Gotta love those little suckers. Poking around, messing stuff up.
Just kidding, I hate rumors. Unfortunately, I tend to be the subject of quite a few. I've always found it rather amusing when I hear rumors about myself. I learn so much. And the even funnier thing is that the people who create/distribute these rumors, or even the ones who hear them, never verify them with me. I should start charging royalties. If people are going to hear a warped view about a situation involving me, I'd appreciate it if you let me include some creative insight. Some of the rumors just don't make sense, others contradict themselves, and still even others make me wonder if my friends really know anything about me at all.
Right, the point. That should be made.
Well, in short, we humans communicate with words a lot, whether it be verbal, electronic, or whatever else exists. Communication is a non-stop flow of information into your mind, and in today's world of overly-social media'd people, news gets around faster than ever. That leaves society with a problem: no time to think.
Breaking this down to the common everyday social experience (hanging out with friends/going to church/hanging with the family), this is where rumors begin. Why do rumors exist? I don't know. How do they start? I'm not sure. Miscommunication seems to be a big component, and maybe just as big as that would be misinterpretation. In today's world of Youtube commenters (an analogy, meaning people who hear on thing a specific way, decide that it's attacking them, and must destroy whoever disagreed with them), it can be hard to say anything without being heard the wrong way. That being said, a rumor could be quickly stopped about 95% of the time by one simple tactic, that tactic being "go talk to the people involved and either verify or disprove said rumor". It's very effective. I highly suggest it.
Now, if you're a potential rumor creator (and we all are, so don't say you aren't), let me run some stuff up here that I think is pretty profound.
Proverbs 16:28
A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends.
Proverbs 16:24
Kind words are like honey -- sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Now, let me say this: rumors can take on all kinds of forms. Not all of them are "bad" per se, but for the most part, they can be very hurtful. I know that a lot of the ones I've been the subject of have made me distrust friends and have, in fact, hurt me. Not because they were true, but because they were so far off from reality that I couldn't believe people thought I did/said any of those things.
I guess my main point can be boiled down to this: Rumors = lies. Lies = bad. If you hear something about someone, and you think that it can't be true, go talk to that person, don't pass it on to someone else. Stamp it out as fast as you can! Get to the bottom of it! This is the time for you to put into practice all your investigation skills you learned from reading Encyclopedia Brown! By cutting the rumor at its source, friendships are salvaged, order is restored, and misunderstandings are avoided. Peace is restored. Doesn't that sound lovely? It's so simple.
Later,
-Sam
