Writing.Com General Discussion

admitting a mistake meant people questioned you and your legitimacy. It does not matter if you admit the mistake and make light of it or are genuinely penitent, the fact you made a mistake makes others feel superior when they dop not have that feeling anywhere else

I have to admit I've also seen this attitude in offline spaces. Heck, I've even had that attitude myself. I recall a time about eight or nine years ago where I ended up in this position. I was sitting waiting for a parade to start when a kid threw a water bottle that hit me in the back. This did not go over well (thanks, hypervigilance and sensitive startle reflex), and the kid did not apologize on his own. His mom almost forced him to apologize. Because of that (and the fact that the mom didn't seem to care what her kid was doing up till that point), I confess I was not inclined to accept the apology or mistake admission.

With that in mind, I wonder what the rough proportion is of this type of attitude online compared to offline. Trying to gauge that is difficult. I can't help but think that things like video of these situations caught in a candid manner (think Darnella Fraser but way less violent) could be useful here.