My Truth"--What the heck does THAT Mean?

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"MY TRUTH"

Frank Daley

During the recent 'Me too' coverage in North America and Europe people kept saying they wanted to tell 'My Truth."

In Canada, the current SNC Lavalin government/corporation-bribery scandal, Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former Attorney-General was ousted from that post, then another one and finally from caucus. But she wants to tell Her "Truth." Okay.

In the U.S., in Brett Kavanagh, and Christine Blasey Ford's dispute about alleged attempted rape charges, Ms. Ford insisted on telling her—"My" Truth.

Totally fine. (I think I understand what she means but…)

But never mind the specifics of these cases; for the purpose of this piece, they don't matter.

All arguments on each issue aside, what the hell does "My Truth" mean?

Truth is hard to come by at the best of times, but 'My Truth' doesn't come close to it.

·     Does it mean the truth "as I see it?"

Say that.

·     Does it mean "the truth is complicated and my experience of it may be/is different from yours?"

Say that.

·     Does it mean, "Your (idea, notion) of ‘truth' is wrong, exaggerated, false, unclear, untruthful or otherwise misguided?"

Say that.

But the truth, however nuanced and capable of interpretation (until, and sometimes, even after, investigation and verification), demands more strength and persuasive power than opinion or a statement, especially a self-serving statement such as “My Truth.”

FACTS

Facts are required. 

It is possible for people to have differing opinions regarding the facts.

It is possible to have people disagree about the interpretation of the facts.

But if facts are to be used as the basis of discussion, (as opposed to dreams, fantasies, etc.) they remain facts. 

Must be accepted by all parties as facts.

Indisputably.

Or they are not facts.

"Alternative facts" (a la Kellyanne Conway) do not count.

They do not exist.

They are conjecture, interpretation, lies, bias, misrepresentations, guesses, hopes, fears, notions. Etc. 

Not facts.

To refresh your memory,

"Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the attendance numbers of Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. When pressed during the interview with Chuck Todd to explain why Spicer would "utter a provable falsehood," Conway stated that Spicer was giving "alternative facts." Todd responded, "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."[1] (Wikipedia)

DELUSIONS

Alternative facts could also be delusions.

A fact is something that can be proven, it actually exists.

An ‘alternative' is one of (possibly) several choices among legitimate options.

Usually, these options are either the opposite of each other or nuances among them. But they are real options. Relative to facts.

But to say, ‘alternative facts' is to talk about the opposite of reality or delusion.

This is the opposite of the truth.

Which brings us back to ‘My truth.'

OPINION VS TRUTH

Everyone has a right to his/her own opinion, but to have validity in augmentation, science, or law, that opinion must be an informed view, supported by facts.

For an opinion to have any validity, it must be an informed opinion, not just bafflegab.

You can have an opinion, but it may easily be proven wrong.

In school, the phrase "everyone is entitled to his or her opinion" is often used by students to counter the notion that what the teacher observed is/was “wrong."

"How can it be wrong,” they reply. "It is my opinion."

Yeah, right.

MY TRUTH

My Opinion leads us to My Truth.

'My truth' is a facsimile of fact and truth.

It is what Trump supporters say when they use the term, 'alternative facts.'

There is no such thing. It is a mask for truth.

If we use the term and people accept it, we go down a rabbit-hole that says, My Truth is as valid as Your Truth.  

Whatever I say has as much validity as what you say.

It's true because I say it is.

If you deny me My Truth, you deny me my rights.

(We see this in a victim mentality which has ‘safe rooms,' and an over-abundance of ‘trigger warnings' and an increasingly ready and automatic critical and defensive response to anything that a person does not agree with.

That defensive response turns to attack rapidly.

They feel offended.

How dare you say there were only 5,00 people there when I say there were 15,000?

It is MY Truth. Trump does this all the time.)

His truth.

At its worst, this phrase allows people to accept anything anyone says as truth. If you question it, you are calling their sincerity, their very being into question.

It's insane.

Such as what that actor said two weeks ago about being the victim of hate crime.

We should believe people who report a crime or transgression. 

While we investigate it. 

And that applies to women who report sexual incidents.

Some say we should believe them.

Unequivocally.

Not right away.

We should believe them and investigate.

We should definitely take them seriously, especially given the history or men regarding women and particularly in this climate when redress is possible.

Women have been disbelieved and dismissed. That is utterly wrong.

We should not do that but neither should we charge someone without some evidence.

And we should redouble efforts to discover evidence.

But we should not make it up.

‘My Truth' is a red herring.

We should demand more evidence than an unsupported statement such as My Truth.

Because you dislike the Liberals (Democrats) does not justify voting for the Conservatives Republicans).

We should listen to weight, judge, and decide based on evidence in all matters, not on political, emotional, or personal statements or advertising or promotion of any kind.

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