"Something must be denied and even loudly, irrationally, and dishonestly disparaged, because, if it is true, the truth about it will be extremely disturbing to one's way of thinking."
My view is that the “willful blindness” is not just a random event—it was created by a highly skilled multi-decade propaganda/brainwashing campaign.
Continuing the wife-beating analogy, the high functioning sociopath husband meticulously debunks every argument against him that the wife could muster before she even has a chance to think it, much less say it.