Bugs

It seems that every day I see at least one post on my social media about "This place has bugs!  Don't go there!"  I'm actually a little jealous of the ignorance of those posting such things.  Yes, it is possible that the place has an infestation, but there is no need to engage in possible slander and/or libel, especially if the situation has been handled.  Restaurants in particular go through periodic inspections and any sign of infestation is dealt with ASAP or the Board of Health will close them down.

I can't tell you how many times I've been told not to eat "there" because someone saw a roach there once.  Never mind the excellent reports the Board of Health gives the place, the apparent cleanliness, and the fact that I personally have seen no evidence of critters.  Never mind that the manager of the place either was not informed or dealt with the situation appropriately.  Just don't eat there ever because someone may or may not have seen a roach there.

A roach can climb into the bag of a schoolchild, ride to school in comfort, crawl out later.  From there, it gets into someone else's bag.  That person stops at the store on the way home, the roach crawls across the floor, up a cart, and into yet another bag.  Shopper stops at a local diner for a quick bite and the roach is now in a restaurant.  Probably gonna die soon, though, because public buildings and businesses use pest control.  That bug was in a home, a school, a grocery, and a restaurant - all in one day.  They get around, is what I'm saying.  All insects do.

Then there's the question of identification.  I was once shown a "bed bug" that looked nothing like a bed bug.  The person who identified this horribly deformed bed bug proceeded to tell anyone who would listen all about it.  Don't go there, she said, they got bed bugs. Even after the place was cleared by pest control professionals.  (I'm pretty sure the bug in question was actually a mayfly.)

Oh, and every red bump that appears on you after being in a public place isn't a bed bug bite.

Fraud is always fun.  I could use a stock photo of some sort of vermin and claim I took it in my hotel room (the white background is the sheet or wall).  I could falsely claim the management laughed in my face when I showed them the horrible infestation.  I could go all over social media making these claims and even people who do not know me, who have never even heard of me, are telling folks about the Hotel Filth.

I have no doubt many of those sharing these things have good intent.  Just please, everyone, stop and think before you hit share.  Are you sure this isn't an over-reaction?  A mistake?  An outright lie?  You could be ruining someones reputation, even their livelihood.  What if the accuser was talking about your workplace, your school, your home?