You Down With O.P.P.?

I'm sure a lot of you had ”naughty” thoughts going through your head, but I'm talking about "Other People's Problems.” It can be in an everyday conversation, on the news, in a magazine, etc, but people love to hear about other people's problems. Could it be they want to take themselves away from their own problems or do they truly enjoy it? I even think in some cases it's that age-old case of pure jealousy. The subject of the bad news doesn't matter. It could be divorces, financial problems, or just flat-out gossip, but people will take it and run with it. When people's problems become public knowledge is it their fault because they repeated it to someone? Unfortunately, in most cases, I would say yes. My mother always told me to tell people what you want them to know and be cautious of what it is you tell them and what they tell you. Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you, it's an on-going chain.

When you tell someone something in confidence, how can you sure that person isn't going to repeat it? This is especially true if you are in the public eye. Just because you live in the public eye doesn't mean it's okay to have your personal problems out in the open because a family member or a so called friend needs some extra cash. However, you don't have to be in the public eye to have your business put out there for everyone, because, as we all know, it's a large world, but it becomes very small when it comes to gossip. It's nuts, but it's reality. If you notice the type of gossip that spreads quickly is always negative, it's very rare that you get a " I have to tell you something, but don't tell anyone” message about something positive that's happened in someone's life. What I will never understand is how someone can get any type of satisfaction from someone else's problems. I mean really, does it make you a better person; does it pay your bills? How much weight do you put on the story being absolutely true? Trust, I've been on the receiving end of negative stories where something small can turn into something huge within two seconds or maybe even less LOL. My question to you is, are you down with O.P.P.? No, not me! I'm down with M.O.P. (My Own Problems)!

"What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth.” ~Jewish Proverb