Nafha Maani -Ebrahimi
12 August 2007
column
Kampala — There is a disease in our societies that is spreading like a plague, devastating whoever comes its way, trampling over green and dry regardless of social stature or position. It is a man made disease called gossip! Have you ever wondered where the word gossip comes from? One story is particularly interesting.
"The tale tells how politicians would send assistants to bars to sit and listen to general public conversations. The assistants had instructions to sip a beer and listen to opinions; they responded to the command to "go sip", which allegedly turned into "gossip".
Whatever the truth behind the story, it is amazing that many people do not realise how damaging this habit can be. I was told by a veteran journalist that the gosips pages in newspapers are one of the most read and a good seller of papers and magazines.
Though we have all been burnt by the fire of gossip, it still seems so tempting to hear and spread scandles and rumours about others, especially if you don't exactly appreciate the person, then any bad news, is really good news.
We have all played the game of sitting in a circle with one whispering a sentence in someone's ear and that person whispering to the next one. At the completion of the circle, the sentence would have changed enormously, this is how gossip works. Then how do we know we have crossed the line separating sharing news and gossiping? Well, a group of friends are talking about Rose, and when Rose walked into the room, they changed subject. Does that say something?
However, the information you have might be a fact, or an assumption. If it is a fact, the shared news spreads like bush fire and damages someone's reputation and before they have a chance to defend themselves, the damage will be done. On the other hand, if it is an assumption, then it becomes accepted facts and again ruin someone when they are innocent. Gossip and rumour mongering are silent killers, they penetrate people's lives quietely but they ruin and damage violently.
I was reading in a scientific book about a scary and, most out-of-control bacterial disorder, a disease called necrotizing fasciitis. In which the bacteria essentially eat the victim from the inside out, devouring internal tissues. Patients often come in with comparatively mild complaints - a skin rash and fever but then dramatically deteriorate.
When they are opened up it is often found that they are simply being consumed, the only treatment is cutting out every bit of infected area.
The above sounds horrible, but it is true that we can compare ruining other people's lives with spreading rumours as this killer bacteria. It is said that 70 percent of the infected people with the above disease have no chance of survival. The same rate or even a higher one can apply to victims of gossip. Something worth to remembering next time one indulges in gossip.
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