Responding to Netizen's Comments

Netizens Remarks: 

In the video of Chris Tan, PRINSIPYO VIDEO KO, INAYOS KO NA he mentioned  why BBM supporters despite knowing FEM history, (on stealing, killing and lying)  still cling to the fact that BBM can't go wrong and he is being worshipped like he is some kind of a saint or a god.  He said the term for this condition is COGNITIVE DISSONANCE.  Can you explain in simpler terms what it means and if you can give example ... the better.

Response:

Cognitive dissonance describes the discomfort experienced when two cognitions are incompatible with each other. Cognitive dissonance theory postulates that an underlying psychological tension is created when an individual’s behavior is inconsistent with his or her thoughts and beliefs.

That feeling of mental discomfort about using plastic bags is an example of cognitive dissonance. This is because your beliefs are clashing with your actions or behavior. You believe that humans need to protect the environment, but you still use plastic bags. The internal conflict that this causes makes you feel bad.

Another common example of cognitive dissonance is the rationalization that takes place when people dieting “cheat.” How many times have you committed to healthy eating when a doughnut, muffin, or another delicious-looking food item threatened to take you off course? Then you started to rationalize, “Eh, it's only one doughnut."

So when presented with the grim picture of the atrocities that happened during the Martial law, a BBM supporter has this as his way to rationalize the situation,  "That was the father ... the fault of the father is not the fault of the son."

And this is precisely the reason why a BBM supporter gets upset when you challenge what they hold most closely. Mental conflict occurs when how they see BBM as a person are contradicted by new information.

BBM supporters seek to preserve their current understanding of BBM by rejecting, explaining away, avoiding new information, or convincing themselves that no internal conflict really exists.