White Lies

White lies are seemingly harmless lies most people have spoken. The problem with lying at any level is that it becomes a habit and then a way of life. Lying, at times can be difficult to control. The more you lie the more you have a "knee-jerk" reaction to certain questions producing a lie. So, white lies in general might be thought of as ethically questional behavior.

White lies can be very necessary lies. An office worker is making romantic advances. People who lack sexual skills or experience with aggressive people have little recourse but to lie to protect their privacy. Nosy business people ask questions that could act to the detriment of a naive person. Here again one is forced to lie to protect their interests.

Business too needs a certain degree of privacy. A white lie gives them distance from the clients. Business people have a practical reason for lying. Bluntly telling the truth could be misinterpreted and cause a lawsuit.

A white lie is more an act of maintaining distance and privacy than it is a cleaver deception. Calling in sick when you are perfectly fine is not a white lie. It is a deception where one is being paid for the deception.

It is very difficult for most people to fend off manipulative and predatory people. It is a natural reaction to ones instincts to lie to survive. The question is whether or not the person is going to learn new ways to keep people at as distance or are they going to continue to fall back on lying to protect them. Instead of lying to an amorous suitor a woman might simply become very direct in her responses to the man to keep him away. People need to learn how to minimize their lies by developing the appropriate social skills.

Note: Some people go into a fit of rage or prolonged drama when told certain things. If a person is going to make a :mountain out of a molehill" then they should expect people to tell them white lies. The punishment for a small infraction can be out of proportion with the emotional harm an honest person must endure.

• Mismanagement
• Accreation
• Bad Habit
• Embarrassment