Comment by sandov
7 years ago
It depends on how much you have to win or lose.
If you win practically nothing by telling the truth, saying nothing is better.
If saying nothing means that people will treat you or others unfairly, then I would say that being mean and right is better than saying nothing. The problem with this is that one can never really know when one is right.
This is just my ethical judgement though, not a practical guide to convince people. Maybe being mean is never convenient, or maybe it's convenient but unethical(?).
My experience is that saying something and being mean leads to others doubling down on their position, unfair or not because you made yourself an enemy.