On the benefits of pessimism
The British conservative philosopher Roger Scruton has a book called The uses of pessimism, where he wrote that people today lack reasonable pessimism in order to accept the world as it is. And recently, actor Mikhail Efremov received 8 years of general regime for the fact that, sitting drunk behind the wheel, he caused an accident in which a person died.
Some condemn Efremov, some justify. Basically, of course, condemn. People can be forgiven for many mistakes. As long as they haven't done anything fundamentally irreparable. The death of a person is irreparable. However, the accident still does not contain intent to kill (in the Criminal Code it sounds like "by negligence"). Article 264 part 4, paragraph a) - this is from 5 to 12 years. It would probably be possible to get less than 5, citing health and the like, and then get out on parole for a year in 2-3. However, this required admitting guilt, reconciling with the family of the deceased, and generally acting like a repentant person. But, instead, Efremov and his rogue lawyer Pashaev staged a fucking circus, trying to deny the obvious - the latest version was that Efremov was not driving.
Why was it necessary to behave in such a way that it was natural to call these 8 years? Many write that Efremov considered himself an elite and was confident in his impunity. But no. The real elite of the Russian Federation in such cases remains unpunished. See the case from 2010, when a Lukoil member truck, driving into the oncoming lane, killed two women, and the deceased was eventually found guilty of the accident (upd. judging by the video[1], drove into the dividing line, but this is also prohibited).
Here's the thing here. The most difficult thing for those who fall under criminal prosecution is to come to terms with the fact that they will not get out without losses and will sit in prison. False hope, optimism, damned "positive thinking" are the meanest and worst advisers. So Efremov could not get used to the idea that now he, an honored artist and a favorite of the public, would go to sit in a smelly camp, surrounded by thieves, robbers and other respectable people. False hope pushed him into the arms of the obvious swindler Pashayev, who simply managed to sell him the illusion of a miraculous release. Approximately the same Grabovoi sold to the mothers of Beslan the topic of "resurrection of children." And Steve Jobs bought into the idea that cancer could be cured by vegetarianism. False hope can lead even the most intelligent people to believe fantastic nonsense.
In general, if you do not want to aggravate your situation and cover yourself with additional shame, you should learn to accept losses. Learn to be pessimists (and the fact that you don’t have to drive drunk is understandable). And, I must say, this approach is relevant for many situations: like protests in Belarus or the next Russian "elections".
Mihail Pojarsky 2020-09-11
