That’s a perfectly valid excuse. It can be interpreted to mean “I am too weak to behave in a better way”. Or simply, “I am weak, what are you expecting me to do?”
What’s your problem with the statement? I am worrying that you are one of those fools who believe in “free will”.
While it is possible for people to force themselves to behave in a certain way, it’s not always a good, healthy move. If you force a weakling to do something for which he lacks strength, you will end up destroying him. You cannot change people like that. One must acquire necessary preconditions before one can do something. If one does it without the necessary preconditions, one ends up destroying oneself.
Witness the psychologist’s idea that one should face one’s mental pains if one wants to improve one’s mental health. This is true, of course, but one thing is missing in the equation: one is not free to face one’s pains. Do you understand what I am saying? You cannot just force yourself to face your fears. YOU MUST ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY PRECONDITIONS, YOU MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PULL IT OFF. If you force yourself, you will fuck yourself up. But can you explain this to a psychologist who thinks that mental evasion is a bad thing? I don’t think you can.
Think of it this way: if you find yourself in a situation where you are attacked by, say, ten apparently strong men, will you fly or will you fight? Depends on how strong you are. If you are strong enough, which is a rare event, then you will fight, of course. But if you are not, then you will run, or at least, that’s what you should be doing. Now, what happens if the person starts thinking that he should NEVER run away from danger? He ends up destroying himself. Now, transfer this to the mental sphere. You face a difficult mental situation, a pain, a contradiction, a cognitive dissonance, whatever. What are you going to do? Depends on your strength. If you are strong, you will face it and resolve it. If you are weak, you will run away from it. Now, what happens if the person starts thinking that he should NEVER run away from his pains/fears/contradictions? He ends up destroying himself.