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Mailbox: Gigaba`s Visa rule – It`s about the psychology of being right

Source: Brett Johnson – Biznews, 30/05/2015

In Andrew Donaldson`s recent piece on the toxic visa furore, in his
usual tone, Donaldson puts it all down to a capitalist plot. In this
response, reader Brent Johnson blames the mess on the psychology of
always wanting to be right. He refers to a book by Kathryn Schulz
called: "Being Wrong – Adventures in the Margin of Error". The book
explores explores human emotions and as Brett puts it "why we find it
so gratifying to be right and so maddening to be mistaken, and how
this attitude toward error corrodes our relationships – whether
between family members, colleagues, neighbours, or nations." Johnson
calls on the Home Affairs Minister to read it.
To augment Donaldson`s hypothesis on understanding Gigaba`s deeply
flawed assumptions on the underlying reasons for the child visa
requirements, one only needs to look at one of many parallels: the
recent "undesirability" deportation farce.
Those who follow these things will remember a court case in August of
2014 that I was forced into after immigration officials deported my
wife on the back of deeply flawed legislation. She was labelled with
the oft quoted and priceless moniker: "undesirable". As were many,
many others, some of whom joined our ultimately successful court
action – Home Affairs having been ordered to allow the return of my
wife immediately.
As if this was not enough, on Tuesday 24th March 2015, the
constitutional court denied Home Affairs` third appeal against this
case, the third such one they had made and lost. You`d think they
would get the message by now? No. The saga continues.
Finally some acknowledgment from cabinet on true impact of the
ludicrous #VisaLaws. Hanekom vs Gigaba on this issue will be interesting.
— Mandy Wiener (@MandyWiener) July 29, 2015
But it goes much deeper than this. It may be simply about the
psychology of being right, a key component of the human condition and
one that scales up exponentially into organisational and government
psychology. The (white) devil capitalists are to blame, so let`s lie
about some child trafficking figures. The end justifies the means
after all. I`m reminded of the Nationalist Party and its metaphorical
finger to the rest of the world regarding the legitimacy of apartheid.
They, the Nats, were right. The rest of the world was wrong and
nothing would change that. Until something did of course, thankfully.
Home Affairs is now the same, so absolutely adamant that rushed
through, ill thought-out and "based on lies" legislation is correct.
They are right and stuff anyone else who thinks differently. Because
they have free reign with tax payers money, they can appeal and
litigate as much as they like. If allowed, they would appeal directly
to God, and if God handed down a case dismissal chiselled into a clay
tablet they would still be right. God would be wrong.
It`s this ethos that is common to so much of government that results
in continual attacks on our constitution and the failure of much
proposed legislation on constitutional muster. Being wrong is a humane
and desirable human trait however.
There are upsides to your mistakes guys. Make it right and move on, we
all screw up. Kathryn Schulz`s book "Being Wrong – Adventures in the
Margin of Error" explores "why we find it so gratifying to be right
and so maddening to be mistaken, and how this attitude toward error
corrodes our relationships – whether between family members,
colleagues, neighbours, or nations."

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