Ready to be mad? If not, this may not be the story for you. Today we’re gonna talk about the failure of people to treat other people like…well, people. Here’s how it went down. Reddit user MrSemiFunny got on r/AskReddit and submitted this provocative prompt:
Folks had a lot to say about it. Like, a LOT. The stories ranged from the silly to the extremely dark, and there’s no denying, it is a compelling read. Here are just a few examples.
1. What’s in a name?
It was a first day of one of my college courses and we were telling everyone our names.
I said mine and the professor said “My husband wanted to name our son that but I didn’t want him to get made fun of.”
– CaptainRipp
2. School bullies were a very common theme…
A kid at school when i was younger who put out his cigarette out on my face.
Still got the burn scar.
– RawrTheFox
3. So many forms of disrespect end in no-winner scenarios.
Locked my new bike up outside a supermarket and ducked inside to get some yoghurt because it was Friday night and that’s how I destress after a long week.
Self-checkout line was busier than expected but I was in and out in about ten to fifteen minutes. Didn’t want to leave it for too long because someone had pinched the seat from outside my house a couple of weeks earlier.
From a shirt distance I could see my bike was facing the opposite way I’d left it and felt a little confused. I got closer and saw my U-lock looking like a pretzel. It seemed like someone had tried to wrench off my lock, failed and then just picked up my bike and tried to use it as leverage to pop the thing off, failed again, but succeeded in completely fucking the entire aluminium frame; total write-off, could not be fixed.
– appear_offline
4. Here’s a case of textbook projection.
My ex didn’t allow me to have any female friends and wouldn’t even let me say my best friend’s (female) name in front of her.
We broke up because she fell in love with her best friend (male).
– tucaraesfeo2
5. It doesn’t take a lot to ruin years of someone’s life.
In 11th grade a long time friend told police o broke into his house and stole some gucci bracelets. At the time I didnt know what a gucci was.
Got a call to go down to the principal’s office where an Lt. from my local PD was there and started questioning me about the incident. Said they had witnesses, and knew I committed the crime between a 30 day period. Demanded that I tell him where the I had the bracelets asking if I pawned them, at 16.
Ruined my high school, kid was super popular, soon the whole class looked at me as some kind of thief, teachers included.
Ended up dropping out of school, because I had become public enemy number one.
Nothing ever came from it.
– PrincessTsoni
6. Why are kids so cruel?
Kids on the bus held me back and yelled to the bus driver, “He isn’t here!” So I had missed my bus stop and had to walk home. They did it again the next day, but I fought back in time and, when I was leaving the bus, the door caught a strap on my back pack and began to drag me with it. The strap finally snapped and I went rolling forward. I just laid there for a bit on that hot afternoon.
– born_last_night
7. Abusive exes also came up a lot.
My abusive first girlfriend said to me “I’m glad for your momma because she doesn’t have to be around you anymore” literally the same night I confided in her that my mom ran out on me and I hadn’t seen or heard from my mom in years
– Boa-in-a-bowl
8. Take this guy who clearly needed to get himself in order…
When I was 18, I was dating an alcoholic. We arrived separately to a party, and when I got there he was wearing nothing but a bathrobe, drunk as fuck, and insulting and trying to fight EVERYONE. I tried really hard to get him to leave the party so I could drive him home, and he was not having it. Started berating me and then threw a lit cigarette down my shirt.
The same guy also put an overripe banana down the back of my shorts and hit my ass as hard as he could in front of all his stupid friends.. he fucking sucked. Thankfully, it’s 10 years later I have self respect now and don’t date assholes anymore.
– SweetDangus
9. Parenthood is kind of one long disrespect experience, right?
I told my one year old it was time for his nap. I then took his diaper off to change him and he proceeded to shit on me.
Looked me in the eye the entire time.
– puckit
10. The lack of empathy sometimes is astounding.
My roommate in the military was in a different unit. I had to be up at 5am. He had to be up at 8. It was 10:30 at night and I asked if he could stop talking on the phone while I’m trying to sleep or go outside and he responded with “it’s not my fault you have to get up early.” And continued his conversation
– JohnyAnalSeeed
11. A stray comment can do a lot of damage.
I was new to my middle school. This middle school was in a small town where everyone knew each other and I was nervous since I knew absolutely no one.
I walked into the cafeteria on the first day where we had to wait until the bell rang to go to class. I looked around and realized everywhere was full except for this one space at the bench-like tables. I headed towards it and asked the girl who was in the space next to it if I could sit there.
She looked up at me, gave me a dirty look and asked “Are you homeless?”
I was dumbstruck. I didn’t say anything, but she did shift a bit so I could sit down.
I don’t remember who she was, I don’t remember her face, or even her voice, but her words will always stick with me.
– ErikDestlerDaae
12. If you’re a teacher because you like control…stop being a teacher.
I was in 5th grade, 10 or 11 years old.
I didn’t do homework often, because my teacher was mean, and I didn’t want to do anything he asked me to do. But I decided to put in extra effort to finish all my overdo math homework so I could submit it the next day.
I finish all the work sheets in one night, stapled them all together, and wrote my name on the top one.
I gave them to him, he looked them over, tore off the top one, then ripped the rest of them in half and threw them away.
He looked at me and said, “I don’t know who those belonged to, they didn’t have your name on them.”
And then he kept me inside from recess and told me to redo them all.
Fucking asshole, I’m still pissed at you, Mr. Prime.
– Death_By_Pun
13. Nothing like a good old fashioned mooch and smooch.
My sister brought our cousin (who I despise) to sleep in my apartment “just for the night”.
The next morning, the cousin invited my ex boyfriend and started to make out. In my living room. On my couch. I hate them both.
– Father-McKenz1e
14. Childhood is so bizarre.
20+ years ago when I was in 6th grade, an 8th grader spit on my bike, then in my helmet, then on me.
I punched him in the face. One of my friends saw all this, ran up and also punched him in the face.
He ran home.
– _iPood_
15. This sounds like a situation that didn’t go well for anybody.
My ex-husband and I were on the road to divorce. I had done absolutely everything I could possibly think of to turn us around, and as a last ditch effort, I wrote him a letter. I knew it had a 0.1% chance of doing anything, so it was also kind of a “thank you for the good years” letter, too.
We were living with his parents because originally, we sold our house to make an upgrade. I guess that was his window of opportunity. Anyway, his mom found the letter and not only read it, but took pictures of it and shared it with multiple people, who started tearing me apart via text.
How did I know this? She never hears her phone go off, so I would usually bring it to her. I went to do that and saw the mentions of a letter and saw the context of what was sent.i didn’t say anything, just set the phone back down and went outside to get a breath of air.
Later that week, she said she was tired of me being around and that he needed me to sign the papers then and there and I didn’t get a say in anything. I mentioned sharing the letter, and she said she was allowed to do that because it was in her house. Therefore, it was her property.
Still trying to wrap my head around that one.
And then they sat there and watched TV while I packed my things.
– Batsarebest
At this moment, you’re probably thinking of a time in your own life when you got disrespected hard. These things are painful to remember, but if there’s any silver lining, each case serves as a reminder of what kind of person we DON’T want to be.
Do you want to share your story?
If so, put it in the comments.