Strange World

So, the other day I was sitting in a gathering which included my aunties, their cousins, and family friends. I was half-listening. I wasn't interested in other people's crap. I'm a woman. I love gossip, but only when it's about someone who directly affects my life. My mom nudged me, so I listened.

They were talking about this lady (I know her personally). She's one of those very social, always kashkha, always in heels even if they make her wobble ladies. Anyway, her son divorced his wife a couple of years ago. He has a few kids. I can't remember how many. Their mother doesn't want them around. He fell for this girl. The girl is known to be a witch (replace the "w" with a "b"). His mom kept asking him whether or not he was involved with her because she heard rumors. Nosy ladies were telling her that it was true. Her son denied everything. A couple of months later, he married the girl. His mother disowned him. No inheritance. Nothing. I can see why it would be interesting to some people, but I wasn't interested because I don't give two shits what happens with them. The guy isn't my cousin. The girl isn't my friend. The lady is just there. The ladies at the gathering get a first hand account of the story from the lady.

The ladies at the gathering were gasping and exclaiming on how guilty and shameful the son must be for embarrassing his mother? WTF?! The lady brought the embarrassment to herself! I mean, she could've minimized the effect of the story by at least ten times. She could have ignored the rumors and pretend that she wasn't bothered by them. She could have kept the confrontations she had with her son private. She could have pretended to be okay with her son marrying that girl. The disowning and all that could have stayed private. Why did this lady have to go and tell and retell the story to all her friends? Why did she have to tell everyone about disowning her son? I say it's all her fault. She brought all the attention to herself. She encouraged people to talk about this sad story. Her son married a girl he loves. Try and accept it instead of showing the public how negative it is! Shame on you, lady. Shame.

I said all of this to my mom. She didn't completely agree. I asked her why she nudged me. Why did she want me to listen to the story? She said it was so I would understand that the world is strange. Yes, but the question is: Could get any stranger? A lady is advertising the shame of her family for people to discuss. Could it get any stranger? This just doesn't make sense to me.