My apologies in advance, I’m a little ticked off.
A very good friend of mine came to me today upset. She’d been called out by a mutual acquaintance and made to feel about two inches tall.
As she retold the conversation I recognized a lot of the stuff “someone” had said about her. That “someone” was me, only the context was twisted in such a way that the meaning was completely reversed.
Being quoted is flattering, being deliberately misquoted to hurt someone is definitely not cool.
And I’m not talking a teenager or young adult here, The mis-quoter is old enough to be a grandparent. Needless to say I’m extremely disappointed in this person and more than a little aghast at the entire scenario.
One of my favourite sayings is:
If something I say can be taken two ways and one hurts, I meant it the other way.
When my friend found out it was me who had been quoted, her shoulders immediately relaxed and she smiled. “Oh, well that puts and entirely different spin on it if you said it.” It took less that three seconds to make her feel better and grow back to her full height.
For this I am eternally grateful.
So please, if you’re going to quote someone, use your quotes for good not evil!