An Irritating Question

The question, “What’s the difference?” irritates me.  A person who asks this question is not interested in learning about differences.  A person who asks this is using the question to say that a difference is so insignificant that it is not worth discussing.  People often say “What’s the difference?” inappropriately.  They ask this when the difference is important and they do not understand it, or when they are hiding something.

I wanted to give Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the benefit of the doubt about the Benghazi attack.  Initial reports of such an event can be inaccurate.  The fact that the attack occurred on September 11^th made me suspect that it had been planned ahead of time.  Still, it seemed reasonable that the attack could be a spontaneous reaction to an offensive video.  I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt until she said at a recent United States Senate hearing, “What difference does it make?” 

By asking about initial statements about the Benghazi attack, Senator Ron Johnson may have been attempting to learn about deficiencies in intelligence as they relate to embassy security.  This does make a difference.  Saying “What difference does it make?” makes me suspect that Secretary Clinton does not understand everything she should understand, or she is hiding something.