Rumors are such a terrible thing. Wether its something that is a result of Chinese whispers, or wether it’s done intentionally, I don’t know. Now i’m not someone who is bothered by rumors, because most of the time they’re things that have not even a single brush of truth and they actually are quite humoros when it comes to the stupidity.
But this last rumor really got me.
The rumor going round (at the only boys school which my boyfriend attends – I think boys are more gossipy than girls!) was that I only go out with my boyfriend because I wanted a boyfriend, not because I actually liked him.
I don’t understand where this came from, but I see this is the ‘being made up intentionally’ side to rumors.
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I’m afraid to tell you that gossiping and rumors do not go away when you leave the school and college environment. They persist into the work force (all types of professions). I specifically do everything I can to avoid speaking about someone behind their back, yet still have been accused of spreading rumors because I was standing near someone venting about someone else. When that happens now, I’m suddenly late for an expected phone conference or meeting and leave.
Over the years, your reaction to rumors won’t be as dramatic, but you will still react, feel betrayed and hurt. I’m not going to blow rainbows and kittens up your a$$. It’s just a fact of life.
This is captured in my people rule #5 (there are 20). “There’s a fine line between asking after someone’s health or how they are doing and gossip. That line moves a lot. Best not to say anything about a person not present in a conversation”.
When the rumor targets you, it’s best not to say anything at all (meaning, let the rumor die instead of confronting people about it ). The rumor perpetuators will find another target if they see they don’t get a reaction from you.
Xoxox RK