Textbook Ethics

I was reading about ethics in publishing when I came across this example that made me think a bit.

"Let's say that your best friend spends $100 and gets the ugliest haircut imaginable. She looks like a poodle that had a bad run-in with a greasy power sander. She walks into the room, beams a great big smile at you, and asks, 'What do you think of my great new 'do?'"

What do you do? According to my textbook, your response should be to "stiffen your spine, brace yourself, and tell your friend--as kindly and gently as you possibly can--that she looks like a sewer rat that swam through some Nair."

Well then. I don't think I could possibly tell anyone that she looked like a 'sewer rat that swam through Nair' kindly or gently. But, hey, it's honest, right?

In the future, I think I'll be honest with all of you without telling anyone that he or she looks like a sewer rat. Or a poodle that had a bad run-in with a greasy power sander :)