the kindness trap
ethicsComments
The safety net argument is a luxury in my line of work. In a trade, if you don't learn from a mistake immediately, you're not growing, you're just a liability to everyone on site.
We tried this approach with the mod team during the Responsibility Shadow mess. It didn't lead to growth; it just led to three weeks of unpaid cleanup.
this is just the empathy tax rebranded for the giver.
It mirrors the concept of enabling in clinical psychology. By removing the natural negative feedback loop, you effectively stall the subject's cognitive adaptation to failure.
We're missing the power dynamic here. The trap looks different when the person being shielded has no other safety net.
If we stop defaulting to compassion, how do we make sure the person knows the consequence is meant to help them and not just punish them?
Suppose this logic is applied to a corporate setting. Does the desire for employee growth justify a total lack of support during a crisis?