I've overheard a person saying, "That doe should never have won over this buck. There's just no way she's better than he is." It sounded like sour grapes to me. But then later I found out that that breeder owned both of the rabbits and was comparing her own bunnies.
In my lifetime, I've heard many, many things that sounded credible at the time, but turned out to be inaccurate nonetheless.
I'm not going to tell you to refrain from gossiping and to stop passing on stories you hear. That's human nature. We pass news from person to person. That's been going on as long as there have been people.
But when it comes time to decide how you will behave, react, think about a person, or do anything based on what you have heard, that's the time to sit back and reflect first. What if what you have heard is wrong? Will you be doing or saying something that you would regret if, when the facts do come to light, you find that the reports you heard were wrong?
Dealing with all of the "news" that comes our way will be something that we struggle with all of our lives. Here are a few things to consider:
- How credible was the source - was it a first-hand account or something that had been repeated many times?
- Does the source have an agenda or a stake in the story?
- Does the story add up or are there missing pieces or questions unanswered?
- If the news impacts you in some way, is there a way to confirm the information?
- Do you want to pass on this story to someone else and later find that it was a false story?
We've all been sent emails with disturbing "information." I generally check those out on Snopes. Most of the time, they are false. Often, I'll get an email a short while later saying to disregard the information - it was a hoax.
Likewise, when we hear something, we should attempt to check it out before we pass it on. If we pass on something that turns out to be false, we need to go back to those we told and correct it.
I'm as guilty as the next person of believing a story because the person telling me the story obviously believes it. It's not a matter of being told a lie. The person believes they are telling the truth and we accept it as such.
But it would pay for all of us to be a little more critical of the stories we hear and to reserve judgment until the facts can be confirmed.
Laurie
Some of you may recall a BLOG I wrote that featured a spayed doe that was still being shown. It was not a Holland doe and not the one mentioned in this post. In that case, the owner of the spayed doe told me the story herself. So I regard the information as very credible. I am not using this post to correct the information in that one.
¶ 9:11 AM
