Respect requires more than words.

But sometimes, people disappoint, and this woman was baffled that her sister simply gave away her beloved first guitar to someone without even asking her.

She voiced her discontent, but her sister ignored her feelings and asked to borrow her car.

She refused.

Read the story and see how things unfolded.

AITA for refusing to let my sister borrow my car after she gave away my old guitar without asking?

I’m a 27f who’s always been into music.

When I was a teenager, I saved up for months working odd jobs to buy my first electric guitar: a beat-up but beautiful secondhand model that I spent years fixing up and playing.

It wasn’t worth much money by then, but it meant the world to me because it was my first real instrument and tied to so many memories, like teaching myself chords in my room and jamming with friends.

She had fond memories of it, and it was important to her.

I’ve since upgraded to better gear, but I kept that old guitar in my apartment as a sentimental keepsake.

My sister 30f lives nearby and has been struggling financially since losing her job a few months ago.

She has two kids (8 and 5), and I’ve tried to help out when I can buying groceries, paying a utility bill here and there because I get that she’s in a tough spot.

Unfortunately, her sister doesn’t seem to appreciate or respect her.

But she’s always had this habit of acting entitled to my stuff, like it’s her own to use or give away if she thinks she needs it more.

Last month, I went out of town for a weekend to visit a friend.

When I got back, I noticed my old guitar was missing from the corner of my living room.

I asked my sister about it since she has a key to my place (for emergencies), and she casually admitted she’d given it to her neighbor’s teenage son.

Her sister must’ve known it was important to her. But didn’t see a problem with giving it away.

She said he’d been wanting to learn guitar, and since I “never use that old thing anymore,” she thought it’d be a nice gesture.

She didn’t ask me, didn’t text, nothing, just decided it was her right to give it away.

I was furious.

That guitar wasn’t just some junk to toss out; it was mine, and she had no right to touch it, let alone give it away.

I told her how much it meant to me and demanded she get it back.

Her sister didn’t consider her feelings at all.

She rolled her eyes, said I was overreacting over “a piece of trash,” and that the kid’s family couldn’t afford to buy him one, so I should be happy it went to a good cause.

I went to the neighbor myself, explained the situation, and thankfully, they were understanding and gave it back.

The kid looked disappointed, which made me feel bad, but it’s my property, not a charity donation.

The situation was awkward for everyone, but her sister didn’t learn anything from it.

Since then, my sister’s been asking to borrow my car because hers broke down, and she needs it to get to job interviews and take her kids to school.

Normally, I’d say yes, I’ve let her use it before but after the guitar incident, I told her no.

I said I can’t trust her to respect my things anymore, and I’m not risking my car when she thinks she can do whatever she wants with my stuff.

Things reached a boiling point.

She freaked out, calling me selfish and saying I’m punishing her kids over “something petty.”

She even cried to our parents about it, and now they’re on my case, saying I should “be the bigger person” and help her out since she’s family and struggling.

AITA?

If it’s ‘family helps family’ but her sister breached that “contract”, she is under no obligation to help her anymore.

Especially after treating her and her possessions with disrespect.

Let’s see if Reddit has any insight into this situation.

A reader shares their thoughts.

This person keeps it short.

Simple like that.

This commenter shares their opinion and some solid advice.

Boundaries.

Another reader chimes in.

Exactly.

You can’t just sell someone’s guitar and then disregard their feelings when they complain about it.

Her sister is out of line and needs to learn boundaries ASAP.

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