Gossip - nobody's friend - and everybody's enemy

Norman Rockwell's famous painting of gossipers

My name is gossip. I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody’s friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses. I am called gossip. I make headlines and headaches.

So, to avoid becoming my next victim, before you repeat a story, ask yourself:
Is it True ?
Is it Helpful ?
Is it Important ?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind ?
(That’s an acronym for THINK)
If it isn’t, don’t repeat it !