[Mageia-discuss] Cultural difference: "Let your yes be yes" <---> "It is rude to say no"

[Johnny A. Solbu]

On Thursday 12 July 2012 22:28, Marja van Waes wrote:
> > The Right thing to do is to always mean what you're saying. If you don't, you're a lier and can't be trusted.
> >
> 
> When things are going bad, and you meet someone you don't like and he 
> asks you "how do you do", what do you answer?

I tend to not answer the question, by saying something else which appears to answer the question.
So I'd say something like that I am fine. There is a difference in me Doing fine, and me not Feeling fine. and I usually feel fine, even thou things I do are not going fine.

A better example, is something that I frequently did when it was needed. 

I sometimes have a friend over (let's call him Y) that sometimes doesn't want to talk to X. Sometimes I used to get a phone from X ansking if I kow where Y is. If Y didn't want to talk to X (which he'd declare before I answered the phone), I'd often close my eyes or turn my back to Y and say to X on the phone that I don't see him, or that I hadn't seen him in a while. Sometimes I could say that I hadn't seen him since the last time I saw him.

Both statements are true. With my back to him, I can't see him, hence I didn't see him.
And I didn't see him in a while, al thou a very /short/ while. A few seconds is still a while. I mean, how long is a piece of string? :-)=

The trick is often to answer their exact question, and not what they want to know.
I learned this from a couple who are friends of the family, and which does quite a bit of counceling.

-- 
Johnny A. Solbu
PGP key ID: 0xFA687324
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