Not everyone is "pretending that the problem doesn't actually exist." There are limited resources available to any and every organization. Many times, a proper fix can cost more than a band aid, sometimes even over time.

Here's a hypothetical, but not ridiculous, scenario. Which is a better way to spend resources? Track down and stamp out an extremely difficult resource leakage bug? Or simply bounce the server? The costs associated with the former may be HUGE. The costs associated with the latter may be small in comparison (cost of potential down time, minimal labor cost of bouncing the server(s), and costs associated with user reliability).

I wouldn't always chalk it up to whatever it is that your comment implies (laziness? willful ignorance?).