“One always speaks badly when one has nothing to say” Voltaire

Gossip.

I think it should be one of the 7 deadly sins.

I fully understand that I'm not liked by everyone I meet. Heck, I don't like most people and I certainly don't like everyone I know. I prefer cats to people.

But why do people, women in particular, have to be vicious with their tongues? Why do they feel the need to tear down another person when they're not around?

There's an elderly woman in my church who truly despises me. She literally has nothing nice to say about me. She won't speak to me. She won't look at me. She doesn't even acknowledge my existence when we're in the same room. But she has plenty to say about me when I'm not around. She'd never say anything nasty to my face because she knows I wouldn't stand for it. There'd definitely be a high heel to her crotch.

And why do the people she spouts off to feel the need to tell me about it? Do they think it helps me in some way? Do they think I don't know how much this woman despises me? I think they get some small pleasure in knowing it isn't them she's talking about and I think they enjoy being the bearer of bad news.

My response is always a groan of resignation. I've dealt with her and her nasty comments for so long now, it just doesn't phase me as much as it used to. Yes, it still hurts. Yes, it still pisses me off. But I realize there will never be any resolution between us. It just is what it is. Until the people she spouts off to call her on it, she'll continue to rip on me any opportunity she gets. If nobody listened to her, she'd stop. So the listeners are as bad as the gossip herself.

Gossip, the 8th deadly sin.