Friday, December 19, 2008

LAW 26: KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN


Even for the powerful, making mistakes is inevitable. So is the need to do unpleasant work. But the truly powerful never let their hands soiled by errors and malevolent deeds. They use others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to keep their hands sparklingly clean.

When Henry VIII became king, to ease dissatisfaction caused by his greedy father’s means of raising money, he blamed the royal ministers and had them beheaded. Scapegoats. Years later, Thomas Wolsey carried the burden of daily government. But in doing his job, he gained many enemies. In popular mind, he was responsible for imposing heavy taxes to pay for wars. He did the dirty work. Cat’s-paw. Through these, Henry’s image just remained untainted.

Law 26 simply says that the powerful must maintain his immaculate appearance, an epitome of civility and competence. When he blunders, he manages to hide them and ensures another person is blamed then “sacrificed” – scapegoat: Ts’ao Ts’ao of China once used a chief of commissariat as scapegoat when he wrongly estimated rations for his army. When the powerful needs to do something unpleasant, he manipulates others to do it for him – cat’s-paw: Cleopatra of Egypt once used Julius Caesar and Marc Antony as cat’s-paws to squash her enemies. These two tools have other purposes.

Scapegoats. Good reputation lies on what people know, and mistakes should be concealed from them through scapegoats for one to gain such an image. Aside from taking blame, scapegoats also function as warning: killing innocent people shows enemies that you can sacrifice the innocent to protect your own power.

Cat’s-paws. There will inevitably come a time when one will need to do something unfavorable; cat’s-paws are used. It saves appearances, like with Henry VIII. It also saves energy and effort when it’s used to do one’s bidding.

However, scapegoats and cat’s-paws must be used with great caution. They hide involvement in dirty work, but once revealed, events will go unmanageable. Sometimes it’s better to take the blame – play the penitent leader; or do the dirty work yourself – and instill fear in subordinates. But this should be done sparingly.

To be powerful and stay dominant, one cannot just float up – he needs to step on something. And what can be more convenient than stepping on other people and letting them lift you to the top – with them keeping your hands all clean? Let the good come from you, and the evil from others.

Macalinao, Maria Christina M.

Hi18 - L

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes, i agree that using scapegoats and cat's paws too much can be very risky, especially if you don't trust these victims to properly shut up for you. Also, sometimes it's just better to do things yourself. This way, only yourself would know of the secret, and it's less likely things will go wrong if it's all up to you. (If you want something done well, you have to do it yourself.)

monica ang, L

Anonymous said...

the law reminds me of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's controversial, public apology. in retrospect, it was a stupid thing to do, to own up like that -- it became a risky move and lost the public trust. However, i'm prone to believing that the truth will out -- there's no use hiding reality no matter how unacceptable it is. especially if it's something the public must know, then sooner or later, someone will uncover it. it's only a matter of time.

maybe we should merely stick to doing what we can do instead of deceiving others and ating through cat's paws and escaping punishment through scapegoats.

if the leaders are truly powerful -- that is, they have the respect of the people and a relationship that allows them to lead properly (that doesn't mean perfectly, merely, responsibly and honestly) -- if the leaders are truly powerful, then they should be able to take the consequences of their actions, they should submit to their own laws.

thinking about it now, Power should not rest on a leader or the masses, the power should come from the laws which is powerful because of everyone's complete understanding and submission to the laws.

and that requires discipline from all sectors.

kyra ballesteros hi18K

Anonymous said...

in keeping one's own hands clean, one is decreasing his chances of getting into trouble with other people. if you seem faultless and free of guilt in the eyes of other people, chances are people will admire you and trust you.

however, this can go the other way too. if you just seem too clean and faultless, it can come to a point where people will get envious and jealous. it can also make them wonder and suspect why you seem so pure because humans do sin. they might think that you're hiding something... also, if you appear too clean, envious people might be more motivated to try and throw some dirt at you, you know, like set you up. or, they might do their best to find out your wrong doings and make these known to other people.

in the case of scapegoating, i am not in favor of it because it is not just. why put the blame on other people and make them responsible for your mistakes when they are innocent? also, for me, blaming or passing on wrong doings to others is a sign of immaturity and cowardliness. one should have the courage to take responsibility of his or her mistakes so that one can learn from these and be free from guilt. in effect, one can be more careful next time so that he or she will not commit the same mistake. nobody is perfect, so i don't think it will hurt if people see you commit a mistake. who knows, they might look up to you for being brave enough to admit a mistake and eventually forgive you.

