The Correctors
By Amber
@AmbiePam (92711)
United States
November 11, 2009 1:52pm CST
I wonder sometimes how they (the correctors) can enjoy things around them. You know, people who seem to run around with a rule book, waiting to correct someone if they get even close to "coloring outside the lines"? Now don't take my words out of context, I'm not talking about laws, or in situations where someone's life could be in danger.
A woman in my apartment complex got a new puppy. She was holding it, and I was outside with her, as well as a couple of other residents of the complex, cooing to the puppy and basically talking to it like people do to cute puppies. 
Another woman came out of her apartment and started griping that dogs were not to be let outside without their leash. The puppy's owner never put the dog on the ground! The puppy was around 2 lbs., and the woman had no intention of putting it down. But the woman came out soley for that purpose, quoting directly from the rules we were given when we moved in, about dogs not being outside without their leash. I'm sure some of you are thinking well the dog could harm a child (it also happened to be when kids were in school), it's still a rule...the point is the dog was not on the ground, was never going to be on the ground, was clearly a timid puppy, and the woman was throwing a fit.
I don't know if some people are control freaks, or maybe they just prefer order, but I normally don't see these people having fun. I had a friend who used to correct other people's English. She stopped doing that when she became an adult, but every time she did that the person she was chastising would roll their eyes. No one wanted to be around her much (she cracked me up). Sure, life's not just about having fun (as many of us know very well), but it is sad when people go around trying to pop everyone else's balloon.
Once again, don't take what I'm saying out of context, because I'm sure some of you will want to. This is just something that I've been thinking about since last week when the puppy incident happened. Hope everyone has a nice day!
Another woman came out of her apartment and started griping that dogs were not to be let outside without their leash. The puppy's owner never put the dog on the ground! The puppy was around 2 lbs., and the woman had no intention of putting it down. But the woman came out soley for that purpose, quoting directly from the rules we were given when we moved in, about dogs not being outside without their leash. I'm sure some of you are thinking well the dog could harm a child (it also happened to be when kids were in school), it's still a rule...the point is the dog was not on the ground, was never going to be on the ground, was clearly a timid puppy, and the woman was throwing a fit.
I don't know if some people are control freaks, or maybe they just prefer order, but I normally don't see these people having fun. I had a friend who used to correct other people's English. She stopped doing that when she became an adult, but every time she did that the person she was chastising would roll their eyes. No one wanted to be around her much (she cracked me up). Sure, life's not just about having fun (as many of us know very well), but it is sad when people go around trying to pop everyone else's balloon.
Once again, don't take what I'm saying out of context, because I'm sure some of you will want to. This is just something that I've been thinking about since last week when the puppy incident happened. Hope everyone has a nice day!8 people like this
19 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
11 Nov 09
hi ambiepam that's a great name for them the correctors.wow.they seem to know all the rules by heart and go around making sure we all know them. I wonder sometimes
if they ever just relax and set the rule book down for awhile. must get
tiresome always having to go around correcting everyone. I still get'
irritated at times when someone on here comes out with saying I am warning
'all you mylotters,you must do so and so. I just want to answer and if I do
'not so what you going to report me? My son used to correct my English until
I got teed off and told him Ihad a BA in English. Now he doesn't do that any'
more. Too bad that woman could not have relaxed and enjoyed talking to the woman with the new puppy and you, she might actually have had some fun, heaven forbid.
4 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
27 Nov 09
thanks ambiepam for the best response sorry I am so late getting around to things, 
@Phaedra_Scythe (3325)
•
11 Nov 09
That's a bit of an overreaction about the puppy! Poor little mite!
Maybe the lady was really afraid of dogs? On the other hand maybe she was just a moody crank!
4 people like this
@Phaedra_Scythe (3325)
•
11 Nov 09
I bet it's spoiled rotten and she shares ice cream cones with it. 
4 people like this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
11 Nov 09
well I for one didnt see anything wrong with that she was holding it for heaven sakes.
Sounds like my neighbor wanting ME to cut down my 10 foot ceder tree .
not hers and its been here way befor the houses were built as the roots are way down under ever thihng!
3 people like this
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
12 Nov 09
This reminds me of my ex neighbour. I used to live next to a block of appartments and there was one middle aged woman there who thought she was the queen bee. She told me about 69889789 times that her son was a doctor....I used to think 'woop de do lady'. She also told me that the best cat is a flat cat. She told me this right after asking if the cat in my yard was mine. I said yes and she proceeded to say the above line.
