One of my favourite episodes of Fawlty Towers is the episode ‘Don’t Mention the War’. This classic satire reminds me so much of Safety.
I was advised recently that I speak and anchor too much to zero, particularly if I want ‘traction’. Of course, this is utter nonsense. Let’s ignore the foundational ideology, mantra and global semiotic of Safety and not talk about Zero. Even though Zero is the founding fundamentalist ideology of brutalism that the industry dishes out to people in the name of safety.
Let’s ignore the elephant in the room. The first rule of safety is don’t talk about culture, the second rule is don’t talk about culture (Busch). This is the intelligence that forms the basis of this silly suggestion to ignore zero. Let’s imagine that safety is not the zero industry, let’s ignore the most destructive ideology of the industry and imagine that all is well in zero world.
Let’s wish away the mantra of global safety (https://visionzero.global/videos) and imagine it doesn’t dominate the mindset of the industry. Let’s imagine that the apocalyptic nonsense of ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ doesn’t exist. Let’s imagine that the ‘Spirit of Zero’ (https://safetyrisk.net/the-spirit-of-zero/) and its metaphysical ideology is not part of global safety. Let’s imagine that zero is NOT the commanding ideology of the industry that measures its performance by the number of times it doesn’t reach zero. Or, the number of injuries that determines its success.
Let’s imagine that the safety world didn’t get together in 2017 to set the global agenda as zero under the banner ‘Just Believe’ (https://safetyrisk.net/no-evidence-for-the-religion-of-zero/). Let’s imagine that safety isn’t a counting cult that brutalises people in the name of zero.
Only those who don’t know about the power of the collective unconscious, semiotics and ideology would suggest that such foundational problems for the industry should be ignored.
Zero is the commanding mantra for an industry consumed with the mental health of everything except its own! Zero is not just propaganda (https://safetyrisk.net/zero-vision-as-propaganda/) it is the raison d’etre (reason for being) for an industry that endeavours to define safety by injury rates. Of course, injury rates do NOT define the presence of safety. Zero is the symbolic image that defines the foundational delusions of an industry that cannot think critically.
How delusional could one be to deny the fallibility of humans and set an impossible goals then argue that everyone should believe the impossible (https://safetyrisk.net/believe-the-impossible-and-speak-nonsense-to-people/; https://www.consultdss.com/content-hub/belief-in-the-impossible/). You couldn’t make such nonsense up!
Then to suggest that all this be ignored simply demonstrates complete ignorance about the workings of the collective unconscious, semiotics and political ideology.
This is the thrust of don’t mention the war.
Nothing will improve in safety until the industry ditches the nonsense ideology of zero.
All the organisations that work with SPoR that dispose of zero quickly realise how safety improves (https://safetyrisk.net/moving-away-from-zero-so-that-safety-improves/).
No, I will NOT stop speaking about zero and lets just wait to the global convention in Sydney in September and observe the fixation and dysfunction of the industry as zero raises its ugly head once again.
If you can’t jettison zero, you are in a cult (https://safetyrisk.net/creating-myths-and-rituals-in-safety/).
Dr Rob Long
Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)
- A Podcast with Dylan Evans - June 23, 2025
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- The First Rule of the Titan, Don’t Talk About Safety Culture - June 15, 2025
- You Spell the Devil L-T-I and God P-P-E - June 15, 2025
- Meaningless Non-Vision in Safety - June 15, 2025
Rob Long says
Search results for ‘zero in safety’ is 714 million, and ‘zero harm’ 193 million. Search for ‘fallibility and risk’ only takes one to SPoR.