It\u2019s great to do a good deed. For example, giving up your seat on a bus to an elderly person, if you are young and healthy. But many people take kindness for weakness and start to be insolent. And this is where it is important not to let the offenders off the hook.<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
I was once traveling on a jam-packed bus. An elderly woman got on at a stop. One girl, seeing this, gave up her seat and stood next to her. I looked at this and smiled quietly to myself, thinking how rare it is to see such simple humanity still alive in crowded places like this.
\nIt\u2019s packed, we all shake when the bus makes a turn. Suddenly I hear a profanity from that elderly woman who was given a seat. She was shouting at that girl because that one touched her with her body a few times. The insults escalated so fast it caught everyone off guard, as if gratitude had turned into anger in seconds. The insults were stopped with the words, \u201cSwap back if you feel so bad.\u201d The bus fell silent after that, like everyone suddenly understood how quickly kindness can be punished.<\/p>\n
2.<\/p>\n
Once I was traveling on a night train. I entered the compartment, and a child of about 10 years old was sleeping on my bottom bunk. And his mother and grandmother ask me to take the top bunk. Okay, so I start to make the bed and put things away, trying not to disturb anyone and accepting the situation.
\nAnd then these 2 start shushing at me, saying, why the hell I\u2019m that loud, I might wake up the child. The irony hit me so hard I almost laughed. I had to say loudly and clearly that either they let me finish what I\u2019m doing, or the child will have to move to his rightful place. After that, the silence in the compartment changed completely, like someone finally turned off the entitlement.<\/p>\n
3.<\/p>\n
On my first day at work, a colleague baked strawberry biscuits and was giving everyone the treat. I didn\u2019t want to eat the biscuits. So when it was my turn, I couldn\u2019t think of anything better to say than, \u201cOh, I\u2019m allergic to strawberries.\u201d I expected awkwardness, maybe a joke or two, nothing serious.
\nSuddenly, out of the blue, my colleague threw them all out! The whole tray of biscuits went straight into the bin. The room froze for a second like nobody understood what just happened. And told everyone not to bring strawberries to the office. So, I\u2019ve been pretending that I\u2019m allergic to strawberries for 3 years, quietly living with a lie that became surprisingly powerful.<\/p>\n
4.<\/p>\n
A friend tearfully asked me to lend her some cash for a couple of days. She was so worried that I agreed to withdraw money from my credit card. And there\u2019s a fee and daily commission, but I didn\u2019t even think twice because she looked genuinely desperate. We go to the ATM, I withdraw the money, give it to her.
\nShe puts it in her wallet, and suddenly I see the same credit card as mine there. In complete bewilderment, I ask her why she didn\u2019t withdraw money from her own credit card. And she replied, \u201cWhy would I do that? There\u2019s a withdrawal fee and commission.\u201d For a moment, I just stood there, realizing the story I believed was never the real one.<\/p>\n
5.<\/p>\n
The friends\u2019 kid is 6 years old. He runs into my living room and starts jumping on the sofa. I told his mom to stop it. And she replied, \u201cNo matter how many times you tell him, he doesn\u2019t listen. Difficult character.\u201d There was no attempt to correct it, just acceptance like chaos was normal.
\nI wasn\u2019t happy with this answer, so I called the boy and quietly said, \u201cIf you run on the sofa, I\u2019ll kick\u2026\u201d I paused just enough for the warning to land without finishing the sentence. Well, the boy realized the threat and didn\u2019t jump on the sofa for the remaining 5 hours, while they were at our place. It turns out that he listens when consequences suddenly feel real.<\/p>\n
6.<\/p>\n
My boss was like, \u201cDo you want to stay extra tonight?\u201d So I said yeah, and then a different boss said, \u201cDo you want to cover the morning shift too?\u201d So I said yes, and then I was asked if I wanted to cover the evening shift as well, so I said yes. At some point, it stopped feeling like agreeing and started feeling like there was no way out.
