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This might be one of the most ridiculous AITA posts I’ve ever read, and y’all, that is saying something. Then again, we do know that neighborly disagreements can get pretty heated and weird, so maybe it’s not as surprising as I first thought.
This man is 40 and single, and lives in a rural area with large plots of land.
On the land between his property and his neighbors is a pond, and he’s put a dock on the water because he enjoys spending the evening out there with a drink and his dog.
Reasonable, right?
This is my first time posting sorry if I mess anything up.
I(40m) live in a somewhat rural place. Decent land between houses, and a lot of forest.
In between me and my neighbors land there’s a decent sized pond. Technically it’s all on my land but one side of it is surrounded by neighbor land. There’s a dock on it, I upgraded it about 15 years ago so it’s somewhat nice. It’s right next to the property boundary if that’s important.
I go down there somewhat often, I usually am down there for a few hours in the evening with my dog, my work computer, and sometimes a drink.
His neighbors are a young family with a couple of young kids who occasionally come out to play while he is sitting down by the water, but they do not interact.
Even so, the neighbors asked if he would go inside when their kids came out to play because it makes them uncomfortable (and also the kids are afraid of his dog).
My neighbors are in their late 20s/early 30s, moved in a few years ago. They have a pair of young kids, both under ten(I’d guess maybe 5/6 and 8/9).
Their backyard is not far from where I am in the evening, and neither yard is fenced in. Every few days the kids come outside when I am down by the pond.
I ignore them, but about a week ago my neighbors approached me and asked if I would go inside or somewhere else when their kids were outside. They said I made them feel uncomfortable letting their kids go in the backyard, and that their kids are also scared of my dog.
For what it’s worth, OP has no criminal record and isn’t on any kind of registry, but as a single, middle-aged man he’s somewhat used to parents being uncomfortable around their kids.
His dog is kind and always tied up.
I do not pay any attention to their kids, I usually am facing away from them, and never directly facing them. I do get why they would not want their kids outside alone with me nearby, as much as it sucks(because this seems to have been misunderstood, I am not on any registry nor do I have any criminal history, however I get that they may feel uneasy about their kids being around a man that they do not know very well).
My dog is always tied up when he’s on the dock with me. He never barks when we’re down there usually he naps. He is a fairly large dog(75-80 pounds), but there is almost no chance he could or would hurt them.
They also said they’re concerned about his drinking, but he claims he only ever takes a single beverage along for his evening outside.
He thanked them for reaching out but declined to give into their demands, as he’s on his property and not hurting anyone.
They also expressed concern about me drinking. I do not get anywhere near the point of being intoxicated, it’s at most 1 drink when I do have it(and I have it maybe a couple times a month).
I told them that I appreciate them reaching out to me but I’m not going to stop. This week I kept doing it, and I got a somewhat angry letter.
I’m honestly starting to doubt if I should just head inside when they come out.
AITA for not listening to them and WIBTA if I kept doing what I’m doing?
For some reason, he’s now second-guessing that answer.
Does Reddit think he should be? Let’s find out!
The top comment says that no, he’s not wrong to refuse to stop and also they’re harassing him and he doesn’t have to take it.
Image Credit: Reddit
This person proves that they’re definitely doing it just because he’s a single man.
Image Credit: Reddit
This mom says she would be more concerned that her kids were interrupting his night.
Image Credit: Reddit
Their problems shouldn’t become OP’s problem.
Image Credit: Reddit
If they’re that worried about their kids, maybe they should stay outside and watch them.
Image Credit: Reddit
I feel sorry for this guy, and I hate that our society has even made him question whether or not he’s in the right here.
What do you think? How would you have reacted? Tell us in the comments!
