Disparaging messengers of bad news neutralizes moral concern about one’s own harmful conduct

Evidence

Disparaging climate scientists and dismissing their scientific analyses as fraudulent neutralizes moral concerns that one’s own lifestyle practices may be environmentally harmful. The messengers of adverse effects in both the scientific community and the general public are disparaged as “doomsayers,” “scaremongers,” “global whiners,” “environmental wackos,” “tree huggers,” “Malthusian alarmists,” or “technological Pollyannas.” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2794

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2794