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Opinions on White Lies?

My father was a stickler for telling the truth. He had zero tolerance for lies and no respect for those he caught in a lie. He was brutally honest even when forced into a situation that would end a friendship. "A man is only as good as his word". He lived that and enforced that as I was growing up. I respected the man for living his convictions.
I do not lie. I will avoid telling the truth if I know it will hurt someone's feelings needlessly. Many things are best unsaid. With that said, it would likely be a lie if I was to say that I never told a white lie. I can't think of one but I think it's unreasonable to think that I've successfully avoided hurting someone's feelings without fudging a bit sometime or another.
 
Sometimes it is great to white lie when you know it becomes the truth, and if you forget to plant that inside your seed, then you can either pull it out from the soil, salt it, or clip it before it brewed up.
 
rootabaga said:
My wife’s opinion is that anything less than the complete truth is a lie, including white lies and including remaining silent.
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Questions like "does this dress make me look fat?" or "does my butt look bad in this swimsuit?" are evidence of double-jeopardy. She doesn't approve of white lies unless the white lies involve HER. The prudent husband will respond, "not really, but I think that other outfit is far more flattering for you. I know I like it more when you wear it..."
:)
On a serious note, I don't think white lies are actually "lies" by deception or omission - but rather a diplomatic way of concealing, or coating, a truth. I may tell her that we're going somewhere when, in reality, we're going somewhere else for a far better reason: but it's a surprise. Or, perhaps, that I didn't even think about our anniversary being today - but then she opens our newspaper to see a large ad in the classifieds about how much I love her and I love being married to her.
 
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