You 'Must Acknowledge Guilt' and Face the Fire
Doing what we choose comes at a cost to how we're seen. Responsibility and consequences remain.
Sidestepping a legitimate, respected confession and apology when actions and outcomes require it is not well received and doesn’t turn down the heat within conflicts or crisis. It escalates it.
“Azerbaijan has demanded that Russia admit its guilt over a Christmas Day plane crash that killed 38 people (of the 67 on board), the country's President Ilham Aliyev said,” reported Rebecca Falconer at Axios.
While Russian leader Vladimir Putin has reportedly apologized to Aliyev after the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that took place in Russian airspace, the Kremlin official statement showed that Putin is not accepting responsibility.
In part, the statement read:
“During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly on schedule, repeatedly attempted to land at the Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”
The Kremlin is clearly communicating that the pilot and plane of commercial passengers did not belong where it was flying, the flight was intentionally there and was even more of a perceived threat because it was attempting to land where it was not allowed.
In other words, Russian leaders are justifying the plane being fired upon, being taken down and innocent people being killed.
Aliyev is not accepting that explanation as valid.
"We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia. This is a fact, and no one can deny this fact," he said in a state TV interview, according to a transcript posted to the president's website and since reported by Falconer at Axios.
Aliyev however displayed a clear sense of reason in his comments.
"We are not saying that this was done intentionally, but it was done," he added.
This an critical point that often gets lost in disputes, conflicts or crisis. Intentionality matters, certainly, but impact is where the primary, dominant focus is when people are in any type of pain.
So whether the Russian military intended or not to cause terror, injuries, trauma and deaths of people who were not threats, its decision and actions directly led to those results and impact.
Azerbaijani officials said that they have "clearly expressed our demands" to Russian leaders.
"First of all, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Secondly, it must acknowledge its guilt," Aliyev said.
"Thirdly, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions," he added.
"The first of these was fulfilled yesterday. I do hope that the other conditions will also be accepted,” Aliyev stated.
An apology is not always given and when it is, it is often poor. One has to be extended and it must be to the level of responsibility and quality that it resonates positively and thoroughly.
Acknowledging guilt is dangerous, yes, yet when the situation and actions show it, that’s the figurative fire and risk that people should courageously, honorably move towards.
Often, by confessing that guilty action, the anger or rage doesn’t escalate. That response may or may not deescalate the harsh emotions and feelings in the moment, yet without apology and honest, full admittance of guilt, the escalation almost always gets higher and continues to boil, the risk remains and danger will keep lurking.
It doesn’t disappear.
Only the very rare guilty person or group is willing to accept the social, legal and financial punishment that their worst decisions and actions made certain or likely.
That remains the expectation and responsibility for which society and critics will continually look and listen, wondering whom someone — or some organization — is as people: is the character respectable or not?
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