That’s a perfect example of her tricksy language. Ha I said that this was the first time I had ONE cat! I didn’t say it was the first time I had ANY cat! Shut up troll
FFS can you imagine what she’d be like to live with? Arguing over every petty point. Making up stupid pointless lies about everything. She’d just drain all the words out of you
She does this lots, doesn't she? Says something which, when read normally, would be a lie - but it's just about possible to read in a way in which it might be truthful. If she'd wanted to be clear, she could easily have said "I've only ever had one cat at a time before". But she didn't.
In general, I think she employs three broad types of lie:
1)
Lies based on fantasy
I think she often invents or embellishes stories in her head which either feel true, or feel like they
should be true. Maybe she's upset or ashamed or embarrassed about something that happened, and she comes up with a fantasy of how things would have played out if the upset hadn't occurred.
I think these are similar to pathological lies - and, at the time she tells them, she thinks they're so close to being true that she doesn't feel like she's lying at all. They're also the lies that are the easiest for other people to spot - and they've tripped her up often. "Big Dave fired his cannon in the street" is a good example of the type.
2)
Lies based on obfuscating or deflecting or paltering
I suspect these are a learned reaction to being called out over the first type. So she tells a lie based on fantasy, and then reflexively covers it in a layer of tricksily-worded indirection. With these, there's often a possible interpretation of her words that contain a grain of truth, but it wouldn't be their natural meaning. She uses them to build 'gotcha' traps to pre-emptively discredit anyone who might call her out, and to give ammunition to her stans.
Although she tells these deliberately with an intent to deceive, she doesn't believe they're actually lies - and she gets
extremely upset when people accuse her of lying because of them. "I've only ever had one cat" is a perfect example.
3)
Lies that benefit her, or harm or upset a specific person
These are the nastiest, are often broadcast the most widely, and are the hardest for outsiders to see. Without specific knowledge, they look like they might well be true - and that specific knowledge might only be held by one or two people, who now can't say anything because it would bring them into conflict with literally millions of people who believe the lie. Basically an extreme form of gaslighting, and usually told deliberately.
I suspect her parents and SB's dad have been frequent targets. SB too, probably. Likely LJC during their relationship as well. Many stories about her childhood and upbringing would fit in this category, as would the 2019-era alcoholism stories in the Guardian, and aspects of HH2.
www.thekitchn.com
