We all say it. Every woman I know says, “I hate drama” or “I’m too old for drama” or some other variation. So then why do we do it? Why do we get tangled up in gossip even when we have the best intentions at heart? We all fall victims to ourselves, relishing in the spread of information that was never ours to receive. Why don’t we stop it when it starts? Instead we justify and say, “Well I know I’m not going to tell anyone” or “We should pray for this couple”. Why do we rationalize gossip?
I could give you my opinions. The same ones you probably share. We want to feel better about ourselves or we want to feel included, we want to fit in or seem like we are “in the know”. But when we all have seen and have fallen victims to gossip and the damage it does and the hurt it creates. Why do we continue?
Let me ask you this tough question: Are you a mean girl? Am I? Yes. Irrevocably, yes. If we participate in the dirt on someone’s marriage or the elective surgeries of someone in a friend circle, we are mean girls.
Have you ever been caught gossiping? There is so much shame. So much shame in knowing I couldn’t stop myself. So much shame knowing I cared more about hearing what was wrong in someone else’s life than about doing something to build them up. So much shame knowing that feeling like I was being included was more important than reaching out to the person who was being left out and singled out.
It’s so ugly. It’s so mean. We are better than this. We need to shut it down and shut ourselves up.
P.S. Any information or conversations I have with ANYONE I keep confidential. Recently, I have experienced a situation where that same courtesy was not given to me. And it hurt. I got hurt.
Lauren Blauw 