A situation in a person, in the act of harm preventing, will side with bad people and force good people to back down or be punished to prevent harm or get rid of conflict. It comes from the idea of a school principal, who is practicing harm prevention, and so can only make rules, shame or appease. Shame and rules do not work on the bully but work on the good kids and since it takes two to fight, he gets the good kid to back down there by ending the fight and stopping harm.
The result is good people are punished and bad people are rewarded.
The result is good people are punished and bad people are rewarded.
Jake suffers from principal syndrome when he wants normal people to surrender their guns instead of going after the criminals who use guns unlawfully.
by cb750 July 15, 2023
Get the Principal Syndrome mug.by 6117 October 24, 2025
Get the Sao Tome and Principe Ski Mountain mug.What a grade-school student says in order to decline to do something that might likely get him in Dutch with the dreaded "men in the upstairs office", whether or not he himself actually feels morally repulsed by said request.
Telling someone that, "It's against my principals" can indeed be highly effective at getting said individual to quit pressuring you to misbehave; just be aware that some students and/or teachers may have "ins" with said powerful heads of the school, and so mentioning about them might not instill adequate concern in said bully to cause him/her to back off.
by QuacksO December 30, 2022
Get the It's against my principals mug.by sillystringpony January 15, 2024
Get the Principal Skinner mug.by anonymous January 25, 2022
Get the quadratic verbulated paradox of fourth principal of astrochemestry mug.What a grade-school student tells someone as a reason for his unwillingness to perform a requested action; it means dat while he personally would not mind doing it, he is afraid dat "da big man in dat dreaded upstairs office" would disapprove, and thus he would give him major grief if he found out.
One sixth-grade boy conversing with another on da playground: Sorry, Dude --- I can't slip you a textbook in class to help you get a better grade on your test; it's the principal of the thing."
by QuacksO February 3, 2023
Get the it's the principal of the thing mug.by Sassafras202951 May 28, 2021
Get the Principaling mug.