Sensitivity Chips Are Cool

Honesty does not equal truth.

Honesty is a great thing. It really is. It's so much easier to be honest than it is to deal with deception. Lying takes too much time and energy. You have to keep up with who said what and worry about being caught. No thank you. I did my fair share of lying (as evidenced here) in high school and my mom (almost) always caught me, so take it from someone who knows. Besides, if I may be honest, honesty is just the right thing. It's the best policy, if you will.

My problem isn't with honesty, however. My problem is when people mistake their honest opinion or feelings for the truth. For example, take this scenario:

Person # 1 sees an acquaintance, Person # 2, at a public gathering. Person # 1, not quite impressed with Person # 2's attire, walks up to Person # 2 and says, "wow, what are you wearing? That's a pretty stupid outfit." Person # 2, with hurt feelings, reacts negatively to Person # 1's comment. Person # 1 is surprised at the reaction and explains, "what? I was just being honest."

Image courtesy of lism.

I'm not even shitting you, this really happened. I didn't take this from an episode of What Not to Wear, either. This is real life. "What? I was just being honest," is an expression I hear semi-regularly, and I often wonder how some people can be missing their just-because-I-think-it-doesn't-mean-I-should-say-it filter. It kind of reminds me of when Jennifer Aniston said that Brad Pitt was missing a sensitivity chip. Yes, I did just go there. But it's the same idea, kind of.

What I'm really trying to say is, you don't have to say everything that pops into your brain. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's the truth, a fact, or the gospel. At least think it over first because, "what? I was just being honest," is so played out. Common courtesy is so much cooler.