All I can say is that social conformity is a powerful phenomenon. People are pack animals and when their parents didn't teach them about a particular situation, they lean on the rest of the pack to tell them what they should feel and they adopt that belief, defending it to no end even though at the core they don't really know if it's right or not. It's human. There's a science based on studying this stuff. With uncharted subjects, the majority belief is often the result of the snowball effect, gaining momentum without a real solid base. It's monkey see, monkey do. Before you know it, there's a common belief that is utterly wrong but it lasts long enough to do it's damage. Look around. It's everywhere. It's right here. Design theft is justified & the guilt neutralized because it's what people perceive is the socially acceptable way to deal with it.
The five techniques of guilt neutralization are denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. I don't make this shit up. It's rock solid text book science. Denial of responsibility is saying you didn't know it was design theft. Denial of injury is saying, "big deal, nobody's hurt by it." Denial of victim is saying, "it's ok because everybody does it." Condemnation of condemners is saying, "what about you? you're a hypocrite who justifies himself by twisting things." And appeal to higher loyalties is saying, "it's what the customer wanted". This is legitimate science, not just some hoky poky bullshit. Design theft is wrong, clearly wrong, yet people justify it to themselves in predictable manner, and actually try attaining support for their BS from their social group. In this case it's the forums.
I'm not here to argue and I won't. I went through it recently with a cue maker who quite literally attempted an exact copy of a cue I built. I was pissed off and spoke out. For that I was called a hypocrite, among other things. The world is a jacked up place if a guy can't even stand up for himself anymore. I'm educated & consider myself a well grounded thinker. I understand what's happening and see things clearly. What I don't understand is why people continue to act like a herd of cattle, following the group because it's safer. We actually live in a time and place that allows a person to be themselves without fear of survival. But still, everybody follows the herd.
The five techniques of guilt neutralization are denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. I don't make this shit up. It's rock solid text book science. Denial of responsibility is saying you didn't know it was design theft. Denial of injury is saying, "big deal, nobody's hurt by it." Denial of victim is saying, "it's ok because everybody does it." Condemnation of condemners is saying, "what about you? you're a hypocrite who justifies himself by twisting things." And appeal to higher loyalties is saying, "it's what the customer wanted". This is legitimate science, not just some hoky poky bullshit. Design theft is wrong, clearly wrong, yet people justify it to themselves in predictable manner, and actually try attaining support for their BS from their social group. In this case it's the forums.
I'm not here to argue and I won't. I went through it recently with a cue maker who quite literally attempted an exact copy of a cue I built. I was pissed off and spoke out. For that I was called a hypocrite, among other things. The world is a jacked up place if a guy can't even stand up for himself anymore. I'm educated & consider myself a well grounded thinker. I understand what's happening and see things clearly. What I don't understand is why people continue to act like a herd of cattle, following the group because it's safer. We actually live in a time and place that allows a person to be themselves without fear of survival. But still, everybody follows the herd.
