Sunday, November 20, 2011

I’ve never quite understood those who go out of their way to defame the reputation of another.  It’s one thing to spread awareness when an individual is known to be a possible nuisance or threat, but to actively generate blatant lies about them just…because…that’s not acceptable.

There are those who are bent on creating drama where none exists or on encapsulating their lives with a cocoon of chaos, dragging others into their volatile mix if and when possible.  These are the individuals I avoid.  I don’t believe that they’re bad people per say, just that they place too much energy on things they shouldn’t.

And what of the individuals who fall victim to the false rumors spread about them?  How are they to survive the whirlwind storm that surrounds them? 

This weekend, I was made privy to just such information being spread about a friend of mine, someone whom I’ve known and have been close with for over two years.  I was appalled at what I heard and upset that those who began the rumors would go to such lengths to hurt my friend.  

So back to my question of what’s a person who finds him or herself in this position to do.  Whenever I’m made aware of this kind of drama being generated, I make it a point to stick up for the person.  Stand up for their reputation—the one I know to be the true them.  If and when I can, I refute the charges against the individual with proof to the contrary of the rumors being spread.  As far as I’m concerned, this is the right thing to do.  The descent thing.  The respectful way to handle the situation and help dilute inflammatory comments made about another.

It’s amazing how quickly bad news travels.  How rumors, once begun, gain immeasurable momentum if allowed to travel unchecked.  This is why I believe it’s paramount to snuff them out as soon as possible.  Doing so, in my opinion, not only knocks all the wind out of their sails, but also helps mitigate collateral damage to the falsely accused person’s reputation. 

So what happens to the ones who begin these ugly accusations?  Simple.  By having folks who know better come forward and stand up for the one wrongly accused, the accusers are quick to realize that their plan is doomed to failure.  That, though they had hoped to hurt the individual’s reputation, no damage can be done when folks are willing to come forward and share the truth.