# Who's most likely to betray you?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 12, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281 "2008-09-12T15:29:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/1 "2008-09-12T15:29:28Z")

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Let’s say you and a dozen of your closest friends/family are gathered for a nice holiday dinner. Looking around, you’re suddenly hit with the realization that one of the twelve is plotting to betray you.

Who is it? What are they going to do? Why?

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**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/2 "2008-09-12T15:31:09Z")

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I haven’t got 12 friends. Can I borrow some of yours?

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**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/3 "2008-09-12T15:35:58Z")

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> [@ivan\_astikov](#):
>
> I haven’t got 12 friends. Can I borrow some of yours?

Friends & family, dude. Friends & family! You can even count Dopers, if you want.

Borrowing friends from me is cheating. They only reason they ALL won’t betray you is that they’re likely to engage in a free-for-all to decide who gets to to it first and only one will survive.

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**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/4 "2008-09-12T15:40:02Z")

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Let’s see. Out of my 12 or so friends, we have:

Jamie, Paul, Joe, todd, Rob, Josh, Judas, Daryl, Kurt, Dan, Earl, and Scott.

I’m going with Josh.

ETA: Not sure what he’s plotting, but I better kill him because you can never be too careful.

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**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/5 "2008-09-12T15:49:45Z")

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My little brother - that way he is next in line to the Crown. Once I’m done for he’ll go straight for the old man himself…

Yup. Little brother all the way.

I may need to send some trained Ninjas to off him first.

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**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/6 "2008-09-12T15:58:01Z")

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Alex, definitely Alex. He’ll put a knife in anyone’s back if he thinks it will benefit him.

I inherited him from my husband. I keep an eye on him.

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**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/7 "2008-09-12T16:22:29Z")

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A, absolutely. No love lost there.

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**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/8 "2008-09-12T16:41:40Z")

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Loki.

You can’t trust that bastard anywhere.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/9 "2008-09-12T16:43:40Z")

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Hard to say. Maybe John has finally succumbed to his homicidal impulses, but I suspect Sid has heard one unicorn joke too many.

But I don’t think he’d be invited anyway, so John.

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**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/10 "2008-09-12T16:51:37Z")

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Friends and family?

Depressingly enough, either of my moms (adopted & bio) would sell me out in a heartbeat if they thought it was worth it.

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**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/11 "2008-09-12T17:35:36Z")

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Both my mom and my dad are Flaky Mc Fakerson of the Flake clan. They would not consciously betray me, but the results would be the same. If I needed a kidney, they would come to the hospital one day late. If they loaned me a car, they would forget it still needed to go to the garage to get the brakes fixed.

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but not much.

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/12 "2008-09-12T17:38:43Z")

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> [@Anaamika](#):
>
> Friends and family?
> 
> Depressingly enough, either of my moms (adopted & bio) would sell me out in a heartbeat if they thought it was worth it.

Yes, I had one of those mothers. Mine betrayed me and quite a few others in real life and then wondered why she ended up a lonely, despicable old crone. The question’s a no-brainer for me.

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**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/13 "2008-09-12T17:48:49Z")

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Jeff. He will fabricate a story using actual events (twisting the intent of my actions) to present me as a villain. He will do this to undermine any support I might have from the rest of the group in order to weaken my position and build his reputation as the good guy who just wants everyone to get along–which they can’t do as long as I have standing in the group. He has done this before–he is attractive, passionate and can lie without remorse. He is a psychopath.

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**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/14 "2008-09-12T19:04:42Z")

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Friends and family, huh…I don’t have as many friends as I once did, and I’m pretty sure there’s no threat. My family, no threat there, either. My husband’s family…I suppose because I’m not actually blood, the chance might be there, but seriously, I don’t see this as happening. Guess it would have to be the little crabby cat. She’s tried to trip me on a number of occasions. I fully expect it’ll be fatal one of these days.

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**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/15 "2008-09-12T19:17:16Z")

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> [@cmyk](#):
>
> Let’s see. Out of my 12 or so friends, we have:
> 
> Jamie, Paul, Joe, todd, Rob, Josh, Judas, Daryl, Kurt, Dan, Earl, and Scott.
> 
> I’m going with Josh.
> 
> ETA: Not sure what he’s plotting, but I better kill him because you can never be too careful.

Psst: Keep an eye on Judas too. Especially after supper.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/16 "2008-09-12T19:20:12Z")

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Could be any of them. After all, most of them are lawyers.

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**Author:** ![frog\_princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6bbea6/32.png) [@frog\_princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frog_princess)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/17 "2008-09-12T19:38:00Z")

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Kathy. No doubt. She will sit and tell you a big long complicated story about the latest tragedy in her life. Then as soon as you agree with her or confess to feeling the same about something she runs to your husband and tells him everything.

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**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/18 "2008-09-12T19:48:29Z")

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either my sister, who is the type of person who tells you your roots are too long and you need a dye job in front of the whole family at Thanksgiving dinner, or my brother, who is the type of person who would convince himself that it wasn’t a betrayal because you betrayed him first and who is really the better person here, huh?

I also have a SIL who would sell me out for a pair of nail clippers as long as she got maximum drama out of the deal and got to name drop celebrities not involved (but could have been on a radio call in show that day) when she told the whole sad tale. I didn’t invite her to dinner though, so you can leave your nail clippers home.

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**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/19 "2008-09-12T20:00:49Z")

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> [@Siam\_Sam](#):
>
> Yes, I had one of those mothers. Mine betrayed me and quite a few others in real life and then wondered why she ended up a lonely, despicable old crone. The question’s a no-brainer for me.

Do you get criticized for leaving her alon? My aunt is starting to pull this, latest guilt trip on me. “She’ll be dead soon. It doesn’t hurt you, does it?”

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**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281/20 "2008-09-12T20:05:33Z")

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It’s hard to say. Betrayal requires trust to exist first. I trust few people so the options are rather limited. I’d say my SO would have the best opportunity to betray me, but I don’t think he would. (Of course that’s why it’s betrayal, because it’s unexpected)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-most-likely-to-betray-you/463281.md?page=2)
