this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023

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What's the worst case of question dodging you have seen someone do? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by snek@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[–] ValiantDust@feddit.de 34 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, a football match was cancelled here in Germany because of a terror warning. There was a press conference with our Federal Minister of the Interior at the time, Thomas de Maizière. When asked for more information, he did not want to reveal that there was another warning for a train station. So he thought the best thing he could say to dodge the question was:

"Parts of the answer might unsettle the population."

Calmed everyone down immediately.

[–] snek@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

"you don't want to know, trust me"

[–] 58008@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Recently re-watched the Prince Andrew BBC interview, and it is just wall-to-wall question dodging:

https://piped.video/watch?v=QtBS8COhhhM

[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

🎵 He's a sweaty nonce He's a sweaty nonce

You know it's true that Prince Andrew

Is a sweaty nonce 🎵

[–] wolfeh@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I've been watching and listening to a lot of responses from Israeli officials lately about the deaths of Palestinians. So...

[–] DeepFriedDresden@kbin.social 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Netanyahu saying there will be time to answer why he didn't do anything to stop that Oct 7th attack after the war has to be top of the list right now.

[–] waz@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

Netanyahu did an interview on the Lex Friedman podcast and the whole thing felt like he was dodging questions. His go-to move seems to be the "You're asking the wrong question. Instead of asking [thing 1], you should really be asking [thing 2]."...and then proceeds to answer his suggested question instead.

I've never really sought out much information about the Israel situation, and this was really my first impression of the guy and he just seemed so good at manipulating the conversation. It was impressive how apparent it was yet still somehow convincing.

[–] SinTacks@programming.dev 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Well I just came here from a thread where Googles economist accidentally revealed how much Google pays Apple (to be their default search engine in safari) while trying to dodge questions. That’s got to make the list.

[–] snek@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I'm going to be honest here, I'm training a model to detect question dodging in politicians and have only found limited data, so now I'm hoping to get more examples of high avoidance. This is some shameless crowd-sourcing but I hope people are still enjoying the answers.

[–] burchalka@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Not sure you'll like this one: https://youtu.be/aG0Zd2X8YJY?si=XtPVpy7N4q79drSv Here Julia Hartley-Brewer tries to make Palestinian journalist Wafa Al-Udaini to answer what would be "a proportionate answer to Oct-7 massacre"

[–] snek@lemmy.world 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why aren't you "sure" I'd like it?

[–] burchalka@lemmy.world -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

From one of your previous comments here on Lemmy:

We can twist the truth all we want but Hamas aren't blanket terrorists (and I quite dislike them and their dumb strategy).

To another lemmy user, you seem to support Hamas, organization whose charter is to make sure Israel is destroyed, and employs barbaric methods, while disregarding any concern for Palestinian lives...

[–] snek@lemmy.world 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Which part of that sentence exactly shows I support Hamas? I'm serious, please show me... I don't call them terrorists for the same treason the BBC doesn't, and I think their strategies are dumb. The same paragraph above has criticism of Hamas /:

I like how this also brushed over all the posts where I clearly condemn Hamas and their actions.

so where exactly do I support them? Please quote that part, or honestly otherwise just stop this bullshit.

I'm serious, I'm sick of this shit... This is a post is about question dodging on a totally different sub yet people want to go around reading my history, misinterpreting it in a dumb political way, then brining it to a totally different subreddit. Sorry for the big font but I honestly think this is fucking bullshit. Have a shred of self respect. Saying I won't "like" a piece of data because it doesn't agree with me ideologically is a big fat nasty claim to be honest, and that quote above of yours is flimsy non-evidence to support it. I think that stinks. And the weakest part is that that was the only paragraph you could find... Guess why... Because I don't support Hamas /: so you're not going to find any glorious "evidence", just more stuff you pull from a tunnel of comments out of context

[–] AngryHumanoid@reddthat.com 16 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why are you so interested, what are you up to? ANSWER US!

[–] snek@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago

Classic evasive maneuver

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

"It depends on what the definition of 'it' is."

I know an affair is a weird thing to bring a president down for (seriously America?), but the above quote (which is the first thing that shows up on Google autosearch when you type "it depends on") is trying hard. As someone who has dodged her share of questions before, Bill Clinton might as well have chewed it over with Twix.

[–] zarp86@sh.itjust.works 9 points 8 months ago

Pendantic, but it was "is is," not "it is."

Contending his statement that "there's nothing going on between us" had been truthful because he had no ongoing relationship with Lewinsky at the time he was questioned, Clinton said, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.

[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The affair was just ammunition not the motivation behind the impeachment. Newt Gingrich was the one who spearheaded it, and while this was all happening, left his wife (sick with cancer) to pursue a relationship with someone he'd been having an affair with. He even had her served with papers at the hospital while she was receiving chemo treatments. He also left her penniless.

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 0 points 8 months ago

As an asexual, I read things like this and think to myself "my god, why are we the underappreciated ones?"

[–] benignintervention@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Pick any of my college students when I ask how they're doing

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You mean gen-z'ers don't respond, "Fine"? to that basic greeting?

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

I usually get "idno" or "chill" from my son.

[–] synae@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Mike Lindell's deposition testimony was made public a month or two ago, and it is hilarious and sad.

[–] scytale@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

"You're an asshole". That was an hour of unhinged coke-induced blabbering.

[–] SoupBrick@yiffit.net 8 points 8 months ago

These GOP debates.

[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

Mike Pence's debate answers against Kamala Harris

[–] FishFace@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Did you threaten to overrule him? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqU77I40mS0

[–] Susaga@ttrpg.network 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact: That's just an average amount of question dodging. Paxman had to stall for time and realised he could just stretch it out by getting the guy to actually answer the question.

[–] FishFace@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Well, it's just dodging the same question yes - but doing it a lot of times! I was going to mention the story behind it but realised someone else would fill it in ;)

[–] Susaga@ttrpg.network 1 points 8 months ago

Yeah, exactly. It's not someone dodging a lot, but someone asking a lot that's abnormal.

[–] sevastapol@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

https://youtu.be/j_Co1BYC1PM?feature=shared

[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Maybe not so much question dodging as it was just dodging the issue that was being raised (his preparedness for the presidency). He basically said this statement two times in a row and the 2nd time it had nothing to do with what was just said:

“Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He is trying to change this country. He wants America to become more like the rest of the world.” (Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016)

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Then got called out hard by Christie. Then repeated the line a third time.

[–] rob299@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Say someone was accused of doing something, but there was no proof, even though they knew they did the thing except for the judge, and everyone knows they did the thing, just keep your lips sealed during all questions and claim the 5th.

[–] snownyte@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago

Anytime a GOP politician is asked for a straight answer for why they do the shit they do.