A Lie is a Lie or is it?

@missybear (11391)
United States
October 28, 2011 6:03am CST
There are 2 kinds of lies....THE LIE AND THE LITTLE WHITE LIE. People lie for different reasons, some because they don't want to be caught at doing the wrong things others because they just can't help themselves and they lie about everything from how much money they make to where they were born. Then there is the "LITTLE WHITE LIE" that you tell when you don't want to hurt somebodies feeling by telling them their haircut is really ugly or that new dress looks really good on you, or yes Virginia there is a Santa Clause. What kind of Liar are you?
1 person likes this
14 responses
@timetravel (1425)
• United States
28 Oct 11
There's also the "omission" liar - the one who leaves out details, giving someone a Half truth or bit of truth - which is equivalent to lying, esp. if the person who hears the partial truth fills in the blanks with things that weren't said or didn't happen. This also is the type parents use with their kids. Such as when a four year old asks where babies come from, and a parent says, "A Mommy and Daddy who love each other make a baby together." You aren't telling your kid the specific details of how that is done - just that it is done. Your kid gets to imagine the rest - the hows, the mechanics. Which usually don't involve what mom and dad really do! Anyway, there's a way not to tell a white lie which is to do the Pollyanna routine - look for the good in everything. A coworker has a bad haircut? Find what you like - the haircolor - the way the bangs fall - something - and compliment that. Or just say, "My, you look happy today!". Because often someone with a new haircut does look happy. I'm just saying there are ways to avoid lying. Even white lies.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
28 Oct 11
You seem to know a lot about lying
• United States
28 Oct 11
I have degrees in Mental Health and Psychology and have worked with chronic liars in the past. these include addicts and abusive parents. Many compulsive liars are great manipulators of others.
• United States
28 Oct 11
only you can determine that. Another might decide you are lying but one will never know for sure - unless there is absolute proof, such as if you say you aren't stealing from me but your fingerprints are found on my wallet, and I have a videotape of you stealing from me. it's not always the "who" determining a lie but also the what - the evidence.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
28 Oct 11
I really do think that the biggest lie that anyone has told is the fact that they have never lied. I think we all have at one point or another. Even if it was a small distortion of the truth to get out of trouble when we were like five years old. No matter how much later we figured out it was in fact wrong, the fact of the matter was that we still did in fact lie, and that is something that we might have to deal with later on, no matter what occurred. I think that there are lies of all shapes and sizes, being told. Perhaps sadly sometimes we might not realize that we are lying. There are times where selective memory kicks in or we fill in details about what we think should have occurred to make us appear in the best light possible. I think that those lies are the most common, as our mind decides to not necessarily completely lie, but twist the story just a little bit to make us look better.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
28 Oct 11
Sounds familiarand so true
• United States
28 Oct 11
the telling of something from one's perspective or memory is not necessarily a lie - most lies are deliberate attempts to mislead someone else for whatever reason. I'm speaking in regards to selective memory - perhaps what we remember is the truth to us - so we are not deliberately lying.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
28 Oct 11
I go with that
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
30 Oct 11
I would say I use the little white lie when needed. I know of people that lie constantly. I really think sometimes that they themselves really don't know what the truth is anymore. Which is a shame. I would rather fib than hurt someones feelings. Have a wonderful day
@missybear (11391)
• United States
30 Oct 11
What's FIBanother white lie
• United States
30 Oct 11
A fib is another word for white lie. :)
@kingparker (9673)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I might lie from time to time. Lie about my relation with a foreign girl that is not my kind to my parents, and lie about where I was yesterday, or at the weekend. I lie from time to time, and I admitted it. Sometimes, I just can't tell the truth since people have different opinion or disagree about what I do. I hate to be judged by those people. Sometimes, I just want to scream back at them.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Go for it...SCREAM
@flapiz (22403)
• United Kingdom
29 Oct 11
I think I'm one of those LITTLE WHITE LIARS. I avoid hurting people as much as possible. Though I don't say an outright lie because it feels weird. Like I don't say someone's dress is pretty if it's not. Instead I look at the dress and find nice qualities about it. Like: Oh the fabric of that dress is of really good quality or What a unique dress. Hahaha..
