Why can't we stop gossiping?
Why we don't want's to use modern technology to stop "Train Accidents".
Why aren't we human?
Why Do We Ask "why" :-?
Should we stop worrying about the Iranian nuclear program now?
Why Can't We Catch Dawood?
In light of the February 25 incident at Maison Blanche night club in Beirut, involving two young entrepreneurs, Antoun Sehnaoui & Mazen El Zein, we ought to wonder about the "evil and unlawful," or "of poor quality" narratives that followed such incident, where all the cursing addressed toward the so called culprit before even he got judged remain puzzling.
In recent years, researchers have turned to the study of gossip—our predilection for talking about people who are not present.
Why is news about others so irresistible?
As it turns out, gossip serves a useful social function in bonding group members together. We are social creatures like wolves. We hunt in packs to weaken individuals (to see if they are fit) and either physically or psychological try to over power individuals (who are weak) and take them down.
All through my life, since the day i learned reading, I always found myself puzzled over the 24/7 coverage of people such as Paris Hilton, Tara Reid, Nicole Richie and all in between, who are “celebrities” for no apparent reason other than we know who they are--if we happen to know who they are. And yet, covering these so-caled 'Celebs' is a non-stop habit, simply because people/readers are obviously tuning in with a state of delirium barely understandable.
This preoccupation with the lives of others, is a by-product of society of which its members have big time issues with themselves. Thus, it appears that we are hardwired to be fascinated by gossip, wealthy people, to say the least. And here again, the Maison Blanche story comes to mind again, for all the meanness and cheap talk opportunists have jumped into to ruin a wealthy, healthy, successful young CEO, everyone would dream to be in his chair.
It is difficult to define exactly what Gossip is...
Most researchers agree that the Gossip practice involves talk about people who are not present and that this talk is relaxed, informal and entertaining. Typically the topic of conversation also concerns information that we can make moral judgments about. Gossip appears to be pretty much the same wherever it takes place.
Why does private information about other people represent such an irresistible temptation for us? It is an undeniable fact that is pretty unusual to see any individual walk away from a juicy story about one of his or her acquaintances, and many of us have firsthand experience with the difficulty of keeping spectacular news about someone's else a secret. Although everyone seems to detest a person who is known as a “gossiper”; though, it appears to be a national hobby, especially in a country as tiny as Lebanon, where any name rings a bell to anyone...And boom,,,,the tongue suddenly rolls, becoming longer, harder, bitter, if not lethal. Gossiping can become worse witch hunting or lynching.
Even worth is Rumor as Political Communication Strategy like in the White Blanche incident, which involved Antoun Sehnaoui & Mazen eL Zein & the General:
"Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels. A propaganda organization employs propagandists who engage in propagandism—the applied creation and distribution of such forms of persuasion."*
A speciality Michel Aoun & his worshippers have learned to ace and in this case seek to profit politically from the rumor shooting’s diffusion.
Similarly, "spin" is a generic term for strategic political communication that attempts to frame or re-frame an event in a way that is politically profitable for one side and detrimental to another.
With high technology, we can gossip to all parts of the world even parts of Antarctica, earth orbit & beyond about our petty struggles, which in the end don't matter at all. Technology has made it possible to completely destroy individuals who made gossiping and defamation their hobby.
Here, let me introduce to you a new word Defamation: also called calumny, vilification, slander and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. It is usually a false claim that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed.
Defamation laws may come into tension with freedom of speech, leading to censorship or chilling effects where publishers fear lawsuits, or loss of reputation where individuals have no effective protection against reckless or unfounded allegations. But in Lebanon, this is fairy tale!!
But Why, Again Why?
People love to hear about others problems even when true or false. People are glad the gossip is not about them.
The good news is gossip is ultimatly self defeating . Gossips are found out but many many lives are rueined. Gossip is therefore one of the best methods to hurt your opponent. If the person is making the accusation and is told by some one else (who appears) to be reliable who are they to question its source? When it is found the information is false or misleading is that person punished or corrected? Of course not!
The person who acted on the information is too scared to confess it.
Another round won for gossip.
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* Richard Alan Nelson, A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States, 1996
GOOD TO KNOW:
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Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights permits restrictions on freedom of speech when necessary to protect the reputation or rights of others.
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Article 17 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation."
The Free Spirit
