[Redway]

Originally Posted by swine

I try (and often fail) not to gossip. Even if what is being said is undeniably true, it's best not to talk badly about others, unless it's for a positive reason, like warning someone about a person lying to them. In my religion we call gossip "the evil tongue" and try hard not to engage in it. I am terrible at following this rule because I'm a bitch. A bitch in progress, though.

I see what you mean. Like I said none of what I’m saying is coming from such a moral-high-ground stance because most people gossip at-least a little and I’m guilty-as-charged (even if only-just) but the difference between me and people who are actually notorious gossips is that the stuff I ‘gossip’ about (on the relatively-rare occasion that I do divulge) either involves things I’ve directly-experienced (as opposed to intrusive/nosy speculations about the personal-lives of people I really don’t have a reason to be doing anything other than minding my own business towards) and/or me having-known the ‘gossipee/s’ for a while and in some at-least-fairly significant capacity. And even then I say what I want to say in closed circles between family and close friends and between us no-one would ever blab to the outside world at-large and tarnish someone’s reputation for what might-well be for no reason.

I think that mode-and-type of gossip is fine but it’s when that basic level of discretion isn’t granted and you get people bad-mouthing people out-loud to anyone with ears that it becomes a problem. When it’s out there Chinese-whispers shouldn’t be anything other than an actual game.

I don’t talk to just-anyone if I don’t have an actual reason to in-the-first-place (or at-least like them enough to even-begin to want to do a bit of free chit-chat with them - and I have a long list of people I really don’t like so coupled with my natural reserve that’s that) so naturally whatever I do end-up saying stays guarded-enough. People with very outgoing/chatty personas might struggle to reel themselves in when it comes to things like that but keeping my mouth relatively-shut’s never been an issue for me.