Parrot-ing

 

"It is just as cowardly to judge an absent person as it is wicked to strike a defenseless one. Only the ignorant and narrow-minded gossip, for they speak of persons instead of things.” ~ Lawrence G. Lovasik

It is an election year in Kenya and with it the politics season of truths, half-truths, outrageous promises, slander and smear campaigns. The media – mainstream, social, backstreet – all of it, is full of ‘juicy’ tales of who said what, who accused the other, exposés, and everything in between. All of this circus is directed to would-be voters in the hope that you will be swayed one way and not the other, to the benefit of the eventual winners.

Recently, a close friend told me they’d heard that so and so was spending all their time at so and so’s place plotting how they would do thus and such. I looked at my friend and waited to see if they had completed their discourse and when I was sure they had, I asked them some questions: Do you have any proof of it? If so, so what? What business is it of yours how someone spends their time and with whom? Does that information in any way affect your schedule tomorrow, your bank account now, your well being, ever?

Was I rude? Was I unfeeling? Yes and No. See, self-care is a big priority for me. Consuming baseless, useless gossip is a big no-no. My questions not only helped to redirect our conversation away from useless talk, they also (hopefully) gave a guide to my friend to sift information in future. It also served as a boundary setting opportunity for our relationship – they will know what not to discuss with me in future.

As a user of social media, I realize that I cannot avoid all gossip as the algorithms find a way to ‘suggest’ content to me that I have no need for. Sometimes that content is ‘innocently’ sneaked in as current affairs updates. But this does not absolve me of responsibility. I will not be the vessel that is used to propagate gossip so it ends with me. I will not forward it, share it nor discuss it. And Proverbs 17:4 reminds me that “Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander.”

In 2020, a British wildlife sanctuary was forced to separate five parrots that would not stop cursing the f*** word at visitors. These 5 were encouraging each other off of the reaction of visitors to their language and soon other parrots at the sanctuary were beginning to copy them. Obviously, the ‘birds of a feather’ adage was not far from the truth. In humans, we soon become like the 5 people we spend the most time with and what would that make us if all 5 are gossips?!!

Newspapers, bloggers and influencers are all paid to put out their content and the stakes in such a highly charged political season will keep going higher as the D-day approaches. When you and I pick up that content, unverified, unsolicited, unconfirmed and help to spread it, we do so for free – earning nothing for our trouble. The hidden cost though is the tarnishing of our souls, the festering wounds of hate based on untruths about others we do not know, and a senseless programming with rhetoric that leads us to mistrust our neighbor just because a self-seeking politician told you so. Guard your soul this season and do not avail yourself of the pro-bono job of devil’s advocate.

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.” ~ Will Rogers

“I’m not a gossip. The worst thing anyone can say to me is, ‘Ooh, I’ve got some gossip.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, shut up.’” ~ Jane Fallon