Trigger Warning!
If you are a sensitive person, do NOT read the following message to @Alexmorgan
You have been warned.
Proceed at your OWN risk!
Dear Alex,
Ignore the naysayers!
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To all who say there︀ is a reason... they have NO idea what they are talking about!
They all need︁ to spend some time on
The Innocence Project!
Their response is a TEXTBOOK case of︂
"Just World Fallacy!"
This cognitive bias is based on the belief that the world︃ is inherently fair and that people get what they deserve. As a result, when some︄ OCT members witness injustice, they may rationalize or justify the behavior of those in "power"︅ (like banks, compliance officers, judges, prosecutors, the tax authorities, etc.), assuming that the victim, i.e.,︆ you Alex, must have done something wrong to deserve your fate, i.e., your Wise bank︇ account closed.
This bias arises from a deep-seated need to believe that the world is︈ predictable and just/fair, which provides these people with a sense of security. Absent this, they︉ would be in disequilibrium or have a homeostatic imbalance.
It's NOT their fault!
Source:
Cognitive dissonance induction in everyday life: An fMRI study.
In case you don't have a background︊ in medicine/neurology, I'll provide an abbreviated explanation...
The study mentions brain areas, particularly the anterior︋ cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula, that are associated with emotional regulation, conflict monitoring, and︌ the processing of adverse effects or discomfort. The ACC is
specifically known for detecting discrepancies︍ between expectations and reality, which is central to the experience of cognitive dissonance.
When people are faced with inconsistencies between their beliefs, values, and actions (as the task in︎ the clinical study prompts), this conflict can lead to mental distress, which is reflected in️ increased neural activity in these regions. This distress can be as dire as physical pain and is often experienced as emotional discomfort, unease, or tension.
Source:
How Emotional Pain Affects Your Body. Emotional pain can hurt as much as physical pain
Admitting that innocent people can suffer from injustice would challenge this belief and create cognitive dissonance. To avoid the discomfort of acknowledging that bad things can happen to good people, outsiders/non-parties may blame the victim so the outsiders can maintain and conserve the illusion of a fair and orderly world and
SAVE themselves from psychological torment or mental anguish.
Victims should NEVER blame outsiders︀ for acting in their OWN best interest and choosing self-preservation!
I know you do not︁ want to hear this, but think this through. Create a mental construct of how you︂ would design the world if you did not know where you would be born or︃ what ethnicity or socio-economic status you would be born in.
Additional Psychological Concepts That May︄ Be Involved:
(1) Victim Blaming
(2) Authority Bias
(3) Cognitive Dissonance
(4) Systemic discrimination/racism. (A︅ compliance officer making a few grand per month probably can't fathom how someone from Mauritania,︆ where the average monthly salary is €500/month, can earn more than them. This would be︇ mentally very painful for them! Choosing NEVER to deal with you again is their best︈ course of action to avoid additional mental anguish! (Most people are NOT really that professional.)︉
To summarize, the
Just World Fallacy drives people's tendency, i.e., outsiders, to justify unfair or︊ illegal behavior, often leading to victim blaming in situations of injustice.
I hope this helps,︋ buddy!
PS. And I'm sorry this happened to you! Unless you start dealing more in︌ decentralized crypto, this will continue to happen more and more.