It’s about time we told the truth about lying

AINE O’CONNOR

WE all lie. We might believe that we don’t but to some extent we all lie. Not all untruths are made the same, some fall into the near virtue of the “Little White” category, while others belong in the moral morass that is the “Big Fat Porkie”. One argument used to determine which category an untruth falls into is intent, i.e. was it concocted with a view to protecting the liar or the li-ee? And the other is degree, is this a lie with consequences?

My favourite example involves the guna deas, or not so deas as the case may be. Someone is at a party in a truly unflattering dress and they say, “tell me honestly, what do you think of the dress?” They’re out, they can’t go home and change, knowing they look crap does no good so the “You look fab!” lie is to protect them. Little White category, no debate.

Same person, same dress but in a changing room, pre-purchase where they could be saved from this sartorial mishap. “Tell me honestly...?” Not easy admittedly, but if you lie and let them buy it, that lie is because you don’t want to look mean, i.e. it protects the liar and not li-ee. That, according to the intent criterion, makes it A Porkie. But like the dog eating your homework, or a fake traffic incident to excuse tardiness, the consequences are hardly life-altering so it’s probably A White Porkie. Crap intent, no major consequences.

Big Fat Porkies are an entirely different kettle of (probably fake) fish where the liar is self protecting and the li-ee is manipulated, prevented from knowing something on which they have a right to make a call, to agree or disagree, to accept or reject, to stay or go. The person who does this is never protecting you, if they say they are, that’s just another Big Fat Porkie.