no

ditto

yes.
my hometown was full of gossips

yes. when i was about 16 i was on a competitive sports team that traveled around the country. some of the girls got very b*tchy on one trip and when we came back they were telling stories about me and one other girl.

none of the stories were true and my parents insisted on a team meeting with all of the girls and their parents,where i had to stand up in front of everyone and say things like "there was a rumour that i went out after curfew and had sex with someone i met in the lobby. that isn't true. i never left my room after curfew. i was never without at least one other team member when i was away from my room. does anyone here have anything to say to the contrary". when i started talking i felt like i was going to throw up. but as i went on i saw how people were more nervous that i was. some of them HAD broken the rules and some of them had been making things up about me.

that really taught me something about standing up for myself and not being afraid to speak the truth or say what people don't want to hear. it was probably the best lesson of my entire childhood now that i think about it. that one talk changed the way i viewed myself and the way other people viewed me.

Everyday apparently, but only to clear up lies and assumptions by minimally educated or informed people.

I know some family members who should do this!

yup.

i've never had to do that for myself, but i can really feel sorry for the stress that it puts people through when/if they have to do it. for Britney, i feel like for the last year, she's had to make an effort to show people that she's really made an effort to change. i hope that she's able to get everyone back on her side since we know that she had reasons to be the way she was. now that we know that she was bipolar and not on meds, it makes a lot more sense...