Blame Quote by Harlan Coben
““In sum," Midlife said, giving the room his best you-the-jury baritone, "Our defense will be...?" He looked to Matt for the answer/ "Blame the other guy," Matt said. "Which other guy?" "Yes." "Huh?" "We blame whoever we can," Matt said. "The CFO, the COO, the C Choose-Your-Favorite-Two-Letter-Combination, the accounting firm, the banks, the board, the lower-level employees. We claim some of them are crooks. We claim some of them made honest mistakes that steamrolled." "Isn't that contradictory?" Midlife asked, folding his hands and lowering his eyebrows. "Claiming both malice and mistakes?" He stopped, looked up, smiled, nodded. Malice and mistakes. Midlife liked the way that sounded. "We're looking to confuse," Matt said. "You blame enough people, nothing sticks. The jury end up knowing something went wrong but you don't know where to place the blame. We throw facts and figures at them. We bring up every possible mistake, every uncrossed t and dotted i. We act like discrepancy is a huge deal, even if it's not. We are skeptical of EVERYONE.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Innocent, 2005
A defense strategy that blames many parties creates confusion, obscuring true responsibility.
In simple terms: Blaming many hides the real cause.
Key Takeaway
Avoid scattering blame; focus on facts.
Themes
law
ethics
communication
strategy
Mood
skeptical
analytical
critical
Type
dialogue
explanatory
When to use this quote
- courtroom
- corporate investigations
- crisis management
- political debates
Key Concepts
accountability
obfuscation
cognitive bias
Questions to Reflect On
- How does blame scattering affect decision making?
- What alternatives exist to clarify responsibility?
A Different Perspective
Scattering blame can erode trust and hinder resolution.
