Good morning, CoSo!
If you can only win a contest by cheating, your win doesn't mean anything.
If you can only believe something by telling yourself lies, your belief is without foundation.
If you can only affirm your self-worth by committing acts of violence, you have denied your own worth.
Every false act used to attain a worthwhile goal nullifies the goal itself in the attempt to achieve it.
@DavidSalo I've often been confused by people who cheat to "win" in that if you cheated, you don't really know whether you could have won (or you cheat because you know you can't win). A sensible person would think "I haven't really accomplished what I set out to do".
But the thing is, the cheaters aren't trying to win the contest, they're trying to take the _prize_. They don't care whether they are right or better at something, they care about taking the goodie basket and award statue.
@tippitiwichet @AskTheDevil @DavidSalo I would say they also care about their self-image as a winner
@gemswinc @tippitiwichet @DavidSalo Yep. They want the prize of being seen as the winner, without the work or character of deserving it.