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
That's a good way to avoid lying
@Mashnn (4501)
29 Oct 11
It is not good to lie in any way but I think none of us can deny that we are all guilty of white lies.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Guilty
@jaiho2009 (39142)
• Philippines
28 Oct 11
A lie is still a lie whether it is small or big lies. There are lies that consider as white lie. I only consider a lie excusable when it is needed to save someone. Like for an example: if someone is looking for my brother/sister/friend or relative and the person is very angry... I will surely lie the whereabout of my loved ones. It's not to defend my loved ones mistakes, but I need to know the truth. I don't want my loved ones to be hurt or killed without proper justice.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
That would be a good lie
• Philippines
28 Oct 11
A lie is a lie and that's it. You either tell the truth or you tell a lie. There is no such thing as a white lie. When I do not want to answer a question, I'd say, "No comment." When I am not pleased about what a person does to me, I let the person know, even if it will make him angry. It is my responsibility to be frank with a person and let him know that what he is doing is not proper. In that way, he will have a chance to correct himself if he wants to. But, whether or not he does it, that's his choice, not mine. My only duty as a fellow human being is to be honest with him. A few days ago, someone asked me, "How do you like my outfit?" My reply was, "I don't." Anyway, this is something trivial compared with other experiences that were more serious. But, I always choose to say what I think. If I am wrong, I'd apologize. Have a good one, missybear.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Thank you bamikalipal for your honest response, if you don't want to hear the truth don't ask. A 92 year old lady shouldn't worry about how she looks
@topffer (42156)
• France
28 Oct 11
I would not say anything -- it is a lie by omission -- or, if it is an old friend, I would try to explain that he/she would look better with another haircut : call my diplomacy a "little white lie" if you want.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I will
@katie0 (5203)
• Japan
28 Oct 11
When confronted I don't lie but I'm the type that don't tell the whole truth. If it's unecessary and it's only gonna hurt, I figure why not? Great day, happy MyLotting!
@missybear (11391)
• United States
28 Oct 11
Unless they ask specifics than not telling all the details is not really lying...I THINK
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
28 Oct 11
I am not sure if this is true? A man in one state (could be a country too) got 'life' for a prison sentence. He was up for parole in five years. Another man asked his jailer when we was going to get out. The jailer said, "boy, you are in louise e anna now, you are never going to leave, you are here for life." I think we believe certain things are true because of we think they are true. If you lie, specially for long periods of time, even sometimes if they are little white lies, you can start to believe a lie is the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. Everything else is cow patties. I talk too much so most likely tell all kinds of lies but do try my hardest to be truthful in all things only I reserve the right to keep my secrets.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Some people lie so much they believe their own lies
• Philippines
28 Oct 11
It depends on the situation. Sometimes, if there really is a need to lie, then I lie. But mostly if there isn't really a need to, I try not to lie. Most of the lies I said are only white lies.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Mine too
@siri26 (331)
• India
28 Oct 11
Before that I never use to tell lie. But It became so difficult sometimes matter of others. Some times truth hurts others. So trying to tell lie in order to make people better. So it's better to tell lie sometimes.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
That's 1 of the reasons I lie when I lie is because I don't want to hurt anybody...it doesn't mean it's right though
• Philippines
28 Oct 11
Lies, sometimes, help in hiding catastrophic impact in some ways. But a lie is still a lie, what ever form of lies that is. In ourselves, in order to hide some insecurities, we tend to insinuate lies just to boast our strength to get over what ever threats in our mental functioning, this however will help our get our balance. But if we our selves will always depend on such thing, then this is another form of mental imbalance that needs intervention. The best thing is to examine closely the way we deal with our inner problems and recognize it, get help if you can't cope with it personally. Telling the truth about our selves and others, will not hurt that bad the only thing is how and in what way you're going to tell the truth.
@missybear (11391)
• United States
29 Oct 11
That's a good way of looking at things..I like it