Expectations and Rumors

Rumors...Pass It On

Oftentimes, especially in the adolescent world, rumors can spread quite easily among groups of peers. They can begin with anything as simple as a misunderstanding or mishearing; however they can end in severe ramifications. In fact, the creation of one’s legacy is often the result of these rumors, as reputations are either saved or destroyed by them.

A rumor is defined as “talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source” as well as “a statement or report current without known authority for its truth” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This definition makes it clear that rumors are started due to subjective opinions of a person or event, and therefore are not always truthful. However, if this is true, why is it that we always believe the rumors we hear?

According to Nicholas DiFonzo, professor of social and organization psychology at Rochester Institute of Technology, rumors can be defined quite differently. As he stated in an article titled “The Truth about Rumors and Why We Believe Them,” “A rumor is what you do when you try to figure out the truth with other people.” This would explain quite easily why we tend to believe everything that we hear; as human beings, it is only natural to accept something that we “figure out” and believe to be true.

If it is agreed upon that we believe many of the rumors we hear, it can also be said that we let these rumors affect our perception of people. This can greatly affect their legacies as we see them because sometimes we will remember someone for the rumors that we hear about them. For example, in late 2008 it was discovered that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had been involved in a scandal involving conspiring to solicit bribes from President Obama among other people. While these reports could not be confirmed for some time, the public was already heavily influenced by what the public official might have done. The true extent of this crime may never be known, however the public seems to have made up its mind about how it views Gov. Blagojevich. According to a poll taken prior to his trial (which is set to occur in June of 2010), 70 percent of voters believed that he should resign even before sitting in front of a judge, while only 25 percent of them agreed that he should wait until he is proven guilty. Additionally, there was a landslide 73 percent of voters who supported the governor’s impeachment, while his approval ratings plummeted to 7 percent.*

What does this say about how rumors affect one’s legacy? Even though these crimes against him had not been confirmed officially, people were took precaution after hearing “a report current without known authority for its truth.” They decided that his reputation as a positive and strong governor of the state of Illinois could no longer exist, and that they must give into the rumors and therefore human nature. He is no longer “good” in their eyes, and this will continue to follow him throughout the rest of his years. Hence, his legacy.

*This polled six hundred registered Illinois voters and has a 4% margin of error.

Expectations

Expectation is the act or state of looking forward to something/ the hope that something will happen. As teenagers, we face pressures from our parents and peers to be the perfect person, get the highest grades, and eventually go to the best college. It seems like our society views the "well accomplished person" as one who goes to college then gets a job then gets married and has kids, and so on. Society creates this mold, a future, that they want everyone to reach. The pressure from others and society creates a fake legacy for ourselves. Maybe this conforming is not for everyone; these individuals then must build their own future from scratch.

Continuing the family business is an expectation some family members have for their children. They pass down the business from generation to generation and expect their children to take over after themselves. This expectation creates pressure for the successor because he can no longer chose his own life and also must live up to their greatness of their previous generations. Johnson and Johnson is a worldwide family business, started about 120 years ago. They sell medical and personal care products. It was founded by Robert Wood Johnson in 1886. When he died, his brother James took over and his son Robert Wood Johnson Jr. joined the company. Since then, its been passed down from generation to generation. Recently, Johnson and Johnson heiress, Casey Johnson, passed away at age 30. She was a socialite, actress and partier- not really one to carry on the family tradition. Because of drug use, Casey was cut off from the family fortune. It is clear that carrying the family business was not Casey's future and legacy.

**The movie A Cinderella Story connects to expectations as well. See "Videos" page of this website.