-Philip Albert T. Verde
Hi18 K

Anonymous said...

on Philip's comment:
"...if you seem faultless and free of guilt in the eyes of other people, chances are people will admire you and trust you...however, this can go the other way too. if you just seem too clean and faultless, it can come to a point where people will get envious and jealous..."

if you don't appear spotless, your enemies will try to bring up all your imperfections and destroy you, and others will not be in favor of you. if you appear spotless, those jealous of you will keep on trying to find faults in you, (then later destroy you if they manage to find some), but then, other people will still admire you.

either way, having to face enemies is inevitable. but if you appear spotless, there still remains the people who trust you...so i think it's better to keep your hands clean than show to everyone your mistakes.

and about the scapegoating, i don't think it's cowardliness. it's just that a person's image can easily be broken. A glass figurine, once broken, even though glued back to its original form, will still have some traces of damage. you can't have that. when you apologize for something, people can doubt you incompetence. and they can think: Is this [insert mistake or wrongdoing here] the only thing he's done? or has he done more things that he hasn't apologized for?
So if you apologize for one mistake, apologize about everything else, but i still don't think people will trust you as much when compared to when you appear totally clean.
some things are best left concealed, and as a leader, your mistakes should always be part of that list.


Chris Macalinao
HI18 - L

Anonymous said...

personally, i think this is one of the better laws. i do agree that keeping your reputation stainless is very important. you not only gain the trust of the people but their loyalty as well. because really, who questions the motives of an innocent person? i think the problem though is that some (other power-hungry people) will use this against you by framing you for something you didn't do. because the public are used to your clean rep, it'll be such a big blow to them to see you "soiled". just like the sex sccandal of spitzer, the former new york governor.

ocampo 18-k

chiocebrero said...

@Kyra: I thought of the same thing. GMA's public apology only added insult to injury. Her image was already tainted before the apology.

But I also believe that the truth comes out eventually. Consider the Watergate Scandal. Nixon tried to wash his hands clean of the series of political scandals that all pointed to him, but the persistence of the Washington Post journalists exposed Nixon's controversial political agenda.

No matter how much you want to mantain an immaculate image, people will always find loopholes and mistakes that they can use against you. No one is perfect, after all, and as along as image is highly regarded in society, mistakes of leaders will always be magnified and scrutinized. It's almost impossible to keep one's hands completely clean, given today's times.

Chio Cebrero
Hi 18 L

Anonymous said...

Yeah, this is such a government type law. They have to appear to be doing only the right thing so anything done "for the good of the people", if slightly questionable, are kept under wraps. Governments think they know what's best for the people, and honestly, don't we all sort of wish we could tell people what to do so they didn't get into trouble? It's why secret agent characters are forgiven when they do bad-guy things. Of course, in real life, we know that things the government does under wraps aren't really for OUR good. And this is exactly the kind of thinking that leads them to hide things in the first place. ( I have gone and confused myself. Again.)
Du, L

Gliza Marasigan said...

Most corrupt officials try all their efforts to succeed in this law. While they muster all their efforts to steal from the pockets of the masses, it's even a tougher job to conceal the corruption.

This law, however, does not fully apply to our system here because most scams and shams are exposed to the public. Whenever that happens, the leaders are accused, put under siege and are left in a heavy predicament.

Gliza Marasigan
Hi18-L

Roshmia said...

This tactic is one of those that has to be used with caution. While it is good for the image to be immaculate, too much immaculate image will start rumors and doubt and suspicions.
You don't want that.
Therefore this tactic can only be used if your scapegoats are loyal enough to sacrifice themselves and admit your faults as their own, then again, if you pointed them out the faulty ones, why in the world would they be loyal to you?
So your scapegoats would most probably have to be people no one will believe. and in this tactic trust no one but yourself.

Roshmia said...

-Roshmia Pundato
HI18 L

Anonymous said...

I say face the consequences of your action. You were the one who put yourself in that position so live with it. I think being transparent from the start will benefit in the long run.

I agree with Bea. This law is one of a few which does not attack negatively. I just says, keep being nice and things will go your way. No need to defense tactics and strategies to put you in power, you just have to be clean all throughout.

