There’s a lot of this going around, especially during a political season, but some people are experts at doing their best to hurt others on a regular basis, and do it without appearing to say bad about them. You know what I mean – like politely stabbing someone in the back. I have talked about this in the past, but I think it needs to be mentioned again.

I heard a moderator of a radio show talking about a lady running for office and he was saying things such as “She isn’t really a bad candidate, and I really can’t say anything bad about her. After all, maybe it wasn’t all her fault that her kids grew up bad and one did some prison time… but then again it might not affect her judgment much if she somehow did get elected.” He was trying to make it sound as though he was a fair person, but he certainly wanted to hurt the lady who was running. You hear this kind of stuff all the time from some people, and it is really unfair to say something bad about people who aren’t around to defend themselves. I mean, if you don’t like someone, say so; don’t try to make it sound as though you’re paying him a compliment while you’re stabbing him in the back with remarks such as “I like John, he has some ethics issues and isn’t very bright but…. blah, blah, blah” or “Bill seems like a pretty good guy; there’s just something about him and I don’t trust him, you know what I mean?” Some women are known to say things to co-workers such as “I wonder if Joan has any real friends” or I’ve heard some things about Joan, but I don’t want to repeat them.” It’s character assassination by deception – implying something bad about someone without really saying it or having a basis for it. It’s really a form of lie, isn’t it? I recall saying to a friend of mine, “You know, Ray sure seems like a nice guy, doesn’t he?” to which my friend replied, “Yeah, I guess, if he would just treat his wife a little better.” My friend didn’t like Ray and didn’t want me to like him either. I found out later that Ray loved his wife very much and always treated her like a queen! My friend didn’t even know Ray’s wife. When you badmouth someone, it never makes you look good. As a matter of fact, if the truth were known, it makes you look bad. I guess that old saying, “If you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything at all” is a good one to follow.

Tom “Road” Blair

Website: www.tomroadblair.com