Why the hang are university students worse than high school kids at spreading and believing rumours?! Seriously, I thought I was on good terms with everyone in my course but this morning I receive an attacking email from this one lady who although not close was in our circle of friends (and I use circle loosely because our course only has about 15-20 people in it). Apparently I: - Have been saying negative things about her - Have been saying that we had a huge fight - Have been saying immature things to others behind her back - Like causing friction between/for people On top of that she believes everything she's been told, as well as saying she's not surprised at this behaviour (what ever it is cause she never actually told me what I apparently said) and that I shouldn't be calling myself a Christian despite having known me for 3 years and worked closely with me on heaps of projects! And this was after my name popping up in a nasty email to another student in which a friend and I were apparently saying horrible things about her. Thankfully she didn't believe any of it because she knows both of us well. Seriously, everyone in my course knows my views and beliefs, and that I dislike conflict and all of the crap that's been going on. It's plain appalling that I've been dragged into this because of who I hang out with (this guy who people have a problem with but he's been really kind to me with the break up and stuff). I am so... GRRRRRRR!!!

=/ Lameness. at my school people like to spread rumors but not stuff that damages others. It's more of the natural whisper-down-the-lane embellishment type of stuff.

unfortunately age and willingness to spread/believe rumors are not directly correlated. Its more about what type of person you are and what type of people you surround yourself with. If you're the type of person that minds your own business and doesn't spread/believe rumors about people from third party sources, unfortunately it makes you a better candidate for people who do spread rumors (as you don't have a competing path for rumors/truth to spread back). I'd like to think people grow up from that sort of thing, but the truth is some people don't.... and those people increase that likelihood of others (in their circle) to spread/believe rumors. With age the types of rumors changes, but not necessarily the # of people that participate in the rumor game.... my suggestion... people with rumors will have rumors regardless of how you deal with them or don't deal with them. You might not ever even say a word to one of them and they still spread rumors. This is because some people measure their worth by constantly comparing themselves to those around them. Any instance in which someone can (judge) pinpoint an example of someone else's inferiority is a definite plus for themselves (in their own head, and possibly their social circle, if those in their circle are similar minded). If I were you I'd take it as a compliment that these people have nothing better to do than make up lies about you... it means that you must not have any obvious problems for them to point to instead.... furthermore that they actually have nothing better to do with their brains than to talk about you (regardless of what they're saying)... My suggestion, if you aren't one of those rumor mongers......... don't worry about the quabblings of rumor mongers.... rumors only have power over the ones who believe them, not over the ones who the rumor is about.... here's a scriptural example... "Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? Mat 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." Who is affected by the pharisee's rumor? The messiah? surely not.... the followers of the messiah? not so long as they follow..... so only the pharisees and the followers of the pharisees have been influenced by this rumor. .... yeah... woe to the rumor mongers.... by their own trap will they be caught...

[b]defiant_revolutionary wrote:[/b] [quote]If I were you I'd take it as a compliment that these people have nothing better to do than make up lies about you...[/quote] I don't take it as a compliment when people believe the lies of others over the truth they see, hear and interact with in person. Especially after 3 years of working together... [quote]rumors only have power over the ones who believe them, not over the ones who the rumor is about.[/quote] I disagree. I obviously don't believe these rumours yet they are effecting me in my course. See, our lecturers pay great attention to things like this as we are studying social work and they watch to see who does what and how we deal with things etc. Plus, whether people believe these rumours or not, they are affecting relationships between classmates and myself. And these are relationships with people I'll be working with in the future. Also, rumours have negative power over people whether or not they believe them... As bad as this sounds I'm just glad I have a couple of others I can trust who are in the same situation as me and will back me up if push comes to shove.