People

At work the other day a coworkwer came to me upset and close to tears. She is the lead in a group that is working on cleaning the companies network of circuits that are no longer in use, "line cost reduction". Anyway, Some of the folks that work under her were talking behind her back and making rude remarks about her that she overheard, needless to say, upsetting her. Now this is not the first time that this has happened. I have been privy to the many of the conversations that have gone on about her. I never repeat to her what I hear.....what good would that serve other than to upset her more. It seems that she is one of those folks that everyone likes to pick on to make themselves feel better.

Its funny cause I thought this was something that only children did, something that was part of adolescence. I remember the days in elementary school......it was Bonnie and Jackie that everyone was mean to. Bonnie because she came from a poor family, (I grew up in a community where the majority of folks were upper middle class white,) and Jackie because she was nieve and innocent. What was the purpose of that meaness? I don't really know. I always seemed to befriend the underdogs.......I didn't really care about what others thought of me back then......I guess I still don't, unless your one of my few friends. But maybe thats why in High School, after moving to a new state in my Junior year, when I became the focal point of the cruel words and cheap shots, I was lucky enough to find some really close friends in the other "rejects" in the school. We were a collective group of nerds, strange ones, over weight ones, and non natives. I found truer friends in these folks than in most other people. But I guess I have kinda wandered here and getting back to the whole thought of my ramblings, why?? why as adults would we still do this? As adults are we still unable to find worth in oursleves that we have to put others down to make ourselves important? I'm not talking aout the occasional snide remarks make, and I,m not talking about when we are being catty. I'm talking about the constant putting down of someone for no purpose other than to do it.....like children in school.

My coworker is an awesome person. She is bright, intelligent and big hearted. And as it was in HS, she has become one of those wonderful, trusted friends. Its a shame that life can't be like in the movie Shallow Hal, where everyone who is beautiful inside looks beautifulon the ouside, and those who are ugly inside look ugly in appearance as well. What would we all really see??