RAINER'S RAMBLINGS
Old fashioned is good
By RAINER ARNOLD Union Sentinel Publisher

The rumors that are flying about our neighboring county, Towns, are unbelievable. And what is interesting, they get worse by the day. Now granted some not too nice things happened in that county and even the AJC has gotten in on the act claiming that Towns County is no longer a Mayberry like in Andy Griffth's TV show. Well, first of all, it never was a Mayberry and once the lake came and tourists it never had the opportunity to become a Mayberry.

The reason I mention this whole thing is because all these people say things about others, but they will not be quoted. "I heard this" and I heard that" is all over town as well as "Don't tell anyone I told you this." Personally, I think these rumor mongers ought to have to be quoted and their comments and their names ought to be in the paper. I guarantee, the rumors would stop.

But Towns County does not have a monopoly on rumors and innuendo. A friend recently showed me some exerpts from a website.

On this site people are hiding behind names that are not their own. They say things that are not true as if they were proven fact. They accuse people, public and private, of things they ought to go to jail for. What is the recourse for these people who are the victims of rumors on the Internet?

To be honest, I have no clue what to do about these people who live by the production and dissemination of rumors. I just wish someone would have the nerve to publish their names on the same site and I bet the rumors would stop, at least to some degree. Why are these people so cowardly as to attack others without standing in front of them and telling them what they are saying?

Now, I am not saying that these things only happen in Union or Towns County. Rumors are rampant in most places in our country and at almost every level. High schools have them, colleges have them and even local, state and national government officials have to deal with rumors.

I realize rumors are entertaining and take up time. So, maybe all these people who create these rumors ought to get jobs and or get a life and they might not have so much spare time in which they can create these rumors that actually have the ability to harm others.

I am not sure how to end this rumor mongering, but I feel certain that if some of the creators of these rumors were the subject of rumors themselves, it might create less rumors. I guess it might be like fighting fire with fire.