
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SOUTH Africans have an alarming tendency to deny wrongdoing. This trait is shared, to varying degrees, with other nations, but it is far more extreme here.
Our reluctance to acknowledge fault is remarkable. South Africans, particularly men, have an inability to admit wrongdoing or culpability - even if caught red-handed.
This national quirk rears its ugly head every time some sort of scandal breaks. The first response is always denial. The second response is to shift blame. Responsibility is avoided, at all costs.
The recent Caster Semenya saga is exemplary. Leonard Chuene, suspended head of Athletics South Africa (ASA), denied responsibility ...