4 Good Lies Analysed

15Oct07

*a good liar

Situation 1)

I had a conference call with a VP and my manager the other day. We were talking about my branch office budget and revenue stream. My manager had some issues with the terms, so he fed the VP some lies about Japanese import laws to get leverage.

I think that this was a logic-defying lie that was told out of personal necessity for my manager. He wanted more revenues for the Japanese business. We had discussed the import laws in question at work the previous day, and my manager cited facts that were clearly opposite during the conference call. I think it’s interesting that when the logic doesn’t fit a certain outcome, according to Japanese culture it is acceptable to discount facts and procedures in order to make things happen the way they want. I think that’s one of the reasons that criminal trials are never won on technicalities in Japan. Furthermore, it’s accepted that if a case comes to trial, the judge always has the final say, rather than laws, if any. It’s this non-logic that’s responsible for “case-by-case” style problem resolution in Japan.

Situation 2)

My female co-worker told me that I use chopsticks well after I dropped some food in my lap.

I don’t think this was Japanese sarcasm. I think it was said out of pity, but that she was trying to say something that didn’t sound pitiful. Nonetheless, an impromptu chopstick technique lesson would have been more useful to me. Then again, Japanese women are trained to avoid criticizing. I think that constructive criticism can be a wonderful thing, but it’s also dangerous because the Japanese ego is such a delicate thing.

Situation 3)

The people at the gym told my wife that she is a little chubby.

The reason why the constructive criticism rule does not apply here is because the trainers at the gym are health experts, but they said this purely to make it easier for them to sell expensive personal training sessions. I think this lie may have caused problems because now when I suggest going to the gym, she tells me that she feels fat before we go, even after visiting the gym she seems to feel good about herself.

Situation 4)

When shopping, the salesgirl told me that it was the last shirt available in that particular color. I bought it and 2 hours later there was another shirt exactly the same on the rack.

I bought the shirt because I liked it, not because she told me about it’s scarcity. When I go shopping, I feel like I see right through the sales pitch at the retail shops, especially in Japan, and especially because they say such outrageously stupid stuff to me. I’ve had salesmen compare me to David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, and Keifer Sutherland. They’ve told me that I should buy a particular shirt because I’m white and its color matches my skin. The salesgirl turned a little red when I came back to the store. I laughed at her.

Heard any good lies lately? Please feel free to comment.

Filed under: health, money, women   |  Leave a Comment