Personal Development

» pink101 - Problem With Gossip

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You wrote that, ethically, it's risky to gossip.
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That's an understatement of fact. I would say that it relates to lying in the sense that it lays the foundation for a great deal of destruction and damage not only to the individuals who are the subject of the talk; but, it provides back fires on the principals with a structure of communication that ends up does damage to their own reputations and personalities. In that sense, there is no such thing as innocent gossip. It always ends up being destructive. And to make matters worse, it sets the principals up to repeat the method in ever increasing tempo and to a cadence in some severe cases. The "Town Gossip" was a term of common useage a couple of generations ago. Since then, the scandalous media has become a large part of our daily life.
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I think you've touched on an important issue for society here. It has become a bad habit and we should pay more attention to its ill affects on us. Loose talk is bad business.
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I remember a joke about a man who moved into a town and attended a church where one of the members was an old maid and the Town Gossip. Shortly after he set up residence, his truck was seen periodically in the parking lot of a local bar. And, then, it was seen in the driveway of the widow Brown's house. In both cases, the man was on legimate business to repair a refrigerator as that was his trade. But, the Town Gossip spread the story in such a way that the man looked like a drunken alcoholic and a woman chaser--a loose character--who had no business attending church with decent folk. When the gossip got around and finally came to the new resident, his response was to park his truck in front of the Town Gossip's home over night for several days.
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Or something like that. I never was much good at telling jokes.
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:)
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-- posted by pink101