The Royal Family's "Never Complain, Never Explain" Strategy Was Abandoned by Charles and Diana
The phrase "Never complain, never explain" is a public relations strategy closely tied to the British royal family, believed to have originated with Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and rooted in maxims by Benjamin Jowett. Queen Elizabeth II embodied it throughout her reign, but in the 1990s Prince Charles and Diana broke from it through authorized biographies and tell-all interviews, a shift that damaged the monarchy. Prince Harry revisited the motto in 2023.
Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic.
- WhyComboNadir
It's a little Anthony Robbins-ish, but I like to think of something similar:
Anything you put your attention on, grows. So keep your attention on what you're hoping for, not on what you wish would go away. Don't give negative things oxygen.
(Of course this is all well and fine for someone of generally good character doing productive work; but can also be the formula for monsters to use that are "hoping for" things that most would find repugnant).
Related, which I always loved: Winston Churchill "You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."
- __natty__
The never complain part has a status dimension. Complaints from people seen as privileged land badly. Tech in most world is learning this recently. Engineers fears of AI are legitimate, but for years the industry automated other people work, sold headcount reduction as a feature, and told laid off workers to learn to code. I remember how some european aviation insurance company employees were bragging how many lawyers their company laid off thanks to their automation. Now that it's our turn, people outside the bubble aren't in a mood to sympathize. The automation would have happened anyway and the smugness is what we are paying for.
- Almondsetat
As Bagehot is quoted saying in the article: "Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced, and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reverence it... Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic".
This makes it evident how this strategy exists to maintain the "magic" and fool the masses. It has no place in a progressive society where being duped with propaganda into believing falsehoods should not be something to look up to.
- Zealotux
That's what I personally call the Huberman strategy: no official statement, barely any acknowledgments of allegations, just carrying on with whatever thing you're doing, the mob will soon enough find its next target. It worked exceptionally well for him, I guess it helps to be a neuroscientist.
- tombert
Man this is antithetical to how I live my life. I complain all the time and over-explain everything.