Bokonon would disagree with you, and tell you to live by the foma[0] that make you happy and healthy and brave and strong. Don’t discount the right kinds of lies.
If I understand you, you’re saying that Boz didn’t lie, he just said the truth in so subtle a way that other social predators pick up on it, but that seems nice to normal people.
That’s a deception even worse than lying!
Lie or not, this style of communication demands stricter sanctions.
Never trust anyone's lived experience, ever. Everybody lies, especially to themselves. Everyone's opinion of their own life is a lie they tell themselves to sleep at night. No one is the bad guy of their own experience.
It may not have hurt anyone. But a good rule to live by is: If you find yourself considering lying, then you have made some poor choices somewhere along the line. Every time you find yourself wanting to lie, think about it, and you may come to realize this is a solid rule to try to live by.
If you think the person who will tell you the truth here is the type of person who always sleeps well at night, then you’re a fool.
The people who always sleep well at night will just tell you the comfortable lie while stabbing you in the back, or other you into being the bad guy and them the good guy no matter what.
The reality is, bad things sometimes happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. And sometimes people do smart things that don’t work, and dumb things that do.
Sometimes, because it is what needs to happen. Othertimes, just because someone thought it was. Or by chance.
And at the end of the day, someone has to make that call or break that tie, or the world stops.
And as nice as that would be sometimes, it rarely is possible.
Often, the better alternative (long term) for everyone is ripping off the band-aid sooner rather than later. But, sometimes, people won’t let you.
If you’re lucky, they’ll take ownership for their part and do what they can to make sure it’s as clean as possible, eh?
If you're going to outright lie to my face & get caught, you'd better have a proof that you had discovered a brain tumor after having told the lie, pictures of the tumor being removed, and a doctor's note explaining "healthy now - no more liar liar pants on fire".
[0]: harmless lies
reply