LVSteve
Member
I have become increasingly aware over the last few years of the inability of many to simply say "I don't know", when it is clear to the casual observer that they "don't know". More disturbing is the way I believe certain manipulators in the modern world have made saying "I don't know" prima facie proof that the person saying it is covering something up. Has human arrogance, the desire to appear in control and thirst for instant gratification made "not knowing" an offence of some kind?
It even creeps into normal life. Over a birthday dinner this week my sister-in-law mentioned that they were having issues with the A/C on one of their cars. Her husband does all the driving, so I asked him when the A/C last worked, or when he had last tried to run it. I must have asked him three or four different ways, and each time I got some version of the defensive run around. Now I know he can be a little intimidated by me as somebody who understands mechanical devices to some level, but is that a reason not to just confess that he does not know/cannot remember? Really, saying you don't know will not cause your hair to fall out or affect performance in the sack. If you don't know, you don't know.
It is even worse at work. If somebody asks me a complex technical question the answer to which I am unsure, I will tell them so. I will say something like "I will have to get back to you on that after checking some facts or doing some math". This seems to make folk a little miffed. But, it is NOTHING compared to when I flat out say "I don't know" when they bring up a subject outside my normal work. I swear that to some the phrase gets translated in their heads to something like "I want to have rough sex with your favourite 12-year old niece", because I have received such looks that you would think I made that request while kicking the guys dog. Err, Dude, I DON'T KNOW, HOW HARD IS THAT TO UNDERSTAND? Very hard to some these days, it seems.
The media are the worst offenders with this attitude. The electronic age has got them into a mindset that all information is available NOW, if not sooner. If they ask the President something and he basically says that he does not know, he is either hiding something or incompetent. Errm, anybody check out the size of the US government and how many countries the US has its fingers in lately? DOH! the guy has folk to do stuff at the coal face for him. POTUS cannot micromanage to the grunt in Tora Bora or wherever. It was the same with the head of BP with the Gulf of Mexico oil blowout. Did the brain donors in the media really think that the pressure readings from each well being drilled cross the guy's desk for audit? What a crock.
Oh, and God forbid you say "I don't know" when it is going to screw up their news programs. The Las Vegas media had a monster hissy fit earlier this year when the Republican Caucus did not have its results available in time for the 11pm news. It was truly pathetic to watch. I cannot speak for the rest of you, but I prefer a democratic process where the results are available when the returning officer DOES know, not some half baked guess to satisfy the demands of some news creep.
So, anybody else on here found themselves close to being tarred and feathered for speaking the new heresy, "I don't know"? Uh-oh, I've said it out loud. I think I see torches out the front of the house.....
It even creeps into normal life. Over a birthday dinner this week my sister-in-law mentioned that they were having issues with the A/C on one of their cars. Her husband does all the driving, so I asked him when the A/C last worked, or when he had last tried to run it. I must have asked him three or four different ways, and each time I got some version of the defensive run around. Now I know he can be a little intimidated by me as somebody who understands mechanical devices to some level, but is that a reason not to just confess that he does not know/cannot remember? Really, saying you don't know will not cause your hair to fall out or affect performance in the sack. If you don't know, you don't know.
It is even worse at work. If somebody asks me a complex technical question the answer to which I am unsure, I will tell them so. I will say something like "I will have to get back to you on that after checking some facts or doing some math". This seems to make folk a little miffed. But, it is NOTHING compared to when I flat out say "I don't know" when they bring up a subject outside my normal work. I swear that to some the phrase gets translated in their heads to something like "I want to have rough sex with your favourite 12-year old niece", because I have received such looks that you would think I made that request while kicking the guys dog. Err, Dude, I DON'T KNOW, HOW HARD IS THAT TO UNDERSTAND? Very hard to some these days, it seems.
The media are the worst offenders with this attitude. The electronic age has got them into a mindset that all information is available NOW, if not sooner. If they ask the President something and he basically says that he does not know, he is either hiding something or incompetent. Errm, anybody check out the size of the US government and how many countries the US has its fingers in lately? DOH! the guy has folk to do stuff at the coal face for him. POTUS cannot micromanage to the grunt in Tora Bora or wherever. It was the same with the head of BP with the Gulf of Mexico oil blowout. Did the brain donors in the media really think that the pressure readings from each well being drilled cross the guy's desk for audit? What a crock.
Oh, and God forbid you say "I don't know" when it is going to screw up their news programs. The Las Vegas media had a monster hissy fit earlier this year when the Republican Caucus did not have its results available in time for the 11pm news. It was truly pathetic to watch. I cannot speak for the rest of you, but I prefer a democratic process where the results are available when the returning officer DOES know, not some half baked guess to satisfy the demands of some news creep.
So, anybody else on here found themselves close to being tarred and feathered for speaking the new heresy, "I don't know"? Uh-oh, I've said it out loud. I think I see torches out the front of the house.....
but ex-president Ronald Reagan was questioned under oath about the contra affair and simply stated I don't remember and don't know. Ten years after that event and alzheimer's. One of my favorite Presidents.
