So today I went off to school and found the rest of my clinical group saying a number of negative things about our instructor (who no one can actually deny is a nice man) to another instructor.

It makes me think of Kundera talking of the collective insanity with which people regularly destroy this or that person's career. I recall a story of his where a guy decided to never talk again to a long time friend of his because he didn't speak in his defense when the insanity was being aimed at him. (His friend meanwhile was proud of himself for not talking part in the attack.)

What do I personally do in these situations?

I don't just say nothing. I always speak up on the person's behalf if they even remotely deserve some defense. In fact even if I don't know anything about it I say something and piss the little monkeys off. I've done it everywhere and from this more than anything else in my entire existence I've realized, I'M NOT NORMAL. :(

In this case I had found absolutely no issue at all with our instructor while all the other people in the group bad mouthed him. They know he's been bad mouthed before. Do they understand they could get him fired? Destroy his life? Cause a nervous breakdown or worse?

I'm not sure. I think a few are dumb enough they don't understand this. Some of them are early 20's. But then some are into their 30's like me.

So I spoke up loud and clear that I had no problem with our instructor and tried to help them understand his actions which they had managed to take such offense at. I strongly suggested talking to him instead of going to the head of the department.

But no. They went to the head of the department. I again, made it clear I had no issue with him. If they don't like me for it. I don't care.

He's a good guy. They've at least just caused him a lot of unhappiness that they all went to the department head. Considering he's had such issues before this sort of thing is probably especially wearing on him...

It's all women and one effeminate guy while I'm a not remotely effeminate man and neither is the instructor. That probably plays a role. Hopefully with my defending him the seemingly very very reasonable department head will not do anything horrible. She said words in his defense. Mentioned gender differences... Etc.

Thoughts about this... people suck first and foremost. I think I get the same thing done to me at work to an extent... As far as I can tell some people think it's appropriate to fill any silence with smearing people behind their back. It's like juicy conversation or something....? I suspect they just straight out make up negative crap about others to fill silence. I've always been appalled by it and if I know anything at all about the situation stick up for whoever. If I don't even know who's being talked about I still usually say something. I'm sure I've made enemies as a result.

Which brings up the subject of conformity. I'm still reading Opening Skinner's Box and all the insane conformity experiments. How people will utterly ignore common sense in order to fit in... An experiment where two actors are ignoring smoke pouring into a room and the majority of unwitting test subjects thus insanely do the same as a film of grit covers their body.

Not a chance I'd say nothing as our instructor is being smeared. Not a chance I'd say nothing at work. This is not a world to conform with.

Or are you a panglossist? Is this the best of all possible worlds? Heaven on earth?

It is not a world to conform with, pretending otherwise is unethical, and thus even if I may be potentially hurting myself there is some conformity I'm just not going along with.

And for that matter someone was smearing me at work this last week also. Claiming untrue things. Such tired old crap... but still it does affect me. I don't want to get fired. Also just really annoys me that I have to get dragged down into such stupidity. Unfortunately the bosses don't seem quite so intelligent at work as this department head so the smearing is more of something to be worried about.

That I can see, it's pretty clear that the best defense is a good offense. The notorious back stabbers rise fast. But I'm not going to play.

It's really something how people do it to one another. Such evil little effing monkeys. I think it's just about all they know how to do.

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....but. It's not always this way. I've been in situations where such didn't occur so much. Actually had a recent very good stretch. The main backstabber at work, who rose like a rocket to being considered one of the top CA's in less than a year over people who had been there a decade, snagged herself a doctor and immediately quit without even two weeks notice. There was a nice calm period since she left. And pretty much everyone who's really worked any amount with me likes me. So, it's not all so bad. It can be OK.

The attack on the instructor is because he's being a little tough with people for what he feels is their own good. Trying to get them to figure stuff out on their own instead of immediately having him take over.

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...so then of course immediately after writing this crap I go out to dinner to a meatchain with wife and a few of her work people and all they do the whole time is make fun of/talk bad about people they work with.