<<The Old School Busybody.


Usually the things I write about here on this wonderful blog are aimed at parents. I like to talk to parents about changing the way they parent.

I want parents to start giving their young children freedom and independence.  I want parents to teach kids how to use their own minds to make decisions.  I tell parents to encourage boredom instead of constant video screen stimulation to engage a creative mind.  And believe it or not, I sometimes get feedback that says my doing so means I’m not being a supportive parent.  That I need to be helping parents rather than yelling at them.  I am helping them, I say, BY yelling at them.  But at least I am talking directly to them.

But as of late, these two things have happened.  Click here and then here.

Mothers being arrested for giving their children the independence they so desperately need.  JAILED. CHARGED WITH A FELONY.  Had their children taken away from them and put into protective custody.

You know why? Because of the Busybody.  This is the person who uses their excessive amount of free time to monitor others.  The Busybody is regularly engaged in things like calling Animal Control to rescue the dog that looks like it got out, but is actually contained by an invisible fence.  The Busybody loves drama.  They love to be a part of taking down a Bad Guy.  This is because they can then talk about the horrible dog situation and how THEY saved the day! 

The problem with a Busybody is that they are too busy chasing down the wrong Bad Guy.  They never have the whole story. Just the bits and pieces that make the Bad Guy seem really bad and the Busy Body seem like some sort of super hero.

Deep down, a Busybody is someone who’s too scared to confront any situation head on and figure out the right course of action.  The Busybody is just an adult tattletale who is too chicken to ask his neighbor to please remember to put his garbage on the left side of the driveway.  So he calls the police. 

I’m sick of you, Busybody. You’re an annoyance who serves only to hurt a situation, not solve it for the better.  In the stories above, you caused irreversible trauma to single parents, to children, and turned the term “it takes a village,” into “I’m watching you and I’ll call the police.”

It occurred to me that many Busybodies might not know that they are in fact, Busy.  So I’ve put together a top ten list of Busybody characteristics. 

Top Ten Characteristics of a Busy Body

1.    You have a cell phone programmed with the Police non-emergency number.  And you’ve called it.  More than twice.

2.    You regularly post things on Facebook about dire emergencies, children maybe going missing, rumors about men
hiding under cars in mall parking lots, health scares etc and say, “This may not be a real thing but in case it was, I had to post it!”

3.    You regularly comment on Facebook rumor mongering posts like the ones mentioned in #2 saying things like, “The world is just not as safe as it was when I was growing up.”

4.    You’re regularly on Facebook.

5.    You know every rule and regulation in your community HOA bylaws.  And you feel like it’s your job to let everyone else know what they are.

6.    You are a card carrying member of the HOA.

7.    You have a tumor on your head in the shape of your cell phone.

8.    You’ve taken pictures of what you feel are injustices – like a car in the wrong parking spot - and have posted them to your Facebook page in the hopes that everyone will be on board with such injustices.

9.    When you are with your friends, the biggest subject of the conversation is other people’s lives.  Or this blog. Same thing.

And finally, number TEN in the Top Ten Characteristics of a Busy Body…

10.    You live in my neighborhood.

This will no doubt be someone you know.  But if it isn’t, then it’s you.  And folks, ain’t nothing we can do about a Busy Body except butter em up and hope that when you don’t return your airplane seat to its full and upright position (because you’re suffering from a debilitating back problem) that they won’t press the flight attendant button and have you thrown off the plane. 

 

Meet Santa, the original Busybody.  Sees you when you're sleeping. Knows when you're awake. Knows bad and good, etc.