Random
Source Code
Random
Someone who pretends they can't do something so you'll do it for them
My coworker is the human form if weaponized Incompetence
A term used by bad managers and by friends, family members, and romantic partners alike in circumstances where they want somebody else to do things their way but they do not want to properly communicate what their way is (or where they are happy to wax on about frivolous details but never justify why said details would actually matter to anyone else).
They will describe whoever is doing a sufficiently poor job reading their minds as incompetent, and if they suspect you are doing a poor job specifically so that they'll have to meet their own ineffable requirements (if you want something done "right", do it yourself) then they will call it "weaponized" incompetence.
In their minds the term means "feigning not being good at a task to get out of doing it" but in practice such a campaign could only ever work when there's only one person who has skin in the game for the task to be done in a certain way to begin with.
"Don't you even know how to make me a sandwich? The pickles have to go on top of the provolone, and the mustard and mayonaise should never touch. You didn't even cut off the crust, and who slices a sandwich lengthwise? It *must* be diagonal! Fine, I'll make my own damned sandwich, but I swear you do this on purpose just to avoid doing it the right way. It's weaponized incompetence! *huff*"
Something your dad accuses you of when he has to go get off his ass and do something for once in his goddamn life that someone else is not good at
Person 1: Can you make noodles? Last time I tried I burned myself.
Person 2: Goddman. Weaponized Incompetence
Person 1: ok bud
When someone does a simple task requested of them badly on purpose so they seem too incompetent to do said task, thus ensuring nothing is ever asked of them again.
Jill: "Will you do *insert simple task here*?"
Jack: "Ugh, I guess." *Does it wrong so she feels that she can't trust him to do it right*
Jill: *Sees the horrible job jack did* "Oh.. I guess I should just do it myself next time.."
Jack: "Great! Weaponized incompetence works!"
Jill: "... What..?"
A collective name for the highways agency in the United Kingdom
5 sets of roadworks in 30 miles? Who thought that was a good idea? Oh, of course, those criminally incompetent fuckwits at the highways agency
A deliberate and calculated behavior exhibited by an organization or its members, particularly law enforcement agencies, where they feign misunderstanding or lack of capability to fulfill a legal or formal request for information. This tactic is employed as a means of evasion to avoid accountability, transparency, or the disclosure of information that could implicate the organization in illegal activities or misconduct. It is characterized by an outward appearance of cooperation or innocence, masking an intentional effort to obstruct justice or the rightful access to information. This behavior is passive-aggressive in nature because it avoids direct confrontation or refusal while actively working against the requester's aims to uncover truth or obtain justice.
This definition encapsulates the manipulative and obstructive nature of the behavior, emphasizing its purpose as a strategy to evade legal and moral responsibilities.
The police department's refusal to provide the requested documents, coupled with their pretense of not understanding the clear terms of the FOIA request, is a classic case of passive-aggressive strategic incompetence designed to shield themselves from scrutiny.