I think its the exaggeration I can't stand

No, it doesn't matter Delila if you are an ordinary person talking to your family but if you are talking to a wider audience then I think it does.

Volver, you don’t irritate me.

Take it with a pinch of salt is a common expression when dealing with people who exaggerate or tell porkies. I suppose exaggeration is a kind of porkie. What say you Volver?

Does it really matter? Most of us recognise an exaggeration when we see one.

I am often relieved when Volver comes on to give another angle to extreme posts. It usually is the voice of reason. I for one feel very sad when I see rants like “All migrants ….. All benefit claimants ….. All Muslims …. etc etc”. It must be very hurtful for the vulnerable people it attacks. I don’t even think it is always the posters’ fault. The media can whip up the hatred easily through reporting actual events but with absolutely no context of numbers involved. I know life would be much easier if everything was black and white but it’s not.

Should that be all are...?

Why do people exaggerate so? Presumably just some people, not all people!

Yes. In phrases like "why do people...?" some is understood. All people is only meant when all is specified.

Why do people exaggerate so?

Presumably just some people, not all people!

DH used to say to the DC when they were young "I've told you a hundred million times not to exaggerate!"
He has been known to say it to me too.

Endemic racism in an institution doesn’t mean that every person in the institution is a racist but that there are too many who are and too many that just accept. If those who have a decent non racist family member in that institution and become angry at the description then the real issue will not be properly addressed.
Same in the Met. To say the institution is rotten to the core is not criticising individual officers but is a strong criticism of the institution, the hierarchy who don’t take reports of misogyny seriously, the ‘quiet life’ officers who do nothing and the culture of closing ranks when a so called whistle blower tries to do something.
That to my mind, is not an exaggeration, not a criticism of good people but a strong statement that things need to change.

Dh exaggerates the whole time. It drives me mad. If we arrive 30 minutes late somewhere he tells everyone it was an hour, if something needs repairing he tells people it will cost our company three times as much as we have been quoted. I could go on. I have told him people no longer believe him because of the size of the exaggeration and it doesn’t work as he intends.

To say all when it’s not true by some posters who are so adamant they are right is even more annoying.

Why are some people (see, no exaggeration) so down on Volver? I think she makes valuable contributions to the discussions and sometimes it's good to see someone thinking 'outside the box'.

It's a form of staying in your own comfort zone. attention seeking or manipulation. If you believe in the exaggeration then it's simple - you don't have to explore or try to understand nuances of behaviour/speech. It is just what it is and your world sits clearly within the defined boundaries of the exaggeration. People also want to be liked, to fit in, to be seen as 'special' so expressing what appears to be definitive knowledge can achieve this. Manipulation is another scenario, using exaggeration to 'persuade' others to follow your path/religion/politics etc. Should you believe the sky is falling in then you're going to do whatever it takes to stop it. It's about control/compliance and manipulation by exaggeration happens all the time, witness tv ads. There's always the old adage that good news never sold a newspaper - saying 0.1% of an organisation is corrupt doesn't have the same impact as saying 100% of the organisation is corrupt.
Apologies if I've rambled - been stressful couple of days so not firing on all cylinders!

Oreo

I try not to generalise. I'm from an Irish family and when the bombs were planted here in Birmingham, a colleague, who didn't know my background, said to me 'I can't stand the bloody Irish. They're all the same. I'd never buy anything Irish'. When I pointed out that my parents were Irish she tried to backtrack.

I hope I'm not exaggerating when I say it's really (oops an exaggeration) good to know when a poster gives up their time to become the Voice of Reason because all some of us need to be reined in a lot of the time some of the time. Thanks!

My shackles never go up NotSpaghetti 😁 great typo btw.

I find it hard to take people seriously if they use "all" where they could (just as easily) use "most" or "many" or start their sentence with "I believe" or "in my experience".

It makes me think the poster hasn't thought through what they are saying and so my shackles are already up. I then have to make an effort not to discount everything they say!

I am with Mr. Maddy on this one! I can't say I'm never guilty but do try very hard to be fair.

As you will see on another thread for once I agree with you Volver especially seeing that this thoughtlessness can cause such hurt.

That's true Oreo. Maybe sometimes we get carried away when someone annoys us!

I think it is sometimes used to support an argument, such as immigration numbers. The tabloids are good at exaggeration to draw readers attention.

I think it sits alongside (or is perhaps a consequence of) a lack of nuance in the posts - and presumably opinions - of some/many/most (delete as appropriate) posters, across a wide range of issues.

I don’t think so Kate1949 as logic tells us that not all of any group is one particular thing.

I'm not sure it's exaggeration. Isn't it just different opinions?

🎯 was for V. Must speed up my draw 🏹

🎯