Gossip,
innuendos, rumors or unsubstantiated claims are like open wounds. Each person
that passes along the information pokes the wound and irritates it a little bit
more. Wounds take a long time to heal when they are constantly poked and
prodded and kept raw. Wounds leave ugly scars. People remember the gossip and, too often, where they heard it. The reactions to poking a wound and passing along gossip
are the same: It is fascinating to watch but the respect you feel for the poker
is diminished. One can’t help but wonder if you had the wound, would the poker
poke it too.
