Nuance is stamped out and hesitation is interpreted as weakness.
They say Israel's restraint was interpreted as weakness by its enemies.
Respect for the other side is rarely expressed, out of fear that it would be interpreted as weakness — especially in an election year.
In the public perception, the first gulf war, Oslo and Lebanon are now seen as confirmation of the cardinal rule of the early years -- if you show anything that can be interpreted as weakness, they'll exploit it.
"We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue — in a situation where you have brought sanctions and then switch to dialogue — is liable to be interpreted as weakness," Ms. Livni said in an interview on Israel Radio.
In fact, success is often tied to ego, and many leaders talk about the pressure to appear competent and flawless, while humility might be interpreted as weakness, indecisiveness, or lack of confidence.
Women tend to use more cautious, less aggressive language, and often apologise for what they are about to say, eg "This isn't quite my subject area, but perhaps you might consider …" This can be interpreted as weakness and makes what they say easier to dismiss or ignore.
And admitting to uncertainty or confusion of any kind or to any degree risks being interpreted as weakness.
Decision support therefore provides supportive assistance rather than enforcement, which may be interpreted as weakness of the project's approach, which is however inherent to most electronic systems.
