Ask Lemmy

Yes.

Anyone who says otherwise is (ironically) lying.

That's why privacy laws are so important and why the old "If you haven't done anything wrong, you shouldn't care about your data being collected by literally everyone" argument is bullshit. Because it's not about breaking the law, or lying about some big secret. It's about presenting to the world the you that you want to present to the world.

The most basic fundamental right is to be seen as we want to be seen.

Everyone...and I mean EVERYONE...has something that, if it were public, would change the way that others look at them. Maybe for the good, maybe for the worse. It doesn't matter. It could be that you're into midget porn. It could be that you anonymously donate a quarter of your paycheque to charity and you want it to remain anonymous for whatever reason. The point is, THAT IS YOUR RIGHT to keep that to yourself.

We get to show the world who we want them to see, either good or bad. And we all do it.

So yes, to circle back around. Anyone who says that they don't actively have any lies is lying.

I'm fine.

My name is Walter Hartwell White. I live at 308 Negra Arroyo Lane, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87104. This is my confession. If you're watching this tape, I'm probably dead- murdered by my brother-in-law, Hank Schrader. Hank has been building a meth empire for over a year now, and using me as his chemist. Shortly after my 50th birthday, he asked that I use my chemistry knowledge to cook methamphetamine, which he would then sell using connections that he made through his career with the DEA. I was… astounded. I… I always thought Hank was a very moral man, and I was particularly vulnerable at the time – something he knew and took advantage of. I was reeling from a cancer diagnosis that was poised to bankrupt my family. Hank took me in on a ride-along and showed me just how much money even a small meth operation could make. And I was weak. I didn't want my family to go into financial ruin, so I agreed. Hank had a partner, a businessman named Gustavo Fring. Hank sold me into servitude to this man. And when I tried to quit, Fring threatened my family. I didn't know where to turn. Eventually, Hank and Fring had a falling out. Things escalated. Fring was able to arrange – uh, I guess… I guess you call it a "hit" – on Hank, and failed, but Hank was seriously injured. And I wound up paying his medical bills, which amounted to a little over $177,000. Upon recovery, Hank was bent on revenge. Working with a man named Hector Salamanca, he plotted to kill Fring. The bomb that he used was built by me, and he gave me no option in it. I have often contemplated s-icide, but I'm a coward. I wanted to go to the police, but I was frightened. Hank had risen to become the head of the Albuquerque DEA. To keep me in line, he took my children. For three months, he kept them. My wife had no idea of my criminal activities, and was horrified to learn what I had done. I was in hell. I hated myself for what I had brought upon my family. Recently, I tried once again to quit, and in response, he gave me this. I can't take this anymore. I live in fear every day that Hank will kill me, or worse, hurt my family. All I could think to do was to make this video and hope that the world will finally see this man for what he really is.

Nope. About eight years ago, I became convinced that lying is almost never justified - not even white lies. Since then, I can remember only one lie I’ve told: I reflexively told a beggar I didn’t have any cash, even though I did.

Other than that, I can’t think of a single lie. That doesn’t mean I’m brutally honest - I still might choose to not tell something - but I haven’t said anything untrue. What’s interesting is that once I committed to living by this principle, lying stopped even being an option in my mind. In everyday interactions, my default is simply to say what I actually think, not what I think people want to hear.

Another interesting thing is that once you stop lying yourself, you start noticing just how much everyone else does it. And people seem totally oblivious to it. They’ll lie to a third party right in front of you, apparently unaware they’re revealing their own character - not to the person they’re lying to, but to everyone else around them. If I see you lying to someone else, it’s safe to assume you’d lie to me too.

What baffles me is how many lies are completely unnecessary. Like when people start making excuses to a telemarketer instead of just saying they’re not interested. You’re not even sparing the other person’s feelings - you’re protecting your own.

I've told countless people that I like IPAs when I'm actually impartial to them.

My relatives, parents and most of my friends still believe I'm straight...

I work in IT. So the lie is I know what I am doing, when all I do is google the error code and hope for stack overflow has an answer.

My programs think they are running on windows. They are running in proton.

There's this lie I keep telling myself that everything will be okay.

only the ones i tell myself every day!

“you can do it!” “you’re an important part of your job!” “people like you!”

😂

My family still thinks they're calling me by my name. I changed the fuck out of that tragedeigh years ago.

Please don't work yourself into living a lie, the longer it lasts the harder it is both to maintain and unravel. My drinking buddies still think I'm the Vice President of Northern Macedonia's body double. I mean, they've had three elections since then.

I'm defintely not 3 ducks in a trench coat

I love my job.

Well actually I don't. As soon as I get a better opportunity I am out of here.

No.

I’m fine, everything’s fine…

I dunno. I guess the question is if I would ever meet anyone I told a lie to ever again. That's definitely not happening, so I guess I'm not maintaining them anymore.

I honestly forget who at this point, but I think a few people still believe that I met my wife during a brief educational stay in her home state, when in fact it was online and years later.