How social taboos perpetuate social problems.
If you are a technician of some kind your job is to troubleshoot problems, identify the source of those problems, and effect whatever repairs are necessary. When your mechanic tells you your engine needs a particular component replaced and it'll take three days just to order it, you may object to the cost or inconvenience, but their is little chance that you or anyone else will forbid mentioning the real source of the problem and insist on blaming something else. There are no social taboos involved in troubleshooting a mechanical problem. Social problems are another matter entirely. Troubleshooting a social problem back to its source is a relatively simple technical exercise. Applying a solution is often almost impossible. Unlike the engine component that needs to be replaced, the person, persons, or institutions causing the social problem are usually gaining something by causing the problem and will do almost anything to perpetuate it. This is why ...