On the Rareness of Liars

[duck2ducks]

I will never understand why some people, when faced with someone who has a different perception or understanding than they do, immediately leap to the defense of "So, what - you're calling me a liar?!"

No. Of course that's not what I'm saying! What seems clear to me is that there's a misunderstanding of some kind, and I want to communicate with

Comments

[skywind8]

Everything you've just explained is true... and... some people's experience of the world is a pattern of other people overreacting to them, or maltreating them, or attacking them, and living life from that mindset tilts perceptions in the direction of defensiveness.

When they are reacting from an expectation-of-threat, the adrenaline burst of perceived risk means that higher analysis / cognition is temporarily blocked. They're just doing threat assessment, and the brain literally can't think past that until they come back down.

Because you start from a world-view that people are inherently good, generally trustworthy, and generally safe, you don't get the adrenaline juicing from a misunderstanding.

[redhotannie]

WOW! YES! I am very similar to you on this way of thinking, including being naturally optimistic and assuming that people are good, so therefore misunderstandings must be attributed to simple variations in the way we process information. I loved reading this! Thank you for sharing it!

[ext_2378949]

This reminds me of a relative whose opinion is the only one that matters to her. In fact, she has said that her perception is the reality - not a reality or her reality, the one and only reality. You have a mature and introspective nature, not all people are so inclined.