Why do you want to know? I didn’t do anything!
They’re linked aren’t they? If someone asks you a question they’re asking for why you hold a particular opinion, therefore simply by providing detail you’re defending yourself, or at least the opinion you hold.
That’s plausible. A question is a demand. As surely as a rock falling towards your head.
to cry i don’t do well under pressure
I don’t have to answer this! I didn’t do it! You’re the one who’s wrong!
It’s actually to look for ambiguity within the question, and answer the question in whichever way it could logically be taken farthest from the actual intent.
Ya I’ve seen that one. Usually less innocent tho. More of a you are damned for even asking, kinda interpretation.
It depends on the question.
If the question seems to come from a place of genuine curiosity or if the person seems to be asking in good faith I usually try to answer the question to the best of my ability (and sometimes I might still try to answer even if its clear the person is not asking in good faith).
If the question is obviously coming from a place of bad faith or is obvious the person asking doesn’t actually want an answer, sometimes I will still try to answer but most of the time I won’t even bother.
If the question is accusatory in nature, I will obviously want to defend myself if I am innocent of the accusation.
Do you check the question for boobytraps?
I suppose I do have things to hide, but I don’t make an active attempt to try to hide anything I do or have.
EDIT: As I was writing this comment, you edited the question from “Do you have anything to hide?” to “Do you check the question for boobytraps?”
As a side note, this:
Do you have anything to hide?
is what I would consider a “bad faith question.” (And your post edit question is as well considering its original wording in context). This is a question that you are asking as an attempt to hit me with some “gotcha” moment. If I answer “No,” then you say I am being defensive. If I say “Yes,” then you say I am lying. I may be dumb but I wasn’t born yesterday.
You don’t actually want to know what things I have to hide if I had any, and you likely don’t care. A person would respect other’s privacy and not ask out of that principle anyways, even if you were curious.
“Do you have anything to hide” is just crass. I wouldn’t have replied to it.
Or maybe it’s an example of a “gotcha question”, asked to introduce the subject of such. Because there is ambiguity there. Or maybe I’m feeling my way along and checking to see where your answers switch from “responsive” to “defensive”.
Some people straightman it to the death, so the line is hard to find. Which could be called defensive from the start.
99% of these conversations are you talking to yourself. I think that’s important to consider.
Honestly, this just sounds like you are a pseudointellectual that thinks you’re much more intelligent than you actually are. I have had conversations with people that respond similarly to you, and this conversation has gone far enough for me to recognize that it will be a waste of my time. I don’t care what you do with your time, but I won’t allow you to waste more of mine than you already have.
They’re a three day old account that’s clearly just here to troll. They’ll evade any actual discussion… so yeah - probably best to not waste any of your time.
Shields up Mr Sulu
That’s my purse! I don’t know you!
Clarify the question. Make sure I heard it correctly.
Yes
Normally I like to treat questions like telephone calls; ignore them for as long as you can and hope they go away.
I guess that is basically defensive but maybe “passive defensive”.
It’s what I do to viruses too.Simply ignoring a question is difficult for me.
I feel compelled to answer. And kinda literally. This has faded with time but still.
I’m trying to do it your way. It seems healthier. Especially in this place.
It depends on the question and asker - usually I’ll answer, sometimes I’m unable or unwilling to.
