"Be as protective of every Jew's reputation as if he/she were our own brother or sister"
[See Chofetz Chaim Daily Companion, Day 25 pp. 50-51]
The aim of Sefer Sh'mirat Halashon is to engender "brotherly" [or sisterly] love amongst all Jews. If we succeed in acquiring this, lashon hara would only be applied in cases of danger.
For example, we would "rat" on our own brother or sister to the authorities if they were C"V abusing their own kids! Our brotherly love would be set aside in order to protect the victims. Classic To'elet.
But to say something negative w/o a tangible positive motive is verboten.
EG "I aced Professor Toughie while my brother flunked him" serves only to boost our egos via "the low road"
There indeed may be gray areas. What if a very nice "brother" is not abusing kids, but IS abusing alcohol? Do we run to our Brother's wife to tell?
In those cases I recommend consulting a Rabbi or Health-care professional FIRST. We should endeavour to make sure our motives are "pure" as can be before making "trouble".
IOW, if negative news MUST be related, it should be for non-egotistical motives and come from a "brotherly" attitude.
KT
RRW
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