"Better to pretend you didn't hear them than engage with their stupidity," Nathaniel concluded after swallowing and rinsing down another bite. To make a point, he picked up a forkful of cheese enchilada.
"If you don't like the taste of something, you don't have to eat it." Just an example, but the same concept. In the same vein, everyone blocked out things they didn't like or even denied them, even when they were for their own good. Truths were often hurtful because reflecting on one's self was the most difficult thing to do. That was a different conversation, though.