Credibility Quotes

“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.”
― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

“I used to believe my father about everything but then I had children myself & now I see how much stuff you make up just to keep yourself from going crazy.”
― Brian Andreas, Story People

“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end, he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon herself; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail.”
― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

“You can't believe everything people tell you - not even if those people are your own brain.”
― Jefferson Smith, Strange Places

“Several psychologists (L. Armstrong, 1994; Enns, McNeilly, Corkery, & Gilbert, 1995; Herman, 1992; McFarlane & van der Kolk, 1996; Pope & Brown, 1996) contend that the controversy of delayed recall for traumatic events is likely to be influenced by sexism. Kristiansen, Gareau, Mittleholt, DeCourville, and Hovdestad (1995) found that people who were more authoritarian and who had less favorable attitudes toward women were less likely to believe in the veracity of women’s recovered memories for sexual abuse. Those who challenged the truthfulness of recovered memories were more likely to endorse negative statements about women, including the idea that battered women enjoy being abused. McFarlane and van der Kolk (1996) have noted that delayed recall in male combat veterans reported by Myers (1940) and Kardiner (1941) did not generate controversy, whereas delayed recall in female survivors of intrafamilial child sexual abuse has provoked considerable debate.”
― Rachel E. Goldsmith

“If there's anything I hate is someone who questions my credit.”
― Mike Todd

“It takes many years to build your credentials, but it only takes a moment to lose your credibility. Always choose consistency and integrity over arrogance and vanity.”
― Khayri R.R. Woulfe

“When you distort the truth, you weaken your credibility.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, Follow Your Conscience: Make a Difference in Your Life & in the Lives of Others

“Loose and easy language about equality, resonant resolutions about brotherhood fall pleasantly on the ear, but for the Negro there is a credibility gap he cannot overlook. He remembers that with each modest advance the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash.

This characterization is necessarily general. It would be grossly unfair to omit recognition of a minority of whites who genuinely want authentic equality. Their commitment is real, sincere, and is expressed in a thousand deeds. But they are balanced at the other end of the pole by the unregenerate segregationists who have declared that democracy is not worth having if it involves equality. The segregationist goal is the total reversal of all reforms, with reestablishment of naked oppression and if need be a native form of fascism. America had a master race in the antebellum South. Reestablishing it with a resurgent Klan and a totally disenfranchised lower class would realize the dream of too many extremists on the right.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

“If I could teach aspiring managers only one concept, without question I would pick accumulating personal credibility. Credibility is something we earn. How? It’s amassed by successfully accomplishing tasks we’re assigned or which we volunteer to perform.”
― Ronald Harris, Concepts of Managing: A Road Map for Avoiding Career Hazards

“Plainly it is not every error made by a witness which affects his credibility. In each case the trier of fact has to make an evaluation; taking into account such matters as the nature of the contradictions, their number and importance, and their bearing on other parts of the witness's evidence.”
― H.C. Nicholas

“Treating Abuse Today 3(4) pp. 26-33
TAT: I want to move back to an area that I'm not real comfortable asking you about, but I'm going to, because I think it's germane to this discussion. When we began our discussion [see "A Conversation with Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Part 1", Treating Abuse Today, 3(3), P. 25-39] we spoke a bit about how your interest in this issue intersected your own family situation. You have admitted writing about it in your widely disseminated "Jane Doe" article. I think wave been able to cover legitimate ground in our discussion without talking about that, but I am going to return to it briefly because there lingers an important issue there. I want to know how you react to people who say that the Foundation is basically an outgrowth of an unresolved family matter in your own family and that some of the initial members of your Scientific Advisory Board have had dual professional relationships with you and your family, and are not simply scientifically attached to the Foundation and its founders.

Freyd: People can say whatever they want to say. The fact of the matter is, day after day, people are calling to say that something very wrong has taken place. They're telling us that somebody they know and love very much, has acquired memories in some kind of situation, that they're sure are false, but that there has been no way to even try to resolve the issues -- now, it's 3,600 families.

TAT: That's kind of side-stepping the question. My question --

Freyd: -- People can say whatever they want. But you know --

TAT: -- But, isn't it true that some of the people on your scientific advisory have a professional reputation that is to some extent now dependent upon some findings in your own family?

