About this quote

When an institution commits fresh wrongs to justify old ones, it forfeits any claim on your loyalty. Covering a mistake with more misconduct doesn't protect authority — it corrodes it. Withdrawing respect from that pattern is a moral stand, not mere defiance.

When to use it

• A company that hides a product defect, then lies again to cover the first lie, and loses its customers for good.
• A person who defends a blunder with escalating excuses instead of simply admitting it.
• A manager who bends more rules to bury an earlier scandal until the whole thing collapses.