Member-only story
Consider the Source
I left middle-school decades ago — didn’t you?
There’s a little game I refuse to play. It’s called, “You can’t be friends with me if you’re friends with [fill in the blank]!” My stock answer to that is, “Fine, I’m sorry you feel that way. I guess we can’t be friends.” I don’t care if the person saying it is my best friend at the time, and [fill in the blank] is someone I hardly know.
I also learned, back in grade school, not to judge someone based on others’ opinions. Oh, granted, others opinions hold some sway; I may be more cautious in getting to know someone if I’ve been given specific reasons to be, or I may be more open if people I trust and respect speak highly of the person. I can also be persuaded by facts — like rap sheets. But opinions and hearsay have no power, and it’s always wise to consider the source of your information or your feelings about something, before acting on it.
Recently, I’ve learned that writers for certain publications on Medium are being shunned by others — not for failing to follow their submission guidelines, and not for the quality of their writing or their professionalism, but quite simply, the equivalent of, “If you choose to publish your work over there, you can’t publish it over here.”
Okay.