Anyway I was looking after my other neighbour's dog (he lived on the other side of me) and the dog got out of the house. She ran up the street and into dragon lady's appartment block. My friend and I were chasing her yelling out for the dog to come. She was just running up and down the driveway dodging us, she wasn't going up the stairs to anyone's actual appartments or anything.
So then dragon lady came out and said 'Why isn't she on a leash?' My friend said under his breath 'why aren't you on a leash...' before explaining to her that the dog had escaped.
My point is, some people can't help themselves. They have nothing better to do. If the lady in your complex used her common sense she would have realised that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the lady bringing the puppy out for a little while. She was holding the puppy, and I think the keyword here is puppy! Not fully grown ferocious terrier! This lady should be ignored. Yes, those correctors are mighty annoying, if not sometimes amusing.
3 people like this
@AmbiePam (92711)
• United States
12 Nov 09
I'd say you definitely had a problem on your hands! It seems like there are people everywhere like that, online or offline. I think they are missing out on a lot by not just letting go and thinking about people before the rules they think the people are "violating".
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
11 Nov 09
I call them social directors....making sure we are all politically correct.....like have you ever noticed when a bunch of people go out to eat there is usually one at the table giving directions to the wait staff or others at the table...correcting them about what they should/could eat? Or how about those who are on the sidelines just waiting for someone to mess up...I don't think they do have any fun....control addicts...maybe....insecure...maybe but I think the lady just needed to have attention like the puppy was getting....really sad isnt' it?
3 people like this
@Godmother (476)
• Indonesia
12 Nov 09
I had a neighbor like that once when I lived in an apartment(thank God, I've moved !). And we were put together as a team to finish a task for several months (in connection to the renovation of our building), and oh WOW....sometimes I could scream to her. She asked questions like a detective, wrote everything down, corrected other peoples comment, got high strung at everything done not in sequences. it was hell...you couldn't even say something silly just for laughs. people were running away or hiding from her.
Indeed I raised my voice a couple of times, or just butt in between her sentences to save the situation. I was so glad when everything's over, and when I moved out, I never gave my new number to her.
3 people like this
@KarenO52 (2950)
• United States
12 Nov 09
That lady must be a fun Nazi. Those types come out of the woodwork and stick their nose in, trying to spoil it whenever anyone is having fun, or just having a pleasant time. She's probably one of those people that no one really wants to be around, and a very miserable person.
3 people like this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
Ambie...I have stumbled across soooooo MANY people like this in my life-time...and NOW the only way that I can deal with them is to IGNORE them. They sap the energy right out of me! What is up, with them...obviously they DO NOT have a life of their own, as they have to meddle in everyone else's! Out of the 16 Units, that I care for at the Senior's home, there is TWO residents just like that and BOY do I spend a lot of time ignoring & biting my tongue...and they are SO verbal, and NEVER seem happy about anything! Just a small example, last year, on my own time & energy, I went out a collected 16 small trees, and left them for them to choose from. 14 of the 16 tenants, thot I had made thier Xmas..these two complained about the condition of the trees, and the fact that I had cut them down! OUCH! I didn't take/have the time to explain, they had been cut from Hydro easements, of which we are encouraged to do! Even tho' I try to ignore...I do go away feeling stressed and maligned! Thanks for letting me vent, did me good! Take care & have a great one, Ambie! Cheers!
2 people like this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Rules are meant to be broken. Fun is meant to be had. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, why bother correcting? I used to correct people's english too, but I think that was mostly online as in grammatical errors. I don't do that anymore. The puppy wasn't harming anyone, and the owner wasn't harming anyone by holding the puppy! Unless they (the complaintant) is the highest authority there at that time, then she had no business concerning herself with what the woman did!
3 people like this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
11 Nov 09
i KNOW EXACTLY the type of person u are talking about Ambie & i despise to be around people like that. I don't think it's anones place to correct people's spelling, pronunciation or anthing like that. I think it very rude. I think they just want to be the center of attention & don't know how to be w/out being rude. I would have told the woman to stuff it if i had been the owner of the puppy. They can't have any friends acting like that. It's sad really but i wouldn't want to be around someone that acted like that al;l the time. I probably would be rude to her.
3 people like this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
12 Nov 09
Some people just aren't happy unless they are throwing their weight around. The puppie's owner should get a leash to stick in her back pocket, so that the puppy is not out 'without a leash'. The rules don't specifically say that it had to be attached, right? I wouldn't think there'd be a problem while she's holding it anyway. Hope she never moves over hear...she'd be in her glory.
