Tattle-Tale

I think as parents, we're doing a pretty good job training our children to deal with their own little sqabbles without running to tattle every time something doesn't go their way. I daily ask, "Have you talked to your sister about this first?" to which the reply always seems to be, "Okay, mommy" as they run off to "talk" it out. I'm usually tuned into the next next few words out of their mouths and then make sure the issue gets resolved before moving on. It's not a perfect system, but it sure saves me a lot of time from being police on a daily basis.
When we moved from Denver, we didn't imagine our neighbors would be moving with us! It's been one year since we moved here and I find myself struggling today by a phone call I received from an overzealous retiree from our old neighborhood who called to tattle on our renters. We have been blessed with renters who always pay on time, are quiet, and have kept the house is good order. Sparing you the details, I ended up hanging up on a woman who was just short of yelling at me that I wasn't considering eviction over the fact that the renters' clothes are drying on our wood fence.
This is not the first phone call or the first conversation I have had with numerous neighbors who feel a sense of entitlement since they've lived there many decades, much like an older sibling who doesn't care for how their younger sister is treating her toys. Only they are not her toys and nobody is being hurt by what is going on...
I guess my only thought after all is this - Grow up and talk to them yourselves. Don't involve others in your quest for justice. Maybe if no one else is on your band wagon, you shouldn't be either.