Mara Liboro
Hi18-K

Anonymous said...

although i know using scapegoats is wrong, i understand why somehow, there is always one used in a crisis or huge problem.

when people get mad, or get faced with a situation that's akin to a fortuitous event which spells disaster for them, they NEED to have someone to blame. imagine telling your boss that his most loved favorite lucky dog was hit y lightning while on your watch. no matter how much it isn't your fault, it is in human nature for us to want to have someone to curse, to vent and bitch at. it's just feels so wrong to get deprived of something and be given an it-was-fate or it-wasn't-anyone's-fault line.

monica ang, L

pls pls comment on my post - 47th law! thank u =)

Anonymous said...

you wouldn't trust a serial killer to lead your country, would you?

but, can't people change?

a clean record doesn't always mean a good person owning it. sometimes its just that the person is very good at hiding stuff. i also think power based on records should not be regarded as reliable for anytime anyone could scratch his clean slate.

JR Resma
Hi18 K

Unknown said...

Being the leader is so great. Not only do you get to order people around, you also get the dirty things done without being implicated. I guess that's how assassins operated for the ambitious men who wanted other men dead.

Joey Palma
Hi18-K

Anonymous said...

"To be powerful and stay dominant, one cannot just float up – he needs to step on something. And what can be more convenient than stepping on other people and letting them lift you to the top – with them keeping your hands all clean?"

These lines actually caught my attention. I disagree with this. No one has the right to step on anyone. That's too harsh. If you want power that badly, you attain it by some other means. Act like you were a born leader to get the respect of people, keep your promises and master the art of timing.

Rhea Entuna
section L

Anonymous said...

On Rhea: I'm just trying to indirectly show how evil this law is. I'm actually happy someone noticed those lines.

The point of the law is USING people to hide your mistakes or bad deeds. And this can't be done in a straight or virtuous manner.

Gaining respect? how about if you make accidental mistakes? you can't apologize since this shows weakness, and your enemies can use these mistakes against you, so you HAVE to hide it. and the best way out is a scapegoat. (while i'm saying this, please think of me as someone who only thinks about power..haha..this means i don't care about other people, just my position and my image...^_^) ok next, about keeping promises and mastering the art of timing, i don't think these are actually related to this law, that's all....

as i said, some things are inevitable. that means, you can ACCIDENTALLY commit mistakes, and sometimes, you might find the NEED to do something bad. come on, everyone can attest to this (e.g. white lies are still lies..). If you're a super power-hungry person, you won't hesitate to step on somebody to keep your hands clean.

Chris Macalinao
Hi18 - L

Anonymous said...

Keeping one’s image clean is indeed vital in keeping face towards the public. A variety of means to achieve this is implored to make sure that this law is followed. One cardinal rule, I suppose, is that a leader should never involve himself directly in the dirty work. That’s what his minions and enemies are for. If ever getting one’s hands dirty isn’t possible, then certain measures should be taken… but it all boils down to people NEVER FINDING OUT!

Paolo Banaga
Hi 18-L

Anonymous said...

On Paolo:
i agree that the law boils down to people not finding out anything about your mistakes and dirty work... but i think "never" is such a strong word. there's also a law that says "never appear too perfect." and if no one finds even a tiny black dot on you, they might get suspicious. when it was said that this law should be followed with great caution, it also includes taking care that people not get suspicious of you with a super perfect record...so my only point is that people should MOST OF THE TIME not find out....or you can manipulate what they do or don't know too....


Chris Macalinao
Hi18 - L

Anonymous said...

Christina, I'm happy that you said that even for the powerful, mistakes are inevitable. Sometimes I think that we Filipinos expect people to be perfect and when they make one small mistake, we immediately take it against them and their images are forever tainted in our minds. Elders always tell us to watch what you're doing as to not disgrace the family name. The hard part is that disgrace can happen without you even knowing it. Many people in our country are still very traditional and conservative and things that are ok in modern times do not go well with them.

Keeping your hands clean, in my opinion, needs to have more details added to it. Keeping your hands clean how, exactly? Does keeping one's hands clean mean that we must keep track of our family members' wrongdoings as well? Will their mistakes further taint our own hands?


Regina A. Yulo
Hi 18 L

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