tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219016227527138552.post6010646404374775672..comments2023-11-05T01:14:04.426-07:00Comments on Michaela's AP Literature Blog: What Would Charles Olson Say?Michaela I.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02382274758435057802noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219016227527138552.post-31316202807394380832009-05-19T10:45:00.000-07:002009-05-19T10:45:00.000-07:00About Lying
Some lies aim not to deceive with ven...About Lying<br /><br />Some lies aim not to deceive with venality.<br /><br />(1)<br />First, let me speak of lies-of-friendship. An old friend named Tiny once told me, "A true friend always flatters. If you are late, a friend waits." Her rhymes were one of the beautifully strange features of her acid-voiced way of speaking. By this rhyme, she meant, in part, that even if one's appearance is daft, the greatest of amicable loves demands that one's friend not say that one looks daft (e.g.: "To be honest, you look horrible today.") Such honesty is the antithesis of friendship. The correct response is mendacity: "You look great today." <br /><br />(2)<br />Second, let me speak of one form of lies-of-survival. I learned about this form of lying throughout a working class childhood full of multiple forms of oppression and abuse. A dear friend named Pepper summarized this form of lying thus: sometimes you have to lie to survive and thrive. The very circumstances of a situation demand a deception that will allow you to get out of the scenario or remain sane and/or healthy within the scenario. Abusive foster homes, to say nothing of many other experiences, has taught me that these kinds of lies—enacted sparingly—are essential to a live that does not involve certain privileges. <br /><br />(3)<br />Lastly, let me speak of another form of lies-of-survival. Today I live in a world where few people care about me and sometimes, when faced with a question that requires that I reveal truths for which the person would not care or understand, I may, if pressed under duress, lie and move on. The truth would introduce knowledge that would not protect me. On the contrary, I have found that, sometimes, telling the truth opens up oneself to immense censure and harm, especially in certain professional situations. Lying in this case is tactical and should be enacted sparingly. My first aim is to be silent and to avoid the very presence of people who would ask questions for which they are not prepared for the answer. However, when cornered, in very extreme situations (like the time when someone asked if I was sick and at the time I was undergoing cancer treatments and would have been fired if I said "yes") if I assess that my safety, personally or professionally, is threatened, I will, sparingly, rarely, lie and keep moving on to survive and thrive.<br /><br />What would Charles Olsen think about this?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11272675595843554425noreply@blogger.com