Elle Australia – June 2017

(Jacob Rumans) #1

O


ne of my biggest core values is honesty;
telling the truth about life is of the utmost
importance to me. Lying is something I try
my best not to do, because whatever I say,
I feel like I need to be able to stand by it.
Plus, to tell a lie is to add something else to my
brain’s Rolodex of things to keep track of, and who has
the time? I’d rather catalogue senseless pop-culture
trivia, like the fact there are 14 actors who appeared
in the
Š››¢ ˜ĴŽ›ę•–œ  ‘˜ ‘ŠŸŽ Š•œ˜ ‹ŽŽ— ’— Š–Ž
‘›˜—Žœ. You’re welcome.
I’m not saying that, from time to time, we haven’t all
told a lie. Yes, your son burnt the toast, but you might
’ŸŽ‘’–Š‘’‘ęŸŽŠ—œŠ¢’ŠœŽœ˜”Š¢˜Ž—Œ˜ž›ŠŽ
him to try again later. Sure, you tell your best friend her
Ž——’œ Š–Ž ’œ ŽĴ’— ‹ŽĴŽ›ǰ ŽŸŽ— ‘˜ž‘ œ‘Ž –’œœŽœ
most serves. Those are small things and, in the larger
scheme, they don’t do much damage. But lying about

YOU CAN’T HANDLE


LUVVIEAJAYI,CULTURALCOMMENTATORANDAUTHOR
OFI’MJUDGINGYOU:THEDO-BETTERMANUAL

“IF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN WHEN THAT’S
DIFFICULT, IS BEING A BULLY,THEN I’LL BE THAT”

THE TRUTH
In an era of“alternative facts”, knowing who and what to believe has never been more
complicated. We asked four authors about the lies they tell andthe truths they speak

who we are, what we believe in and the things around
žœ‘Š’—ĚžŽ—ŒŽ•Š›Ž›œ¢œŽ–œ’œŽ›’–Ž—Š•˜Š••˜žœǯ
As a writer and culture critic, I’m known for
œ™ŽŠ”’— –¢ ›ž‘ǰ ŽŸŽ—  ‘Ž— ’ ›žĝŽœ ŽŠ‘Ž›œǯ Ȃ–
the person who says what people are thinking but
won’t say. Like when your really loud aunt who loves
Facebook posts a link to a site that isn’t real, and is
outraged by whatever “news” it’s spouting. I’m the
person who tells her to delete it because it’s not real.
People come behind me to co-sign, but I have to be the
˜—Ž˜œŠ¢’ę›œǯ›‘ŽŠŒ‘Š‘Ž–Š”Žž™›Ž—˜
contouring has people looking like cartoon villains.
A makeup artist tried it on me once, and I promise
I looked like Cruella De Vil’s twin. I’m the person who
will write an opinion piece about how the world goes
to hell in a handbasket because, historically, “good
people” have allowed bad people to do bad things.
Ȃ–‘Ž™Ž›œ˜— ‘˜›ŽŒŽ—•¢ Ž—˜—Š ’ĴŽ››Š—ǰ
telling bloggers to speak up when injustice happens,
ŽŸŽ— ‘˜ž‘ ’ –’‘ —˜ ę ‘Ž’› ȃ‹›Š—Ȅǯ ‘¢ǵ
ŽŒŠžœŽ ›ŽŠ• ™Ž˜™•Ž Š›Ž ‹Ž’— ŠěŽŒŽ ‹¢  ‘ŠȂœ
happening in the real world. Colour me shocked when
that simple challenge was met with a severe backlash.
‘˜œŽȱ ‘˜ȱŽ•ȱ–¢ȱŠ™™ŽŠ•ȱ ŠœȱŠȱ™Ž›œ˜—Š•ȱŠě›˜—ȱŒŠ••Žȱ

70 ELLE AUSTRALIA

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