I asked someone at the village recently if the dairy co-op sold [specific cheese] and she said yes they do, and I said oh I’ll pop by then, I haven’t seen that cheese at the grocery shop for a while, apparently their local supplier is giving them trouble, and the woman I was talking to scowled and said, “the dairy co-op is their supplier and my son works there and yes they’ve suspended deliveries but they’re not the problem” in a combative tone, clearly assuming I had sworn allegiance to the enemy in this dispute I didn’t know existed. It reminded me of how last spring I was saying that I’d seen a really cute foal while driving by [specific farm] and the person I was talking to scowled and said this foal’s mother was a terrible aggressive horse who shouldn’t have been allowed to reproduce and once again I just stood there awkwardly
There are mysterious and antagonistic connections between everyone in rural communities and the only way to be safe is to never mention anyone to anyone else. You say something about a sweet baby goat you can’t discount the possibility that this goat’s great-grandmother kicked your interlocutor’s third cousin in the leg in 1996 and now you’ve unwittingly taken a side in this longstanding feud