[thekiptxt]

> When caught doing something they’re ashamed of, people say things like, “That’s not who I am” or “That wasn’t really me.” They are implying that reputation-damaging acts are not reflective of their true self. This doesn’t mean they are lying: Many people really believe their shameful acts are not reflective of who they are deep down.

To be charitable, TFA is loosely using truth in the sense of “not intentionally lying,” which is somewhat common. But yeah, just because actions align with my mental model of self isn’t an indication that the model is accurate from the perspective of a third party, which is obviously the more important consideration.

I’m kind of sick of these shock value statements which then recover to something sensible by bending words beyond the breaking point.