WHAT WE HEARD ABOUT HIM

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  David and Paul were friends. It never made sense to people why they were. David was smart and reserved. Paul was the exact opposite. Everyone in their class in university accepted it as it were. Paul was very popular and everyone loved him. One day, the best friends had a falling out. This was Paul’s fault. He had done something bad to David. The next day, David noticed people were giving him cold shoulders, yes he never talked much to anyone before but there was something up. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a group of students discussing loudly about him and calling him bad names for doing something to Paul. David was shocked. Paul had gone out and turned the story around. David never planned on telling anyone what happened so he never understood why Paul would do that and paint him as the bad person. Every time David’s name came up in class, people would talk about the things Paul said.

  David didn’t bother defending himself or telling the true story. He couldn’t blame everyone for believing Paul. Paul was the popular one, their friend and his supposed best friend. To them hearing that from his best friend, it could only be the truth. No one ever bothered to ask him, 
“David, I heard this and that, is it true?” all they thought was 
“We don’t know him. If his best-friend said he did this, then of course he did. The best friend knows him better.” 
“We don’t really know him, Paul does.” 
“Paul is such a great guy. We know that. 
“That David has always been weird." 
"he is a snob, keeping to himself like he’s better than us.”

David forgave Paul and they went back to being friends. That didn’t change what people had heard about David from Paul nor did it change what they thought about him thanks to Paul.

  Ladi was tired of her job. Her boss kept trying to sleep with her. She finally had enough and quit. She applied for another job and was called for an interview.

She walked in and she met her former boss on the panel. The interview went smoothly, everyone liked her and she left with the promise that they would get in touch with her. The job was hers. When she left, former boss spoke up.

“That girl is big trouble. She used to work under me. Trust me you don’t want a liability like her. She is very rude…” he went on and on.

They knew him and if he was saying that then it must be true. She had worked for him.

Ladi never got the call.

  Bee and her friend, Flora watched their neighbor Alex, drive in. Flora hissed. “Runs girl. Always feeling like she’s god. That’s how she insulted me the other day, telling me I’m not in her level. “

Bee looked at Alex and shook her head.

Another day she overheard Mrs. James and her friend talking about Alex, “She doesn’t work now. It’s one Alhaji that gives her money.”

Bee shook her head again and thought to herself. “If everybody is saying this about her then it must be true.”

One day, Bee was stuck in the rain. She tried to get a taxi as her umbrella danced to the dictates of the wind. She had given up hope when a car stopped beside her. It was Alex.

“Hi, I know you. You live in my compound. Please get in, let me drop you…”

“No, it’s fine.” Bee replied fast before someone would see them together and label her a runs girl too.

“Please, you’ll catch a cold. Come in.” Alex insisted.

Bee hopped in. On the way she got to find out that all she had heard was wrong. Alex worked in an I.T firm and was doing very well. She was called for consultations all over hence her constant travelling. Alex was also nice to a fault; she drove Bee straight to her office not before getting her a warm cup of coffee from a café.

 Bee felt bad for believing all the lies she had heard. They became very good friends.

  Most times when we hear things about people, those things may not be flattering.

People pass judgments on people based on their bias, principles, upbringing etc. How A sees things may not be how B does.

  Sometimes, people talk bad about people they don’t know and have never spoken to. They assume this is how they are. Especially people who are quiet or they just don’t like something about their personality. They go about sharing their assumptions as fact. You might be the nicest person in the world, not everyone likes it. Some would see you as pretentious. Then go around talking about it.

  Some hear how someone treated someone they consider a friend and to prove their solidarity to the friend and the friendship, they hate on the supposed bad person.

  Then some transfer gist they heard about someone from another person to someone else like they were the ones it happened to or they were there and witnessed it.

  Truth is, what you heard about a person may not be right. It might just be a rumor or a clash of personalities, a result of bias, prejudice and all that.

  Before you write off that person based on what you heard from a friend of yours or based on a bad first meeting or whoever it is, why not decide for yourself without any of the things you’ve heard in your head. Have your interaction on a blank slate and decide for yourself if it’s true or not.

You just may be pushing away someone good or joining the bearer of the negative tales in spreading their gossip and partaking in their act.

  Imagine, if everyone treated you by what they heard about you, how you would feel? Give people a chance without using what you heard else no matter how great they are, what you heard will color your judgment of them. 
 It’s also not cool keeping grudges with someone because of a friend. Is it the right thing?  

Thanks for reading my thoughts. What are yours? 

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