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a new car," ought to be ostracized from respectable company. These are unforgivable offenses against society. They are like throwing sand into a grandfather's clock. It is no excuse to say, "Well, these people had no business making uncomplimentary comments in the first place." That may or may not be true. But the harm is not so much in making them as in relaying them. In fact, their greatest danger always is that some uncivilized hearer may relay them. Of course, everybody should be careful all the time not to comment unfavorably about anyone. However, the fact remains that in the hurly-burly of life people will casually and thoughtlessly and not slanderously comment unfavorably upon others. Often the comment is in fact only a qualification of otherwise favorable remarks. A person may say, "Clara is such a charming girl, bright, with a sparkling personality. If only she would learn how to dance." The total effect of this comment is quite harmless, but if only the part about the dancing is relayed, the harm and hurt can be grievous. Clara may never afterward be able to feel wholeheartedly friendly toward the commenter. Once a fellow, "raving" about a girl, also added that she was a sloppy dresser. This latter was passed on, and all his subsequent reiteration of the compliments in which the remark was buried failed to heal the breach. |
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