Comments on: I remember it like it was yesterday. Or even tomorrow

By: tanita

tanita — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 22:57:59 +0000

I have family members who do this misremembering thing on a regular basis… so I’m torn on this one. I think it’s outright shading the truth, and then becoming accustomed to it, but I also know that the human psyche is one wily beast. ESPECIALLY a person accustomed to narrative reporting would need to be careful. I also think that, maybe initially HE KNEW, and then began to believe his own press? It’s just so yucky that it all got bigger and bigger, and he didn’t stop it… much like that kid who alleged he went to heaven. Though, we depend on PARENTS to stop that kind of crap, when we’re five…

Lying is my personal don’t-go-there, game-over pet peeve, so I know I’m unforgiving on this one. This story was a good find.

By: bratschegirl

bratschegirl — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 20:26:36 +0000

Not a fan of Mr. Williams, but I’m here to say that it’s absolutely not necessarily true that he was consciously lying. Every day there is more and more research on the changeability and unreliability of memory; with the right cues, one can absolutely come to believe a version of events that isn’t what actually happened. Journalists need to guard against this more than the average citizen, certainly, but they are human and therefore as susceptible as you or I.

By: Sterling

Sterling — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 18:13:43 +0000

If conflate means “intentionally embellishing the facts to make me look heroic and to enhance a story to make it dramatic rather than merely interesting” then I accept the apology. Otherwise Williams is just a liar and I’m insulted that he made such a bogus apology.

Thanks Sumac for calling this one out!