![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitouthttp://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/nbc-news-brian-williams-scandal-comcast
Near the beginning of the piece, one finds this:
"One might expect that, in the wake of Williams’s suspension, his colleagues would be brimming with stories of other fanciful tales he told. That’s not the case."
When I got to that second of those two sentences, I went, Wha--?
Then later, Williams introducing Brokaw at a benefit dinner, and telling a story about the Berlin Wall that he is apparently known for telling, and which deviates from the literal truth.
"it’s just Brian being Brian. It’s the part of Brian’s personality that bothers Tom the most."
"This executive long believed that Williams’s penchant for embellishment was a function of his insecurity when it came to Brokaw, but that it was all essentially harmless. “I always felt he needed to jack up his stories because he was trying so hard to overcome his insecurities,” this executive says. “And he had to follow Tom, which brought its own set of insecurities. He likes to sort of tell these grandiose tales. But, can I tell you, in all the years we worked together, it never rose to the point where we said, ‘Oh, there he goes again.’ I just saw it as one of the quirks of his personality.”"
So there's that.
I've seen this happen before. People who lie chronically and for no net-benefit over time do best as adults if they surround themselves with people who are willing and able to make effective excuses for them. I suppose it doesn't hurt if most of your job responsibilities involve reading other people's words. That's got to be a whole lot safer than when you are responsible for writing your own.
Further down:
"Later, his wife [Jane] tried to explain. She said he put things in boxes [in his mind]. He would only talk about what was in those boxes on-camera.” This insider stops and sighs. “You’re not going to get clarity, because the people who might understand what happened don’t understand.”"
This just feels so tragic and sad. I am less and less convinced that people with this problem have any awareness or real control over it.
Near the beginning of the piece, one finds this:
"One might expect that, in the wake of Williams’s suspension, his colleagues would be brimming with stories of other fanciful tales he told. That’s not the case."
When I got to that second of those two sentences, I went, Wha--?
Then later, Williams introducing Brokaw at a benefit dinner, and telling a story about the Berlin Wall that he is apparently known for telling, and which deviates from the literal truth.
"it’s just Brian being Brian. It’s the part of Brian’s personality that bothers Tom the most."
"This executive long believed that Williams’s penchant for embellishment was a function of his insecurity when it came to Brokaw, but that it was all essentially harmless. “I always felt he needed to jack up his stories because he was trying so hard to overcome his insecurities,” this executive says. “And he had to follow Tom, which brought its own set of insecurities. He likes to sort of tell these grandiose tales. But, can I tell you, in all the years we worked together, it never rose to the point where we said, ‘Oh, there he goes again.’ I just saw it as one of the quirks of his personality.”"
So there's that.
I've seen this happen before. People who lie chronically and for no net-benefit over time do best as adults if they surround themselves with people who are willing and able to make effective excuses for them. I suppose it doesn't hurt if most of your job responsibilities involve reading other people's words. That's got to be a whole lot safer than when you are responsible for writing your own.
Further down:
"Later, his wife [Jane] tried to explain. She said he put things in boxes [in his mind]. He would only talk about what was in those boxes on-camera.” This insider stops and sighs. “You’re not going to get clarity, because the people who might understand what happened don’t understand.”"
This just feels so tragic and sad. I am less and less convinced that people with this problem have any awareness or real control over it.