--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is it in people, or just in people…" description: "\"What is it in people, or just in people like me, that would rather let a lie go by, would rather wish it away or minimize it, than point it out and cau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/walter-kirn-2189_away_what-is-it-in-people-or-just-in-people-l_1402042.png" --- # What is it in people, or just in people like me, that… ![“What is it in people, or just in people like me, that would rather let a lie go by, would rather wish it away or minimize it, than point it out and cause the liar embarrassment?” quote by Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/walter-kirn-2189_away_what-is-it-in-people-or-just-in-people-l_1402042.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/walter-kirn-2189_away_what-is-it-in-people-or-just-in-people-l_1402042.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dff/walter-kirn-2189_away_what-is-it-in-people-or-just-in-people-l_1402042.png) > “What is it in people, or just in people like me, that would rather let a lie go by, would rather wish it away or minimize it, than point it out and cause the liar embarrassment?” [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often avoid confronting lies because they fear conflict, social discomfort, or damaging relationships, preferring to preserve harmony over exposing falsehood. **In simple terms:** We dodge lies to keep peace, not to expose truth. Key Takeaway Consider confronting truth gently to maintain integrity. Themes conflict avoidance social harmony truth ethics communication Mood anxious reflective Type advice philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - family gatherings - online discussions Key Concepts cognitive dissonance social psychology moral courage Questions to Reflect On - Why do you fear the fallout of exposing a lie? - How might honest confrontation improve relationships? A Different Perspective Avoiding lies can enable deceit and erode trust over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause/) [Cause Liar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-liar-4916235/) [Embarrassment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassment/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Liar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liar/) [Liar Embarrassment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liar-embarrassment-4916234/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Lie Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie-wish-1135351/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Minimize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minimize/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point/) [Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rather/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [Not going to lie, I wish I was a Pussycat Doll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mckenna/not-going-to-lie-i-wish-i-was-a-pussycat-doll/) [Megan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mckenna/) > [We laugh at a man who, stepping out of his room at the very minute when the sun is rising, says, “It is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-laugh-at-a-man-who-stepping-out-of-his-room-at-the-very-minute/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Choose a lie that others wish to believe” was written beneath it. “They will cling to it, even if it is proven false before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/choose-a-lie-that-others-wish-to-believe-was-written-beneath-it-they/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“People lie because they wish to impress those around them. 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The other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/one-side-of-the-american-psyche-wants-smaller-government-lower-taxes/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [The Shortest Solution Of Every Problem Is To Minimize The Distance Between Your Knee And Floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/the-shortest-solution-of-every-problem-is-to-minimize-the-distance/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“Millions of business people are each constantly forced to choose between their desire to not be a bad person and their desire to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/millions-of-business-people-are-each-constantly-forced-to-choose/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Everyone’s experience is unique to them. Don’t minimize it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effie-kammenou/everyone-s-experience-is-unique-to-them-don-t-minimize-it/) [Effie Kammenou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effie-kammenou/) > [Cameras help to minimize collateral damage, and very often, without a camera a missile cannot fire. Certainly, without a camera a drone can't function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/cameras-help-to-minimize-collateral-damage-and-very-often-without-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## More by Walter Kirn > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“I just wasn't ready for his stories. 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That's a savage person who looks at everything as a story and, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/there-are-two-sides-to-me-one-is-the-writer-that-s-a-savage-person/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Quiet cunning bested boastful brawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/quiet-cunning-bested-boastful-brawn/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The idea that Americans favor politicians who either remind them of themselves or can imagine what their selves are like because they too have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/the-idea-that-americans-favor-politicians-who-either-remind-them-of/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Memo to extreme partisans: If you can't bring yourselves to love your enemies, can you at least learn to hate your friends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/memo-to-extreme-partisans-if-you-can-t-bring-yourselves-to-love-your/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [People can be so neglectful of each other and of their own heritage - then death intrudes. 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