Everyone knows the saying “beggars can’t be choosers,” but does that mean if you’re getting something for free you’re not allowed to have any conditions at all?
OP and his friends regularly get together at a cabin to catch up and just relax. In the past, everyone has been able to sleep inside but as more people will be there this time, some folks would need to camp outdoors.
To give some background, every year one of my(26m) friends named Jared hosts a gathering up at his cottage. Normally the gathering is done on a rotation where each weekend he will invite 2-4 people up at a time.
This year he decided to do something different and invite everyone up to the cottage at the same time. To accommodate the twelve of us who would be going for the three days the plan was to have everyone camp outside.
Two of his friends said they did not have the gear, so he offered a “tent and two cots” for free, which they accepted.
During the planning of this two people stated that they didn’t have any form of camping gear.
To help them out I told them that I have a tent and two cots that they can use for the entirety of the weekend.
The two of them had no issues with this up until the day of the actual gathering came around.
OP has a water plane and flew it to the cabin, and when setting up the “tent,” revealed it was a tarp over the wing that secured to the ground. It didn’t have a “floor” but he did have the two cots as promised.
Last weekend like always rather than driving I flew my Cessna 185 seaplane to the cottage as it’s on a nice lake. When it came time to pitch all the tents with the help of Jared we pulled my plane onto the grassy part of his backyard.
When that was done I pulled out and pitched my special plane camping tent.
The tent I have is one where you drape it over your plane’s wing before hooking it into the ground.
When that is done you have an enclosed tent with everything but a floor.
The friends didn’t mention an issue until they asked where he was sleeping and he said “in the back of the plane.”
When the two people I was helping named Ashley and Jen saw the tent and cots they had no issues with the arrangement.
That was until Ashley asked where I was going to sleep to which I said I would be in the back of the plane.
The moment I said this Ashley started asking to be the one to sleep in it as she didn’t want to sleep in a tent without a floor.
The friends wanted to sleep there instead, all of a sudden upset about the free accommodations he’d provided.
When I told her no she got really upset and started going off on me about how I am an asshole for “misleading’ her.
Looking back on things I am on the fence as to whether or not I am the a**hole.
While I stayed true to my word, I never told them the specifics of my gear which makes me think I might be the a**hole here.
Am I the a**hole?
Was he wrong for not being specific about what he was bringing, or about not giving up his spot?
Reddit’s going to have a few thoughts on this one, I’m sure!
The top comment says they’re acting very entitled to things that aren’t theirs.
Image Credit: Reddit
Other people don’t agree that he should be calling what he offered a “tent.”
Image Credit: Reddit
It’s the fact that they were fine with it until they saw something better that did it for most people.
Image Credit: Reddit
This person points out they could have bought their own tent if they were going to be picky.
Image Credit: Reddit
But this commenter agreed that OP is being obtuse.
Image Credit: Reddit
Y’all I don’t even know what to think here.
I’m no expert, but I mean…I would have expected a floor.
However, if I’ve learned anything from going camping many times… always bring a backup tent. Small ones cost $50 and they’re very easy to cart around.