Is it possible to withdraw a bad remark uttered by word of mouth? Is there any method of deleting it or make the listener forget it, especially if it is an attack on his personality? Recent development at the internet is that you can retrieve an e-mail if sent either erroneously or in terrible anger. It’s only on the internet, mind you.
I read a wonderful news item in today’s news paper. Let’s say, you have framed an angry e-mail to some one and sent it off in a moment of fury and within seconds you have realized that you ought not to have transmitted such a damaging stuff ever. What will you do? You will possibly condemn yourself and reflect, “How foolish of me…..!” You don’t have to do all that henceforth, friend. You can cancel the angry mail if you regret it within 5 seconds. All you have to do is to press the “undo send” button but remember to do it before 5 seconds elapse.
It is very nice of Gmail to design this system. But then our reaction time would be invariably more than 5 seconds. 5 seconds pass pretty fast, you know?
Anyway, while this privilege is all right on internet, for what it is worth, how do you withdraw a bad remark or a censure conveyed by word of mouth; it doesn’t matter whether you uttered the diatribe over the telephone or on face to face basis. You just can’t delete it or press the ‘undo send’ button. And if that castigation has been directed on your next door neighbour who is older to you, the consequences could be disastrous. No amount of pacifying, even after an interval of 15 seconds, will reverse the situation.
That’s what happened to me the other day. I had felt sorry all right, terribly sorry for that matter but the word has gone into his ears instantly and it just couldn’t be retrieved or suppressed. My elderly neighbour has very sensitive ears though his eye sight is somewhat weak.
Will someone please design a contraption which could completely ‘delete’ your voice transmission directed against someone, anyone. If deletion is not possible, how about ‘forget’? The damage had been done in my case. And my neighbour won’t come for a walk with me any more. How stupid of me to have spoilt years long good relations. Would he forgive and forget the slander ! Could someone design a ‘forget’ switch?
What did I tell him? You ask. “Shut up, you big mouth.”
——————–
Israel Jayakaran
Welcome to Authspot, the spot for creative writing.
Read some stories and poems, and be sure to subscribe to our feed!
