MISREPRESENTATION

Misrepresentation

From a lay man point of view, misrepresentation means to give a false or misleading account of something.

A quick look at the word as put forward by lexicographers gave synonyms like to “distort”, “falsify”, or “belie” i.e. share the sense of presenting information in a way that does not accord with the truth.

To misrepresent usually involves a deliberate intention to deceive either for profit or advantage

To distort implies a purposeful twisting or emphasizing of certain statements so as to produce an inaccurate or misleading impression.

However, my best definition of misrepresentation is a

“Willful perversion of facts” – wordNet.

I have in time past willfully distorted facts because I was trying to save myself from what I perceived will be a big smack from dad.
I have also in time past misrepresented situations so I could get what I want.
I know people who have done likewise to get other people into trouble.

My question to you is:

Have you ever been misrepresented?
Have you ever misrepresented someone else?
Have you ever perverted the cause of justice to save a family member?
Have you ever perverted the cause of justice to bring about the downfall of a family member? (Work colleague, friend, sibling etc.)

Whizzing through the pages of the bible, a story came to life that depicts misrepresentation in a hilarious way.

“There was a couple named Abraham and Sarah, and Sarah was a chick (I mean HOT)…as in pretty. Abraham knows this as well and on one of their travels to a different city, he did something rather deceptive.
He told the people of the city that Sarah was his sister because he feared that if they knew Sarah was his wife, they would kill him and take her.

FACT: Sarah was actually Abraham’s sister but it was a very distant connection…. So technically he was telling the truth.

More often that not, fear is a major ingredient in us misrepresenting someone or a situation. We get scared of the consequences of telling the truth and this brings me to a simpler definition of misrepresentation.

“Misrepresentation is simply telling a lie or making someone believe in a lie without you actually telling the lie”

Consider this event:
In my back pocket lies my wallet….a timberland one if you care to know. In my wallet lies a combination of things notably $20 and $50 notes (yeah I’m rich if you are wondering).
A friend came over and asked “do you have $10 on you?”
My answer was a resounding but sympathetic “NO” and he walked away believing that I was telling the truth.

In that event, did I lie? .... Well, I don’t think so. Surely, I did not have $10 on me, but I had $20 and $50 notes which are more than but not $10.
What I have done was misrepresented my lack of money and tried to make him believe it.

In the age of increased media hype and paparazzi, we are at constant risk from the influence of false accounts and events. Most times, these falsifications are conscious, deliberate and done to inflict pain or just for the general public to have a laugh.

A few weeks ago, the Queen became a victim of a media stunt that misrepresented the sequence of events in a television documentary. A statement from the BBC reads

The BBC said: "In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was mis-represented. 12.07.2007 16:52 www.bbc.co.uk

It’s not surprising that a few days ago, an order came from the royal banning the airing of the documentary…..

Unfortunately, misrepresentation can be done for good and bad reasons, so the ultimate decision lays with you……the reader of this piece.

My advice:
“Love your neighbour as yourself” and remember your neighbours are the members of your families.

“A lie said enough becomes the truth” ….. It’s a great invention (turning lies into truth)…. Don’t be part of it.