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Stephanie Ericsson The Ways We Lie

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Stephanie Ericsson The Ways We Lie
Miriam Vargas
Professor Helff
WRT 101-601
September 30, 2010
How Lies Impact The People Who Tell Them The ways lies can impact or affect the lives of the people who tell them are explained in “The Ways We Lie” written by Stephanie Ericsson in 50 Essays. Ericsson talks about the types of lies and how it impacts the person who tells lies. For instance Ericsson Three Common Lies Ericsson uses are The White Lie, Deflecting, and Omission. Stephanie Ericsson on The White Lie explains how a sergeant knows that one of his soldiers died in Vietnam and decided to document his soldier as missing so that the soldier’s family could receive compensation instead of one lump sum of money (Only given to Widows and Children). Even though Ericsson states
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Ericsson also says that by doing so people assume one is revealing everything and how it is an effective method. Ericsson’s example is a perfect explanation that supports her point and allows the reader to understand what she is speaking about. For example, “Rather than defending himself, he took the offensive and accused the country of racism”.
Another type of Deflecting Ericsson explains is “a passive aggressive person can say, “Who can talk to someone as unreasonable as you?”. Ericsson says how by doing so the victim is the one that turns out embarrassed and ashamed. This technique as she explains makes people forget the real issue. For this type Ericsson says that only the skilled deflector can accomplish this. Although Ericsson supports her points and I see her view I don’t think it is right for anyone to do. Stephanie Ericsson in omission she describes it as “telling most of the truth minus one or two key facts whose absence changes the story completely”. To give an example Ericsson talks about a “rabbinical legends tell of another woman in the Garden of Eden before Eve”. Ericsson talks about how the omission of “Sumerian goddess Lilith” which was known as a “female evil” felt to her as a “Spiritual Robbery” and how Adam was “created out of the same mud” as Lilith redefined all Judeo-Christian History. Ericsson explains how Lilith defied Adam’s need to control,

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