"So heard that you and so-and-so...."

As I sit and write I have brief moments of feeling like Carrie Bradshaw....except for the fact that I am fully clothed at the moment and my "column" does not focus on sex and relationships. I said focus on them. Don't worry. I'll spice it up every once and a while. :)

I woke up this morning trying to figure out how rumors start and if they tend to be malicious. So recently, I've discovered that there have been some rumors about me that call into question my morals. (Yes, I am being vague on purpose.) Any who, this rumor is quite false and I am somewhat insulted that it even started. I heard it from a co-worker who heard it from a former co-worker who claims that the person he heard it from is a reliable source. Really, it just makes me wonder who his "reliable source" heard it from because they most certainly did not hear it from me nor were they present for this thing that never happened. So why do we start rumors? And even better, why do we perpetuate them?

Maybe it's a very innocent thing. For some people I am sure that is possible but for others I am sure that innocence is something they have ever known. But maybe someone hears something that they assume is a fact just because they trust the person they are talking to or that they want to believe what they are hearing. Maybe it just has to do with already having a preconceived notion about someone or something and the second you hear something that validates that belief, you assume that it has to be true.

I guess that rumors can be flattering. They can also be insulting. And are people really curious if the rumors are true? Sometimes I feel like every company should hire a private investigator and then have a monthly rumor control meeting.

"Yes, it's true that Johnny believes that his mother's ghost lives with him."

"No, it's not true that Sarah is sleeping with her boss."

"No, it's not true that Charles drinks every day. He drinks every other day."

Or we could just not spread any information that we were not 100% sure of its validity. Then again, it's near impossible to really be sure of everything. So we have rumors and we hope that those rumors do not hurt our employment or relationships. And if they do, we hope that we find out in time to make the decision to tell the truth or to not care.