\nAnd this is how I was once a bartender for 34 hours straight. By the end, time didn\u2019t even feel real anymore\u2014just bottles, lights, and exhaustion blending into one long shift.<\/p>\n
7.<\/p>\n
There are these interesting people who don\u2019t want to overpay for comfort and convenience, but they are eager to swap. They also take offense if they get a refusal. I always take an aisle seat, 12C or 11C. I just like it, I choose it deliberately every time.
\nAnd every time I hear the same thing, \u201cOh, could we swap our seats? I want to sit next to my mom-son-friend.\u201d And they have the eyes like those of the cat from Shrek, expecting emotional pressure to work. When I say no, the reaction is always disbelief, like I\u2019ve broken an unwritten rule.
\nNo. I pay extra money for my comfort when I buy a ticket. Why don\u2019t these \u201ccats\u201d think about their comfort right away?!<\/p>\n
8.<\/p>\n
I once sang for 2 hours in a crowded restaurant while my friend accompanied me on guitar. She literally begged me to work with her, insisting it would be great exposure. I agreed only because I assumed reality would end the idea quickly. I was hoping that at rehearsal she would hear how terrible I was singing and back off.
\nBut no. The look on the guests\u2019 faces (something between sympathy and shock) will haunt me forever. Some people smiled politely, others stared into their plates like they were praying for it to end. Nobody stopped it, which made it even worse.<\/p>\n
9.<\/p>\n
When I first moved to Italy, I met a compatriot. This poor woman came to her fianc\u00e9 with her daughter, and the fianc\u00e9 left her! She\u2019s broke. I talked to my husband and invited them to live with us temporarily. It felt like the right thing to do at the time, even though something already felt slightly off.
\nShe tried to hit on my husband, but I thought my eyes deceived me, I thought it was just me. The woman asked if she could leave her daughter with us so she could find a job. I stupidly agreed.
\nThe next day, I get a call from my boss. He says that if I send people to look for work in our firm, I have to warn him. Anyway, while I was looking after her child, she tried to get a job at my company pretending to be my childhood friend. Thanks for the lesson, I\u2019ve been more careful after that, especially when kindness starts turning into manipulation.<\/p>\n
10.<\/p>\n
My aunt is getting divorced from her douchebag husband of 15 years. She still does his laundry because she can\u2019t say no. The divorce has been in progress for about 8 months. No idea how she manages to actually be the one to initiate a divorce, but can\u2019t tell him to back off about his stained tighty whiteys. It\u2019s like legal separation exists, but emotional boundaries don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
11.<\/p>\n
There were complaints about a colleague, and my superiors sent me to check on him. I turn up at his department and he\u2019s bought an expensive cake. I say, \u201cNo, thanks, I can\u2019t have that much sugar.\u201d \u201cBut you can have one slice, right?\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d I reply, \u201cI\u2019m diabetic.\u201d I kept my tone steady, expecting that to end it.
\n\u201cOh, but your doctor won\u2019t know\u2026\u201d Another colleague explains, \u201cCake will make him sick.\u201d The guy wouldn\u2019t stop, \u201cHow about a pie? Chocolate croissants?\u201d It was like he was determined to win me over by force-feeding hospitality.
\nTurns out, this dude knew I was overweight and decided to bribe me with cake. We ended up firing him. The moment the intention became clear, the whole room shifted from awkward to serious.<\/p>\n
12.<\/p>\n
My father had many brothers and sisters, so there is a lot of distant kin. We live in Canada, and the extended family is in Europe. And every time someone flies to Canada on holiday, they head to my parents\u2019 house! It\u2019s like an unspoken rule nobody ever agreed to but everyone follows.
\nMy parents pick them up from the airport 2 hours away, let them stay in their place for a month, feed them and give them tours. And then the guest goes back home. It\u2019s so infuriating! But the parents can\u2019t say no. And somehow, the cycle keeps repeating like hospitality has no expiry date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s great to do a good deed. For example, giving up your seat on a bus to an elderly person, if you are young and healthy. But many people take kindness for weakness and start to be insolent. And this is where it is important not to let the offenders off the hook. 1. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n