"To err is to be human" is a true phrase, but "to seek out to criticise, and augement human flaws" is also a much more true motive of many humans.

I can remember being in a bar with some acquaintance. They were not a friend, and not well known to me, but they came with friends I knew well.

They were somewhat intrigued that I wasn't drinking. They asked me why I didn't drink. I didn't tell them why; I thought it funny they would even ask. My real reason is I am too cheap to spend money on booze, and I just get way too tipsy so easily anyway.

They wanted to know more. I can't remember the line of questioning that led to the discussion of drugs, but he mentioned cocaine. Of course my dumb self didn't think he was referring to me. I have never done cocaine and never will.

I then described having annoying roommates who would get all coked out, and after watching them behave like paranoid idiots, I decided to move out. I am one of those people who could walk through a maze of addiction at a party and not feel the least bit interested. Watching people do coke is nothing new to me, I just have no interest.

Weeks later a friend brought up the conversation I had with this guy. The guy- who assumed that because I wasn't drinking, that I must've had some other vice- and that being cocaine. He said I was a major cokehead.

I thought it hilarious considering I think booze is expensive, I certainly as hell couldn't afford coke.

But this type of slash and burn assumption of my character is nothing new. It's this shame game people like to play with others, as sort of a power trip. I have never understood this type of power trip; where you make major assumptions about a person's behavior with the intent of defaming them.

It's as if your mere existence bothers them, and they must defame any good quality they see because they just don't have it in themselves.

I guess it gives someone a sense of power to be the hub of salacious "insider information" on any problems in a person's life. I guess they figure there is less to lose as well when they don't know the person.

I've seen it many times before. I once had a counsellor who was the same way; she seemed to want to imply that all my problems were related to alcohol, even when I hadn't been drinking. I got accused of reeking of alcohol one day, and being heavily intoxicated when I hadn't been drinking; my issue had been depression and they took it upon themselves to ignore that.

My doctor should have been sued, but it's difficult to do that. And once you admit to having a problem-whether it be mental or otherwise- it just seems people want to hang a name on you.

Perhaps it gave them the sense of being authoritative to blame alcohol. I don't know, two zimas in a week hardly accounts for alcoholism.

You see, you probably even think I am a drug addict, or an alcoholic just by what I wrote. But the truth is, I'm definitely neither.

It's as if we can't deal with someone who may be "too good" or too simplistic- so we must complicate things.

It's a game we indulge in; we like to have our victims and our enemies. It gives us something to judge other than ourselves at the end of the day. It's the endless need to spin something to hide some sort of truth.

I was sexually harassed in high school because of the same thing. I never even knew the people who started it, but they seemed to have some vested self serving interest in attacking me- and I think the truth about my life was very threatening to them.

People do this because SOMETHING is a threat (to them). And it is much easier to attack someone you hardly know, because they will be slow to find out the greater part of the truth.

I once remember a Jeff Buckley song, where he refers to "this virus called language." We are swayed by anything as long as it is repeated several times. We end up being "infected" in a way by the spreading of any false information.

Just look at advertising.