Because we are talking about people who don't know their male from their female, their arse from their elbow, their up from their down, their policy from their non policy, their fair disciplinary process from their kangaroo court or their confidentially from their mass email.
They just know this: They are right.
And knowing they are right is all that matters. Because it's an emotional response. An arrogant statused response. A response that can only come from top down power and their place in it.
They don't care for listening to others; there is no need for a consultation process with other staff. They don't value the position of others in a lower status; there is no need for a risk assessment. They look after their own and everyone else has to suck it up.
Understand the power dynamics and everything that has happened DOES make sense. That's what makes it scary really.
And for people like this to suddenly wake up and admit they are wrong?
Well in some cases they never do, and they walk around with a chip on their shoulder for the rest of their lives as if they've suffered some massive injustice because they've been held to account.
Others will eventually process it, but it's a traumatic process of learning your place in the world isn't as secure and as infallible as you thought. The notion that yes you were very very very wrong is a bitter pill to swallow.
And if often all depends on how quickly these people can recover and regroup and start doing the same thing all over again in a slightly different guise. (When you get regime change in an authoritarian country, you replace a certain percentage of those who were in power before but actually you end up retaining a very large percentage who were part of the initial problem too). This may or may not mean they push the same ideologies as there may be a degree of pragmatism to them, but certainly the same power and social structures largely remain intact.
It will be very interesting to see how it pans out.
I have to say I sincerely hope that Fife and JR continue hand in hand and Kate Searle gets her day in court because the fall out will be even more complete and I don't really want to see a damage limited exercise because I want the full glorious collapse with multiple investigations and board resignations at this point. If only for the drama and to put a rocket up the arse of every other trust in England, Scotland, Wales and NI.