The Surprise of Gossip

It's been said that you don't really know who your friends are until you're at rock bottom.

This is especially the case with gossip. Most of us grow up with family and friends and we come to love and trust them, and for the most part this love and trust is returned, even if only meagerly. The average person doesn't really stop to consider whether or not a family member or long-time friend would really stick with them through a rough patch in life.

But if a person becomes the target of truly malicious gossip, all that can change.

What happens when people suddenly start knowing details about you, some of them quite personal and intimate? From an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, or from a sibling or even a parent. Family ties are strong but historically they break down under mass social pressure. Even people you grew up with will end up working against you if they believe the entire community wants just that.

People who are targeted by gossip may be quite surprised to discover just who it was that instigated it or took part in the act.