"For him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio falsi – the least omission may distort the whole picture."
- George Orwell
You may never truly understand the significant impact of half-truths until you try settling a serious fight between married couples who have both mastered the art of manipulation. That is where you get a front row seat in the manipulation lecture theater. Normally, people believe the lie of omission is the lesser evil; after all, they are not outrightly telling a lie. However, I have come to realize that it is a lot worse than outrightly telling lies. As a matter of fact, it is the greater evil.
A few years back, I was suddenly informed of a marriage crash. It was out of the blue because I was close to the couple, and I never suspected such a thing happening to them. They weren't really the happiest, but they looked just fine tagging along with each other, so I was shocked to hear the split. Well, I decided to be the peacemaker since I was more of a mutual friend to the couple. Look, I can tell you wholeheartedly that by the time both of them were done with me, I wish I had never intervened.
The first person I went to for peace discussions was the husband. We talked at length, he gave me the full gist of the whole situation (or so I thought) and by the time I left his place, anger and near hatred for the wife was coursing through my veins. I couldn't stop asking myself why a woman who parades herself to be a good one descends so low to do those shits. In fact, I was irritated.
In disappointment, I visited the wife, mostly to blame her and just to give her the benefit of the doubt. But by the time I was done talking to her, my head was in severe pain. The things she said about the husband were even more damning. See, I kept on going from one to the other and was getting new truths with each visit, truths that were well hidden before. At some point I felt like a mumu and had to tell myself, "No o, you people will not kee me. E o le yà mí ní wèrè. If una like, reconcile, if una like, don't."
Half-truths are misleading; it is more dangerous than telling lies. Lies always leave a tiny space, probably an opportunity to eventually detect the truth. With half-truths, however, there is nothing to detect. The person is already telling the truth, just that he's hiding in plain sight important details that could distort his truth. Since my encounter with the couple, I've learnt not to wade into issues involving warring lovers again. Each party will hide their dirty deeds and tell you about the terrible things the other person did or is doing. The level of manipulation at that stage is at the expert cadre; warring couples are the masters of hiding in plain sight.
Lastly, if I were in a war with a demon, at least I'll know how to prepare. Can one prepare adequately when the person standing in front of one is actually the devil, while presenting itself as just a demon? You don't go to a gun fight with a knife, they say. In this context, outright lie is the demon, half-truths are the real devil. It is more disastrous. I hope you get that.
[Source](https://pixabay.com/photos/truth-lie-business-presentation-3641636/)