Chapter Content
Okay, so, like, let me tell you about something that's been, uh, really on my mind. I want to talk about the passive voice. I know, it sounds kinda boring, right? But trust me, it's actually super interesting, especially when you start thinking about, like, who uses it and why.
So, I was listening to this… this thing, right? And there was this hearing going on. Like, a bunch of politicians grilling these witnesses about this, uh… epidemic. It's all happening online, very modern, you know? Everyone's got their bookshelves in the background. And it was just… intense.
The chairwoman, she’s trying to get these people to apologize, right? To take responsibility. And the first witness, this woman, she's like, in her seventies. She says she's sorry for the pain people suffered, but when they ask her to apologize for her *role* in the whole thing, she clams up. She's like, "I've struggled with this question. I've asked myself, could I have done anything differently? And, like, I can't find anything, based on what I knew then." It was a whole thing.
Then they turn to the second witness, this young guy. Cousin of the first one, actually. Very, uh, polished. And he basically just echoes what she said. You could tell they had lawyers, you know? Coaching them on how to avoid actually admitting anything.
But here’s the thing. An hour later, another politician asks the third witness if anyone from the company has ever even been to jail for what the corporation did. And the answer is, no. So, nobody's taking responsibility, right?
And the politician, he's getting frustrated. He's like, "It's easy to be outraged, but what about *our* government that lets this kind of stuff happen?" And then he turns to the young guy, the second witness, whose family's company just reached a settlement with the government. And he asks him, "Did you have to admit any wrongdoing or responsibility?" And the guy says, "No, we did not."
And then he says this: "Though I believe the full record… will show that the family and the board acted legally and ethically, I take a deep moral responsibility for it, because I believe our product… has been associated with abuse and addiction."
Has been associated.
That phrase, "has been associated..." It just stuck with me. Another politician even called him out on it, said it implied that they weren’t aware of what was going on. And it's true, right? It's so passive. It takes all the agency out of the situation.
It made me think about this idea that, like, in social epidemics, small things can make a big difference. If you know where to push, you can really change things. But what about the flip side of that? What about the people who know where and when to push, and they're not using it for good? What are their intentions? What are their techniques?
It got me thinking, like, we need to acknowledge our own role in creating these problems. We need to be honest about the ways we try to manipulate things. You know, it's time for a hard conversation about epidemics.
And this phrase, "has also been associated," it just sort of keeps coming back. Even at the end of the day, when they are really laying on the guilt... This guy gets muted. It's a whole fiasco, but at the end he says, "I feel tremendous empathy and remorse... that a product like [ours] that was produced to help people... has also been associated with stories like you're telling. I feel incredibly sorry for that. And I know our entire family does as well."
Has also been associated.
Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about. The power of the passive voice. The way we avoid responsibility. It's something to consider, for sure.