I give my always-late friend a fake time: is that wrong?
Editors' DilemmaOctober 28, 2026· Be the first to vote
A story made up by our editors to get the debate going, not a real account.
My side
I have an amazing friend, funny, generous, and always late. Not five minutes: forty-five minutes, minimum. At the movies, we’ve missed the beginning of every film. At restaurants, I’ve been asked to give up the table before he even showed up. So I came up with a technique: I tell him to meet an hour before the real time. It worked perfectly. He showed up right on time without knowing it. Until the day he showed up at the time I gave him. He waited an hour for me in the rain, figured it all out, and he’s really hurt. He says I treated him like a child.
Their side
My friend thinks lying to him for months is worse than being late. According to him, I should have just told him straight up that it bothered me. He admits he’s not punctual, but he’s making an effort and he always texts ahead. And that day, of all days, he’d planned like never before to be on time.
So, who's wrong?
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