It's not funny. Who could have known what the conglomerate would do, how it would distort, exaggerate and institutionalize as gossip everything it heard about me and everyone who knew me?
Sex is part of everyone's life in one way or another. There are stories in everyone's past; that's why respect for privacy is something that should be a cultural value instead of something that is pushed to the side whenever the worst of human nature decides to make someone's life painful and difficult.
There are people who try to find out what's possible to the outer boundaries of the law, so that they can do or say whatever sleazy thing they want to do or say and then grin in their target's face, saying "It's legal and there's nothing that you can do about it." Those are bad people. Just because it's legal to talk about someone, knowing that what you're saying about the person will hurt his or her reputation and make him or her vulnerable to social abuse and professional failure, that doesn't mean that you're not doing something wrong. Especially if you haven't talked to that person in years, there's nothing that the person is saying or doing against which you need to defend yourself, and all you're doing is saying, "I know that person! Let me tell you all about it," it's not to your credit that you decide to be indiscreet.
Copyright L. Kochman, January 20, 2016 @ 8:45 a.m.
