“Each person had lived through his own hell during those terrifying minutes,” Genie would later explain. “To add to it with a description of blood and gore could cause panic. We could not have panic.” She was steeling herself, making subconscious calculations about who could be trusted with the truth and who had to carry the burden of it. Her reasoning reflected her understanding of how society worked, especially in a crisis: a belief that ordinary people relied on the maturity, proficiency, and good judgment of extraordinary leaders to protect them. That assumption was reinforced endlessly
...more
