May 4, 2011
Judge Tom
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Lessons from Glee: Rumors aren’t cool

The backstabbing and rumor-spreading in last night’s episode of Glee led to the club covering Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ album.

Photo by Keith McDuffee

Between Brittany’s gossipy online talk show ‘Fondue for Two’ (which combined her two favorite things – hot cheese and talking to people) and the school’s newspaper, the Muckraker, the rumors were flying. Will was supposedly leaving the club to pursue his dreams on Broadway. Finn and Rachel go on a stakeout which results in rumors that Kurt and Quinn both were cheating on their boyfriends with Sam. When the truth is revealed, the club comes together and does a rockin’ rendition of “Don’t Stop.”

Super uncool real-life examples of vicious rumor spreading:

1. Three middle school students in Georgia wrote nasty things about a teacher on Facebook including that he was a child molester, a rapist and bipolar. Two of the students were suspended and one was expelled.  

2. Last month two high school girls in Florida were charged with cyberstalking for creating a fake Facebook profile of a former friend and making sexually explicit comments as though she was available to men in her area. They also photoshopped a woman’s nude body to her photo.

3. This high school athlete’s reputation as a good student and athlete was damaged after 4 teenage boys created a fake Facebook profile of him. They posted sexual statements claiming that he was gay and obscenities to make him appear to be racist (including one about President Obama). The profile was up for a month before Facebook took it down.

These are cruel and mean-spirited examples of rumors being spread deliberately to hurt another person. Don’t fall prey to someone’s act of cruelness by helping spread such lies.

So tell us,  have you been the victim of a nasty rumor?  What happened and how was it resolved? And to the Glee fans, what was your favorite “Rumours” song from this episode?

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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1 Comment

  • Oklahoma City Divorce Attorney Matt Ingham
    July 2, 2011 11:53 am count( 0 )

    One of the most difficult aspects of high school life is having to deal with the gossip. In most every high school, there are individuals who make it their business to stir up gossip. Gossip is uncool and ultimately karma comes back to bite the perpetrator.

    My advice is that you stir clear of the gossips and if you are going to discuss other people’s business, do so in a positive way.
    sound advice, thanks, Matt.