Spin, Spin, Spin: Not the Same as Lying
Lots of attention is being paid to the lies contained in former Stanford student-athlete Brock Turner's statement in recently released court documents with respect to his use of drugs and alcohol.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/06/10/i-never-meant-to-hurt-anyone-brock-turners-statement-in-stanford-sexual-assault-case/
He was certainly painting a skewed picture of himself, filled with claims of innocence and being persuaded by a campus culture of drinking. I've been in contact with literally hundreds of college students over the past decade and his statement reeks of falsehoods. True. And, perhaps the sentencing hearing can be re-opened due to fraudulent representations to the court. The latter is not my area of expertise.
I have been struck recently with other examples of lying -- by leaders, by politicians, by professional athletes. And, it all seems odd since it is often the lies that catch you; they are worse than the harm in some ways. Way better to be honest. In terms of recent examples, think about Ken Starr and Maria Sharapova and Tom Brady and presidential candidates of all stripes. The list goes on and on.
But, there is a difference between spinning and lying although that is not always evident or distinguishable.
One is taking the truth and bending it in one's favor (spinning); the other is downright untruths stated or misstated or omitted (lying). Spinning is about manipulation of events or situations -- trying to put them in the best light because without spin, they are unpalatable or reflect poorly on the participants. As a recent WSJ article noted, spinning has a long history (so does lying) and is not per se bad. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-century-of-political-spin-1452267989
Now we need to be careful because spinning can lead to lying. And, people can mistake lies for spin and spin for lies.
https://kendrickmacdowell.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/spinning-versus-lying/believe the spin.
But, make no mistake about it: Brock Turner's use of a photo that makes him look pure (spin as the photo of him is for sure) is different from his statement about being from a small town and not being exposed to alcohol. https://swimswam.com/today-show-reports-alleged-drug-alcohol-use-brock-turner-case/.
I think we often, sadly, conflate spin with lying and therein lies the rub. They aren't the same and Brock Turner and his family have been spinning for sure. But, Brock Turner also lied. A photograph that denotes innocence is not the same as a court submitted written statement that announces innocence. And for that, we need to wake up and reconsider his sentence. Spinning may be offensive; lying to a court is more than offensive. It is wrong and sanctionable in my eyes and perhaps others' eyes as well.