Mind Your Own Business

"Mind your own business" is one of those phrases that we throw out when we feel that someone has crossed a boundary, is "telling us what to do". I know I don't enjoy unsolicited advice: I don't want people suggesting to me what I should photograph, or what kind of writing I should do, what foods to cook, or what books I ought to read. Like many people, if I want your input I'll ask for it. However, the few times I ever hear someone tell me to mind my own business is when I have intervened in a situation where someone is being violent or abusive. I inserted myself into a situation recently that could have gotten physical, a man aggressively harassing  a woman on the street; he was aghast that I was interfering with him. On several occasions over the last few years I have spoken up when I saw a customer treating a retail employee badly. I've always replied that I had just made it my business.

Contrary to the mindset of abusers, no one has the right to use their power over others to treat people badly.

And that's what it is, misuse, abuse, of power.

We've recently, rightly, cast a spotlight on powerful men sexually abusing less powerful women. One of the reasons that it continued for as long as it did (and let's not be naive, still continues) was that those who saw it happening, heard about it happening, had it reported to them, did nothing. But the opportunity to speak up, to step in, to intervene, occurs every day in a variety of situations. Schoolyard bullying, nasty customers, martinet bosses, it doesn't always, or even often, happen behind closed doors.

It's everybody's business.