foot in mouth

Have you ever said something stupid?

Something that, even as the words were coming out of your mouth, had you scrabbling in the air to try to drag them back in?

I suffer very badly from foot-in-mouth. You would be horrified by some of the stupid, insensitive things I've said and done in the last 45 years or so.
In fact, if that was all you knew of me, you might not want anything to do with me.

Have a little quick think over some of the dumb things you've said. It's OK, you don't have to tell me (I REALLY don't want to know!)

Now, imagine that after you've said that stupid thing, an acquaintance begins to tell everyone what you said. She gathers a group of people together who call for you to be sacked from your job, and begin a campaign to force your boss to sack you.

Someone tells you they wish you had arse-cancer. Someone else rails on your husband and wants to know why he didn't stop you from saying that thing. Now the group lobbies for your husbands' boss to sack HIM for not shutting you up, or divorcing you for your comment.

Your name and face appear in the local paper, and your children are humiliated at school.

You apologise, but your apology is lost in the clamour and the person you've apologised to refuses to calm the matter down or even publicly accept the apology.

Imagine if all that happened to you. And all you'd done was say something stupid, you hadn't even broken a law.

***

I long for the day when the media in this country grows up. All this shrill, confected outrage over apologies and fake offence is bullshit. I'm sick to death of people being forced to apologise and then their apologies being sneered at.
I'm sick of the lies, the hypocrisy, and the drama.

There are real issues affecting ordinary people in this country right now. Can't we hear about them, instead?