The Little White Lie

Oh the joys of the little, or not so little as the case may be, white lie. You know the ones I'm talking about; the ones that you tell to get yourself out of awkward situations. We all do it.

Creepy Suitor: "Hey, want to go get drinks?"

You: "No, I (select one of the following) [have a headache, have homework, am busy, etc.]"

These tracks are easy to cover, especially if you're staying home that night. Most of the time, these lies aren't going to cause any major issue. No one gets hurt, and at the risk of getting philosophical, the most amount of good for the most people is going to result; namely you and your sanity. 

   None of these statements are actually true, but creepy suitor doesn't know that. These lies can also take the form of omission in certain situations, such as not saying 'why' you've decided to end a relationship, who you're going out with on any given night, or even just telling someone the "nice" side of a situation. The main problem that comes around with that one is someone outside the situation always knows more that you want them to. The friend who knows the new guy you're dating, pictures posted by a friend of a friend that places you at the scene of a party when you had a "headache," or the mutual friends who know the entire sordid saga of why you lost your job.

   These omissions may seem like the better thing to do, but they always seem to have a way of coming out into the open, and when they do, someone is going to get hurt. Finding out that you were deceived is one of the worst realizations, and it fosters that feeling of "I want them to hurt worse that I do." Now this is a recipe for success. One angry/hurt/stunned party + one party covering their butt = bad news bears.

   Moral of the story: Lies can hurt much more than the truth. Consider valuing yourself, and others enough to act accordingly. In the balance, all of the trouble, anger, frustration, and potential pain that can be caused, it really isn't worth it most of the time. Do be kind to people in the way you tell them the truth, but if you must cover something up, think about your motivation. Is this for them or you, and if they find out the truth someday, is it going to hurt more?