Government Exception Bias

A form of bias based on Winston Churchill's famous quote about democracy being "the worst form of Government except for all those other forms"—used to justify abuses, atrocities, and crimes committed by democratic, quasi-democratic, semi-democratic, or pseudo-democratic governments, particularly Western and liberal democratic ones. The bias works by establishing an impossible standard: democracy is judged against utopia, while alternatives are judged against their actual historical performance. Any democratic failure is excused by "but it's better than the alternatives"; any authoritarian success is dismissed as exceptional or temporary. Government exception bias allows democratic states to commit human rights abuses, wage illegal wars, and suppress dissent while maintaining the moral high ground—because, after all, they're not as bad as those regimes. The bias is most visible in discussions of Western foreign policy, where "flawed but still the best" becomes a blanket justification for anything.

Example: "When criticized for drone strikes killing civilians, he deployed government exception bias: 'Democracies make mistakes, but at least we're not a dictatorship that murders its own people.' The comparison was true but irrelevant—it excused specific atrocities by appealing to general superiority. The victims didn't care about comparative political science; they cared about being dead. Government exception bias had done its work: changing the subject from crime to comparison."

by Dumu The Void February 18, 2026

《¤》Exceptionalismu《¤》exceptionalismu《¤》Exceptionalismu《¤》

.

😱:《¤》Exceptionalismu《¤》exceptionalismu《¤》Exceptionalismu《¤》

by InterpersonalCommunication February 19, 2025

Dividing Line Exception

When you're actually a punk past the dividing line.

Despite the dividing line, that guys actually a punk. He's a dividing line exception

by Josh, The One January 13, 2009

Murphy's Law of Exceptions

"You can follow an 'unpopular' method or procedure 'till da cows come home' and nothing unusual will ever happen to 'justify' or 'vindicate' your unorthodox actions (and you'll likely get continually criticized by others for your chosen behavior), but then the ONE TIME when you eventually 'cave' and actually DO happen to follow the 'standard' or 'acceptable' protocol, THAT'S the solitary 'rogue occasion' when disaster will happen to strike --- something really bad will happen that would not have occurred if you had simply continued to follow your own 'pet' procedure that had seemed better/safer to begin with!"

My "super-long-term-driving-experienced" aunt had gotten fed up with my "back-seat driver" attempts to be helpful by telling her about vehicles that I'd see moving around fairly near our position when we'd be travelling someplace in her car, and so she had eventually asked me to just keep quiet and let here handle the driving herself. Well, of course, within a day or two, Murphy's Law of Exceptions decided to turn and bite me in da butt --- due to a view-obstructing sidewalk-mounted ad-sign, my aunt didn't notice an approaching car, but I did... naturally, that was the ONE TIME that I **didn't** tell her about it because she'd specifically asked me to keep my trap shut on instances like that, and so I'd ASSUMED (there's that word again!) that she'd observed the vehicle bearing down on the intersection. Well, as you might expect, we crashed, and there were multiple injuries in the other car! Can't win...!

by QuacksO March 9, 2019

"plain view" exception

A loophole in da generally-accepted social rule which states dat you hafta keep yer paws off a buxom gal's "merchandise" less'n ya get her permission beforehand --- da theory in dis case is dat if she has a majority of her plump juicy "milk-thingies" juss hangin' right out there all luscious and "obvious", she is implying dat she is largely "tossing social norms out da window", and so you can go ahead and gleefully "squeeze theeze" without having to ask her first.

I'm guessing dat da brainless lunkhead in da classic "PAT"-labeled-uniform cartoon (da bosomy chick who's wearing da name-imprinted t-shirt is named "Patricia", but da clueless dude thought dat da word meant dat he had permission to feel her up) who got KO'd by da brawny babe was thinking of da "plain view" exception when he decided to delightedly "savor da goods" with his huge clumsy hands... da guy's buddy is saying to him, "I think it's meant for identification purposes, not as a set of instructions" :P

by QuacksO March 18, 2019

Friends with exceptions

When friends make an exception from a normally “friendly relationship” to a “friends with benefits” like relationship for a limited period of time. They both consent that it will only last for that period of time, and afterwards they go back to being normal friends.

Friends with exceptions describes Anne’s relationship with her boss.

by Norwegian Education February 27, 2020

Live In Excess

Miraculously the single greatest phrase ever created, created by the single greatest man ever created (no not by god; created by a little miracle some people call s*x or int*rcourse) to sum up the indubious eventual aim of the beautifully beautifying human condition -

to "LIVE IN EXCESS"

"Uhhh I'm not sure if I'm gonna go to the party man"
"What is up with you dude? Have you forgotten to LIVE IN EXCESS?"
"Of course. I'm sorry bro, I lost myself for a second there. I gotta follow the teachings of the legendary AVW"

by Live in Excess September 25, 2022