
148 THE SIX LAWS OF ABSOLUTE HONESTY
ties to sexual prowess—all in good fun. It’s when the sarcasm is biting
and hostile that it becomes a defense mechanism to avoid the truth.
Rationalization
This defense mechanism is the birth mother of excuses. It takes the
blame off the person being attacked and says, ‘‘It’s not my fault.’’ If
Ted had chosen rationalization to defend himself, he might have said,
‘‘I tried to get the data, but the information that will really tell us if
our customers will buy something this radical is just not there, and
probably never will be.’’
Compensation
Another option for the person who thinks he’s being attacked is to
compensate ...