3 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Nov 09
I've met a l.ot of peole like that. My eldest sister being one of them! They are such a pain and you are so right - usually very unhappy with themselves. And Oh, they can be so righteous!!!!
3 people like this
@Sweetchariot (1718)
• United States
12 Nov 09
Defintely a neighbor that I would not want to live near..lol! I hope someone corrected her, that the puppy was being held, and was not going to be allowed on the property without a leash....Everyone should have defended the dog's owner, and straightened that neighbor out. If everyone sat idly by, and didn't say a word to her, than she will continue to think she has won. I would've put her in her place fast.
3 people like this
@Apple3Cranberry (678)
• United States
11 Nov 09
What fun stories! for all reasons, perhaps his woman just wanted to be included. And as she didn't know an of you, the best way to become involved in the commotion was to wave her hands in a startling rhythm and sing a startling song. I'm sure she just wanted to say hello to the puppy, and perhaps was even overly worried it would get away and get lost.
Perhaps she feels alone and ostracized for some reason in the community of apartment dwellers. And when spotting a fresh life-form she has care and is suddenly happy and alert! Why not take extra precautions for something so precious? Perhaps because of her suffering (for being different-it doesn't sound like you had welcomed her) she knows the value of life and wants something to succeed.
I would think that if a person isn't used to apartment life, being there might be hard!
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (92711)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Welcomed her? She has lived there a long time. We are nothing but nice to her. But that day she looked out her patio door, saw the puppy, came out and before we could say anything, threw a fit. I'm always nice to people because I don't know what they are going through. But even people who have it hard don't have to go out of their way to be rude.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
12 Nov 09
Some people just need to lighten up a little bit, although I fear that a little of the corrector lurks in my soul on some subjects. It is kind of the adult version of being a tattle tale, don't you think? Or it is like pouting and saying "It's just not fair!!", but wake up, life is not always fair.
1 person likes this
@skysuccess (8858)
• Singapore
12 Nov 09
AmbiePam,
If she's not the apartment's management committee, then I suppose she's the one in need of a flea collar and a leash. Oh! I forgot a muffler, too.
I just cannot stand the sight of these people, let alone listen to their senseless rantings. Anyway, since they are around, I usually would look for ways to have some fun at their expense. Other than that, it will be the transparent treatment.
I can't imagine what they are like behind our backs but I can assure you it is nothing near fanciful. How could there be a life for fools?
"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."- Douglas Bader.
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
19 Nov 09
Some people clearly don't have a life, or they would be out living it instead of meddling in other people's business.
If I had been there, I would have thanked her kindly for pointing the rule out, told her that there was no intention of putting the puppy on the ground, and reminded her that she wasn't invited into the conversation. But I'm mean 
People that are like that are often jealous. She probably wanted a puppy like that herself, or was jealous that you got to 'get up close' to the puppy. Sad but true I'm afraid.
People that are like that are often jealous. She probably wanted a puppy like that herself, or was jealous that you got to 'get up close' to the puppy. Sad but true I'm afraid.1 person likes this
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
12 Nov 09
I have somebody like that in my office. He thinks of nothing the whole day but how to put down the people he doesn't like and only chats amicably with the people he considers to be his friends. It works around the clock, though, he once admitted that his son would like nothing better than to be rid of him and he is known to be the one to upset a relationship. Sad people, I think, and they are not happy. It only takes just a bit of the right thing to totally upset this guy.
1 person likes this
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
18 Nov 09
I know exactly what you mean. The other day I was picking my son up from school and there was a line of cars. I was waiting for the crossing guard to cross some kids and the I crossed the intersection to get in line to pick up my son. The very tip of my bumber was on the cross walk but the cars ahead of me were moving up quickly and in less than 30 seconds I would have been off of it. The crossing guard starts yelling at me that I can stop there, I tried telling her that I would be moving forward in just a second, I was just waiting for the car in front of me to move. Still she insisted so I had to get out of line and drive around the block and come back as I was forced to pull out the car in front of me moved just as I knew it would so because this lady could not give me 10 seconds she cost me 5 minutes of time. Just because she had to a rule stickler over something that would only occur for a few seconds. I just kept thinking really human of you lady. I was pretty angry, but I told myself to calm down and just forget about it, it wasn't worth it.
1 person likes this
