Do you lie to friends?

[thir]

if asked a straight question I give them a straight answer.

Yes.

Or to put it another way: if someone asks your honest opinion, do you give it, if you think it will hurt them?

As I see it, if you lie, you are 1) rejcting their request which they must have a reason for 2) appointing yourself their guardian, and deciding what they can or cannot stand to hear. You do not see them as adults capable of making their own decisions. 3) Or maybe we are in the difficult grey area of who it is you are protecting: the friend, or yourself from their reactions.

If someone asks your honest opinion and gets mad at the answer, then that is their problem.

But that is not the same as saying that your either do the 'white' lie, or use the equavalent of a verbal six-shooter. You can try to say things gently, but truth-fully.