Being nice

I've been, recently, trying at work not to say/think anything mean about people. I failed miserably today when faced with a certain dour person who insists on saying mean things himself. Is it more mean to ignore comments like that? Is that then mean to the mean person? Is it still mean if they're mean? People sometimes say things which have a profound effect on the life of the person they are said about. Usually a thoughtless, throwaway comment too. I'm trying to think about these things before I say them. Bad enough I should think them, but even I'm not perfect ;)