Freyd: Oh, I don't think so. A professional reputation dependent upon findings in my family?

TAT: In the sense that they may have been consulted professionally first about a matter in your own family. Is that not true?

Freyd: What difference does that make?

TAT: It would bring into question their objectivity. It would also bring into question the possibility of this being a folie à deux --”
― David L. Calof

“The beautiful thing about developing your personal brand is the larger it becomes, the more your value increases.”
― Isaac Mashman, Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence

“Credibility through action. First, he bought himself time to do his homework. Then by terminating the two engineers who weren't competent in their positions, he increased his credibility with Fred as a person who could take action.”
― Allan R. Cohen, Influence Without Authority

“Ignoring certain things; regulations notably, doesn’t mean that they don’t exist whatsoever.”
― Christa Rushayigi Ihogoza

“My gig is the care and feeding of engineers, and their productivity is my productivity. If they all leave, I have exactly no job. Part of your credibility as a leader is your public and repeated declaration that it’s your job to help your team succeed.”
― Michael Lopp, Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

“When my friends suggested that we approach a rich man for patronage, explaining," Today we need him, later when we are established you can change the pattern. We need publicity, credibility and money. Where else will it come from? "I rejected the advice outright, saying what I have never stopped repeating since," I will not join the social welfare club. I need no false support, no whitewash and no publicity. I'll build credibility, I'll earn money, I'll labour. I'll live the real thing. For that I need the people, those who need my help. Nothing is for free, everything has a price. I will pay them, they will pay me. The people will create their own welfare service, I will help them create it. From here we go alone. There shall be no pillar to lean on. We shall build supports from within. No compromise shall dilute and plague my work. We will begin from the street, from the beginning, not the top, not the middle, but the very bottom.”
― Tehmina Durrani, Edhi: A Mirror To The Blind

“Knowing is giving beliefs credibility beyond just imagining, assuming, or supporting an acquired thought learned casually from other people.”
― Steven Redhead, Life Is A Circus

“It is far better to say nothing than to utter a thousand words that say the same thing that silence would have said. For in the end, you will have saved a ton of time and a whole lot of credibility.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Reality is based solely upon desires that are brought to life by imagination and then given credibility by belief.”
― Steven Redhead, Life Is A Circus

“The more passionately in alignment you are with what you sell, the more credible you are to your prospects.”
― Stacey Hall, Selling from Your Comfort Zone: The Power of Alignment Marketing

“The false but perceived connection is petrifying to anyone whose career depends on credibility, and in science credibility is essential. So all fledgling scientists learn to maintain a serious, sober demeanour at all times, even if they’re secretly wearing Spider-Man underwear.”
― Dean Radin, Real Magic: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science, and a Guide to the Secret Power of the Universe

“I've been censored a lot. It doesn’t matter how credible my sources are; some messages are just going to be suppressed.”
― Jessica Marie Baumgartner

“People who" go by the book ", need to research who wrote it.”
― Carlos Wallace

“You've got to be careful with opinion polls in totalitarian regimes.”
― Konstantin Kisin

“if you don't punish lying in your political leaders, then why should they stop lying?”
― George Galloway

“I was not always self-motivated. There were patches (occasions in my twenties and thirties) where my motivation would plummet, often for weeks on end. So, I have been on both sides and have a wider perspective. Based on that, I can tell you there will be several major career reasons why you should motivate yourself and not rely on others to push you. If you are a leader (or a wannabe leader) you must be inspired and fully engaged at work. Because if you don’t motivate yourself, how will you motivate others?”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“By effectively protecting its assets and interests, a think tank can ensure its sustainability, credibility, and continued influence in the global policy landscape.”
― James Scott, The Art of Global Influence: Next-Generation Strategies for Think Tank Expansion and Niche Domination

“I believe in miracles. I believe in man-eating tigers, but I don't see them running about everywhere. If I want any miracles, I know where to get them.”
― G.K. Chesterton, The Adventures of Father Brown

“Never trust appearances, promises without actions, and unchecked assumptions.
Always trust your instincts, earned credibility, and genuine connections with others.”
― Monika Ajay Kaul