a sour taste
badmouth: “to speak unfavorably”
defamation:
- a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone’s words or actions
- aspersion: an abusive attack on a person’s character or good name
I once had a friend who was in the habit of badmouthing people. Maybe it was the irresistable entertainment value, maybe he really couldn’t think of any other way to carry on a conversation. But one day I called to invite him to dinner and his voice had that special quaver it would acquire when unexpectedly interacting with the subject of a badmouthing rant. I never called him again, he never called me and that was the end of that!
The problem with badmouthing is that it becomes a habit of communication. The shock value becomes a comfort zone, a lazy communicator’s easy route to finding common ground with people they’re not comfortable getting to know. It’s a lack of creativity, an amateur comic’s cheap joke, an interaction devoid of any real content or meaning. It’s a false common ground.
So, why am I thinking about this today? Well, because I was badmouthed by someone I hardly knew … with whom the few conversations I’d had consisted of me listening to her. She was angry because I had done free speculative work for her and her husband’s business and when the requirements of their project kept changing and we couldn’t agree upon a contract I took it as an opportunity to decline further commitment to their project.
I don’t know, maybe badmouthing is a boomer thing. Kind like suing people is kind of a boomer thing. Boy is she lucky I’m not a boomer.
Add comment December 4th, 2006