# I Don't Tell My Friends That I'm a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774 "2009-12-18T19:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/41 "2009-12-19T14:58:47Z")
Two of my big passions\* were spawned from snooping through my mom’s “historical” romance novels (a.k.a. trashy bodice-rippers). Since I have a BA in literature and work with other English majors, it’s not something I admit to many people. - In one, I read the author’s notes in the back and it mentioned that the Scottish clan feud in the book was inspired by a real one that included my grandmother’s maiden name. The other took place during the Wars of Roses and the author came down on the side of “Richard III didn’t do it.” I read some of the sources she mentioned, and am now a card-carrying member of the Richard III Society. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/42 "2009-12-19T15:00:25Z")
[QUOTE=FallenAngel;11903067} One of my all time favorite things along these lines was something I saw a gun store owner wearing. His T shirt said, “Don’t tell my mom I own a gun store. She thinks I run a whorehouse.”[/QUOTE] We had something similar for our section tees in marching band - “Don’t tell my mom I’m a [College Name] Mellophone. She thinks I play piano in a whorehouse.” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/43 "2009-12-19T15:04:14Z")
If you don’t let people know you’re in Mensa, they’ll assume those meetings you’ve been going to are AA. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/44 "2009-12-19T15:17:18Z")
…virgin. I’d tell them the truth if they asked, but I’m not going to raise the subject. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/45 "2009-12-19T16:05:23Z")
Conservatives. My boss and I are the only two conservatives in a very liberal office. We don’t quite hide it from our co-workers, but we keep it pretty quiet. So, I guess we aren’t closeted, just on the down low. We suspect one other person in the office of sharing our perversion, but haven’t figured out how to approach him as yet. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/46 "2009-12-19T16:42:09Z")
I avoid politics at work. I’m a Republican but a pretty moderate one who’s voted for some Democrats. Most of the people I work with however would consider me a Communist - they range from “Barry Goldwater was okay for a liberal” to “It’s too bad Germany lost the war, Hitler had some good ideas” (both real quotes). ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/47 "2009-12-19T18:56:33Z")
I haven’t told my friends, coworkers, or my family that I am, for all practical purposes, an atheist. cwPartner is Jewish, and I tried really hard to believe, but I couldn’t make myself do it. We do the cultural Jewish stuff, but I don’t do the religious stuff any more. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/48 "2009-12-19T20:05:19Z")
I was going to post that I don’t tell my friends that I’m an asshole, but realized that I don’t have friends. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/49 "2009-12-19T20:20:46Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > If you don’t let people know you’re in Mensa, they’ll assume those meetings you’ve been going to are AA. The first step is admitting you’re powerless over your enormous intellect. Only then can you appeal to the higher power of your striking good looks to help you regain control of your overall awesomeness. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/50 "2009-12-19T20:45:14Z")
…I’m a libertarian. I think a lot of my good (but not close friends, since they know) friends would recoil in horror. Luckily, most of our conversations center around social issues, so it’s easier to blend in with liberals because I’m socially liberal. …I’m doing pilates. This would likely shock the bejesus out of them, as I’m incredibly uptight and hate the whole yoga culture. …I don’t give two shits about your religion. I politely listen for a minute while they bable on about their beliefs, but I quickly change the subject. It’s difficult to tell people they’re fantastically ill-informed. It’s never my buddhist or hindu friends, either. …don’t tell one of my closest friends that I think his wife is obese and plain. She is, there’s no two ways around it. And he now believes war is never justified because of her BS “peace and conflict studies” major in college. Sorry, that’s just naive. We’ve grown apart largely because of her. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/51 "2009-12-19T21:41:48Z")
There are two main things I tend to keep largely to myself: (a) that I believe English should be the offical language of the US, and (b) that I do not support hate crime legislation. I am mostly liberal, especially socially, and I have many liberal and gay friends, and sharing either of those beliefs generally leads to a lot of debate and explanation. Not that I shy away from defending/discussing my beliefs, but people tend to feel strongly about those two issues and I find rational discussions about them to be rare. I also usually don’t share my specific beliefs on religion (I do not believe in God personally, but I believe in faith and that God exists for the faithful; I also have no problem with organized religion in general, and I sometimes miss aspects of Catholicism and have spent more time in my life defending the church than attacking her), because most of my friends are kind of extreme atheists. Another topic that people tend to feel strongly about. [QUOTE=lindsaybluth] …don’t tell one of my closest friends that I think his wife is obese and plain. She is, there’s no two ways around it. And he now believes war is never justified because of her BS “peace and conflict studies” major in college. Sorry, that’s just naive. We’ve grown apart largely because of her. [/QUOTE] If your friend’s wife’s unattractiveness bothers you this much, perhaps your growing apart is for the best – for him. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/52 "2009-12-19T22:24:59Z")
I realized the other day that the sport I’ve followed most closely the last few years, to the extent of actually taping games and bothering to read articles on ESPN? Women’s college basketball. For some reasons not a lot of threads pop up on that topic in the Games forum ;). ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/53 "2009-12-19T22:53:45Z")
Since I’ve returned to Utah, I’ve learned it’s much easier to go along to get along. So far as everybody at work is concerned, I’m a devout-Glenn-Beck-Watching-Right-Wing-Sarah-Palin-Loving-Mormon. Well, they think that because it’s the default around here and I never say or do anything to disabuse them of that notion. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/54 "2009-12-20T01:55:18Z")
Don’t tell my friends (especially the guy ones) that I’m a lover of [this music video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEu1m-BeW4Y) They’ll make me turn in my man card. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/55 "2009-12-20T03:47:04Z")
Fewer people than I can count on one hand know that I’m pretty active in the X-Files fanfic community; I even mantain an archive of stories by over a hundred authors. I’d like to keep it that way, if only to avoid explaining what fanfiction _is_. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/56 "2009-12-20T04:00:33Z")
…guy who hates his friends. …space alien. …figment of their imagination. …pooper, and they poop too damn it. …super hero. …carrier of many highly contagious deseases ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/57 "2009-12-20T04:16:42Z")
…short white dude. …real person and THEY’RE imaginary. …tall black gal. Some of those are true… but which ones!? I do know all the words to girls just wanna have fun, but everyone knows that about me! ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/58 "2009-12-20T05:40:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > If your friend’s wife’s unattractiveness bothers you this much, perhaps your growing apart is for the best – for him. I didn’t say it bothers me “this much”. I was responding to the thread, as in, I wouldn’t tell him that to his face. He deserves much better, both physically and intellectually (and I touched upon both). Also, I don’t tell my friends I can cook. If they found out, I’d always be asked to cook! ---
**Author:** ![RockJonny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ea924/32.png) [@RockJonny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RockJonny)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/59 "2009-12-21T06:17:50Z")
I don’t talk about numbers of people I’ve slept with to **anyone.** Not even my best friends know. In fact, I don’t talk about my sexual history in much detail with anyone, not even my current BF. Aside from the occasional funny anecdote, if asked, I just mumble and change the subject. However, I don’t tell most people that I own 69 (and counting!) of 222 Baby Sitters Club Books. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774/60 "2009-12-21T06:45:44Z")
Hmmm, I spent a long time trying to construct an explanation that didn’t give away the details, but it’s not really possible. No one who knows me would ever guess. It’s extremely taxing on me mentally (to maintain two worlds) but I also get a perverse sense of pleasure from pulling off the impossible for as long as I can, and no one would ever guess. It’s not a sexual, professional or illegal thing - i.e, I’m straight and a lawyer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-tell-my-friends-that-im-a-____________/521774.md?page=4)