Okay, so this song has been stuck in my head since I watched an episode of "Drop Dead Diva"...yes, I know, silly, but I actually like the show for some strange reason.
Anyway, lying is something I can't stand. To me, it goes hand in hand with another pet peeve of mine: hypocrisy. It takes both to be able to lie, according to Liz. Now, I understand that sometimes we may think that it is appropriate to tell a "white lie" in order to avoid hurt feelings. My way of getting around this, because I don't think lying is ever okay, is to steer the compliment/remark in a different direction. For instance, I am not a huge fan of "baby cuteness". I actually think 99 percent of babies are actually unattractive. Sweet maybe, but not "cute." So, instead I compliment on something else like, "Wow, her eyes are SO blue!" Or "What a cute outfit!" Sorry if I'm telling on myself now and you realize I've never said your infant was cute (you probably will hear it from me when they reach toddlerdom because I find toddlers basically irresistible and always have), don't be offended.
With that in mind, I don't think people should tell all out lies. I'm going to use this experience as a for instance, but there are also people very close to me that do the same thing...and it is really everything I have in me NOT to call them out on it and expose their manipulative and erroneous information they share. And, after reading a particular book (THANK YOU, CB!! It's one of my fav's!!), I realize why I pay attention to what people say as well as their body language which reveals a lot of information, too.
A man approached us the other day to request a donation of money for his wife and him to get a hotel room. He claimed he only had $7 to his name, but that his boss was holding a check for him for thirty-five hundred dollars, but that wouldn't clear the bank before 9am tomorrow morning. He then explained that he's having a rough time and he just started work on Wednesday.
After explaining that we didn't have anything to give him, which we didn't, and he left, I then asked Eric if I had heard the story correctly. Firstly, he had a check that his boss had that the band was going to clear. Next, he apparently made $3500 in THREE days!! I want his job, and I would only work one week a month!! I also have to point out that he was wandering Wal-mart's parking lot WITHOUT said wife. I mean, if they need a hotel room, where is she?
I'm not saying that we shouldn't help the deserving poor, but just be wary of being scammed. I am more likely (when I have money or food to donate) to give it to a person who I feel is being honest, not pathetic and with a big long story about whatever.
So, would I lie to you? No. I'll always try to be polite, but I try my best never to say anything that is untrue.
1 comment:
That's funny. I also think that most babies are unattractive. Just a few days ago Tony and I were looking at my siblings' and my baby photos and commenting on what ugly babies we all were! I don't feel bad saying a baby is cute though because, like you said, something about them could be cute, and that can be what I'm referring to without specifying so. It may also just be a white lie, but I don't think it's a big deal. I also think kids start to actually look cute around toddler age, but sometimes they look cute around 6 months or so. It's VERY RARE for a newborn to be cute at all (in my opinion). And I've found that a lot of people share this sentiment (my husband and dad, for example). My dad just bluntly states that all his babies were gross and ugly when they were born. I like the honesty, haha. I'm sure that guy in the Wal-Mart parking lot was a swindler. I usually don't give money out either, and then sometimes I feel guilty. One time I was carrying a bag of crackers and snack food while getting on trax because I was taking it to work for my lunch and this guy approached me asking where he could get some free food. He looked homeless and was obviously asking me to give him the food I was carrying, but instead I just told him that he could get on trax and ride around the corner to the homeless shelter where they have free food. Then I got on my train and left, and I pulled out my Book of Mormon (because that was where I always did my reading), and I happened to be in King Benjamin's address and the part where he talks about denying the beggar and how we are all beggars. Needless to say, I felt kind of guilty! But I do think we need to be careful about just giving money away... that's why we pay fast offerings - so we can be sure our charity is going to those who really need it and hopefully won't buy beer with it. Okay, anyway, sorry this is long!
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