Shooting the messenger
"Shooting the messenger" (also "killing the messenger" or "attacking the messenger" or "blaming the bearer of bad tidings / the doom monger") is a metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news, despite the bearer or messenger having no direct responsibility for the bad news or its consequences.[1]
Until the advent of modern telecommunication, messages were usually delivered by human envoys.[2] For example, in war, a messenger would be sent from one camp to another. If the message was unfitting, the receiver might blame the messenger for such bad news and take their anger out on them.[citation needed]
History
An analogy of the phrase can come from the breaching of an unwritten code of conduct in war, in which a commanding officer was expected to receive and send back emissaries or diplomatic envoys sent by the enemy unharmed. During the early
An early literary citing of "killing the messenger" is in
A related sentiment was expressed in
The sentiment that one should not kill the messenger was expressed by
The term also applied to a town crier, an officer of the court who made public pronouncements in the name of the ruling monarch, and often including bad news. Harming a town crier was considered treason.[7]
Current application
A modern version of "shooting the messenger" can be perceived when someone blames the media for presenting bad news about a favored cause, person, organization, etc. "Shooting the messenger" may be a time-honored emotional response to unwanted news, but it is not a very effective method of remaining well-informed."[8]
Getting rid of the messenger may be a tactical move, but danger found in nondisclosure may result in either hostile responses or negative feedback from others. "People learn very quickly where this is the case, and will studiously avoid giving any negative feedback; thus the 'Emperor' continues with the self-delusion....Obviously this is not a recipe for success".
Reactions to the whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks led to calls not to shoot the messenger.[11]
See also
- Diplomatic immunity
- Egodystonic
- Guilt by association
- Kick the cat
- Own goal
- Presumption of guilt
- Scapegoating
- Ad hominem
- Tu quoque
References
- ^ "Kill the messenger - Idioms by The Free Dictionary". 2023-03-04. Archived from the original on 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
- ^ "Military communication | Britannica". 2023-04-02. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
- ^ Plutarch's Life of Lucullus (Dryden transl.), paragraph 25; a slightly different account (the messenger was hanged) is in Appian's Mithradatic Wars, paragraph 84
- Perseus Project.
- ^ Act I, scene 1, lines 95-103; "Thou shakest thy head and hold'st it fear or sin to speak a truth. ... Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news hath but a losing office, and his tongue sounds ever after as a sullen bell, remember'd tolling a departed friend."
- ^ II, 5; cf. I, 2 : "The nature of bad news infects the teller."
- ^ "Top town crier to be crowned as Hebden Bridge hits 500". BBC. 2010-08-20.
- ^ Bruce W. Sanford, Don't Shoot the Messenger (2001) p. 10
- ^ Mike Robson/Ciaran Beary, Facilitating (1995) p. 135
- ^ Barbar Ehrenreich, Smile or Die (London 2009) p. 188-9
- ^ "Julian Assange: 'Don't Shoot the Messenger'". The Independent. London. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
External links
- The dictionary definition of don't shoot the messenger at Wiktionary