"Destroyed In Seconds"

I was watching this series on The Discovery Channel, a real guy thing: Buildings get blown up, speed boats disintegrate when they hit waves the wrong way, planes crash.

Earlier in the evening, someone who tends to be in the know told me that a noted person in the Valley had, years earlier, been somehow involved with underage, as well as of-age guys. This was quite some time ago.

As I sat here, wondering what to write about, the show’s title, “Destroyed In Seconds,” came to mind. I don’t know if the noted person’s name ever got out about his alleged transgressions, or if they were even true, but his reputation would have been shot if anyone said a word about them in public.

The supermarket tabloids do a good job at that. Any little rumor gets blown up, way out of proportion, and the victim has two choices: a) Ignore it and risk having your silence be affirmation or, b) Fight it and risk having your actions be taken as proof.

Backfence gossip, office gossip, both have the same danger of spreading poison that we haven’t verified. Saying, “Well, I’m just telling you what I heard,” is the common way of squirming out when caught.

So supposing it’s true? There are channels, and the watercooler is not one of them. Destroy others as you would have them destroy you.