About lying.
By dorothy822
@dorothy822 (272)
China
August 6, 2008 7:00am CST
Let's say, if you promise to a criminal that you will not expose him/her to the policemen if he/she stops the crime. And they did let you go without hurting you.
Will you keep your promise?
If you don't keep the promise and call the police, will you consider it a lie?
3 people like this
6 responses
@hellcowboy (7374)
• United States
6 Aug 08
If I were to promise a criminal that I will not expose them to the police if they stopped the crime,and if they let me go without hurting me,then I might not expose them even though I probably would still tell the police so that way they can stop the criminal before they try again later to commit the crime,and I would not consider it a lie,I would consider it doing the right thing.
3 people like this
@dorothy822 (272)
• China
7 Aug 08
Thanks for responding.
So I guess if I could help others, this would be a right thing that I do. Right?
1 person likes this
@dorothy822 (272)
• China
7 Aug 08
Thanks for responding.
But considering he/she stops hurting you and let you go, can you imageing that he/she would commit very terrible crimes?
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@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
6 Aug 08
It's always a lie when you say something knowing you won't honor it. And understandable lie if you're trying to save your own life or protect your own well-being, but still a lie. I lied to my ex as he was pounding on me by telling him I'd agree to joint custody of our kids. Then, when he expressed shock and surprise that I reneged on that "promise" (but, you agreed), I reminded him that I had agreed under duress and didn't at all feel compelled to comply.
However, in your scenario, if the person actually does stop committing the crime, walks away and leaves you safe - then I might be hesitant to go against what I promised since they also held up their end of the bargaining process. And, who's to say that that one act of trust wouldn't be the turning point for that person. However, if it was learned later that the person committed the same crime elsewhere, I would probably go to the police with my story because they didn't learn anything from my keeping my promise.
2 people like this
@dorothy822 (272)
• China
7 Aug 08
Thanks for sharing your story as the example.
And i absolutely agree with you on the occassion of the same crime again. It's only this " break the promise" thing that confuses me.
Anyway. I like your answer. It is very clear and enlightening.
1 person likes this
@jerzgirl (9384)
• United States
7 Aug 08
Well, since a lie is nothing but the telling of untruth, a promise made that one doesn't intend to keep would be a lie (to me, anyway). That's not the same as making a promise one fully intends to keep, but something happens that prevents it. Or telling something as fact that one thought WAS fact, but is later learned to not be fact. A lie is a deliberate untruth, as far as I'm concerned.
I have a hard time lying. The only time I can really lie and be believable is when I fully believe the person on the receiving end doesn't deserve the truth. I'm no innocent, by any means. And, I really dislike people who seem to treat lying as a hobby or an Olympic sport. Everything out of their mouths is suspect, they live a lie, they tell lies without any reason, there's so little truth coming from them it's just hard to know what, if anything, to believe. I really really dislike people like that - I know one in particular like that and he just can't understand why I don't like him. I don't think lying is a good thing, but it's something I understand in some circumstances.
Thanks, though, for your kind words. I appreciate them.
1 person likes this
@richiem (3644)
• Philippines
11 Aug 08
I guess everyone of us has a social responsibility to call the
police about bad guys who pose danger to the society.
Yes, that is lying, but it is putting the sake of more people over
the sake of one. It is the right thing to do.
Have a nice day!
@Cindycrocker (209)
• United States
6 Aug 08
If I had to promise not to tell, in order to protect myself from harm, I wouldn't consider it a lie once I called the police.
When it comes to a decision like that, anything goes. Whatever you have to say to get the person to leave without hurting you ( or killing you) is what you should say.
If I were in that situation , I would call police to hopefully keep the same from happening to another.
2 people like this
@dorothy822 (272)
• China
7 Aug 08
En, good choice. I can see you know yourself quite well. You know the right thing to do for you.
Thanks for responding.
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