Gossip, good or bad?

This, believe it or not, was a question given during a recent class. The question was given in reference to a scene in “Band Of Brothers” in which 3 or 4 enlisted men were standing around discussing a LT who was rumoured to have shot 20 German POW’s. The question being, was this sort of gossip good, or was it bad. One opinion put forth that while some gossip is bad, gossip of this sort is good, because it causes the soldiers to fear that LT. It is my belief, that gossip, no matter which kind, is always bad. In the scenario given, the soldiers feared the LT yes, but in that context were afraid of him. Why would anyone, looking to gain respect, want their soldiers afraid? To fear a person is one thing, but to be afraid is another matter. I should mention here though, that the word fear does have 2 meanings: 1. to be in reverential awe of, and 2. to be afraid of.
Today seems to be starting off alright, hopefully it stays that way. I recieved an email from a very good friend of mine who recently had the opportunity to go see the president in a rally, at which my friend was also recognized as being a soldier serving in Iraq. Pretty cool experience for him:) Life is interesting in the curve balls it throws us. Some good, some bad, but every now and again we can indeed hit the ball out of the ball park:)