When you notice that someone is surveilling or policing you, it’s very unsettling and sometimes you have to confront the person.
This woman confronted her creepy male neighbor, but she’s having second thoughts about how she did it.
Read her story below.
AITA for how I told my neighbor to stop being a busybody?
I live next to this guy William and his wife and daughters.
He’s a total busybody; I swear he’s watching and commenting on everything I do.
If I have friends over, he’ll watch from the porch and out the windows.
He’ll comment later on how many people I have over, how late I have them over, etc.
Like complaining I had a party of 7 over till 1 am.
His attention to detail is also weird. It’s like he used to be a private investigator or something.
If my grass gets too long, he’ll comment on how I need to spend a day a week mowing; I can’t keep “going out 3 nights in a row”
If there are cars parked in the street, he’ll know which ones are friends there to see me.
I know he knows because he goes right to mine and asks me to have my friends move their cars.
If I BBQ he’ll complain about the smoke smells, and how nobody needs to be barbecuing for 3 hours.
It’s kind of uncomfortable. I’ve tried to be accommodating:”Ok, I’ll move the cars. OK I’ll be done barbecuing soon.”
I’ve also tried to ask for more privacy in the weirder conversations: “My friends and I don’t really like it when someone’s watching our comings and goings; would you drop this?”
She couldn’t take anymore and was very blunt with him about how weird it all was.
When he mentioned I need to move my trash cans inside sooner after the garbage truck comes; I told him off.
I said “You’re a father of two daughters. Think about if they came to you and said that a man they didn’t know or like was watching to see when they’re home or not, which of the other girls are their little friends, remembering which bikes their little friends ride and recognizing them on sight.. Watching when they’re out in the yard, and what they’re doing there. Think of how you’d feel.”
He got upset and said “That’s different!!”
I was like “It’s NOT different. That’s how I feel. I’m asking you to empathize here, to understand how it feels to be watched 24/7 and not be OK with it! How that seems to have made you feel is exactly how I feel!”
After that argument, he stormed off and has seemed to leave me alone for a few days.
AITA here?
Have a look to see what folks are saying about this story.
He only stopped because she let him know she was onto him.
I have a feeling he might be a predator.
I don’t know why people act like it’s rocket science to see it this way.
It broke my heart that she thinks she owes it to him to be less blunt.
Those folks are likely the same ones who say we don’t need feminism anymore.
This disturbed me.
We can’t be too careful.
Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.