Smoker Has Realised That They’re Inconveniencing Their Neighbours, And They’re So Embarrassed And Desperate To Make It Up To Them
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Over time across most of the world, we’ve reached a point where littering is less of a problem. Yes, we still see litter on our streets in many countries, but there has been something of a mindset shift in plenty of places where folk who litter are really looked down upon, and it’s in our collective conscience to hold onto our trash until we see somewhere to dispose of it responsibly. Now, when you see someone tossing their trash on the ground, it can be annoying because it’s a more unusual sight – and that’s a great thing, both for the planet and for the cleanliness of our streets.
However, there is one exception. Still, even with the decline of smoking, most of us frequently see folk tossing their cigarette butts to the ground. Indeed, the sight of a still glowing cigarette tip being smushed into the pavement, a final wisp of smoke snaking into the air, is still not uncommon, and sometimes doesn’t feel like the same level of faux pas as throwing – say – a chocolate wrapper onto the floor. However there’s really little difference between the two, as the smoker in this story has figured out.
Read on to find out why they’re feeling bad now.
Should I apologise to my neighbours for littering cigarette butts over the past two years?
I’ve been living in my current place for about two years.
During that time, I’ve regularly smoked while walking along the street outside my house and carelessly thrown my cigarette butts on the ground.
Every few weeks, whenever I noticed too many cigarette butts on the street, I’d pick them all up. For some reason, I convinced myself this was fine as long as I cleaned up occasionally.
Looking back, I realise how inconsiderate that was.
Let’s see how this person’s neighbours are feeling about this.
Recently, one of my neighbours put up a sign outside their house asking people not to smoke in front of their property.
I’m almost certain it’s directed at me, and I suspect other neighbours may have been annoyed by my behaviour too.
I feel genuinely embarrassed and guilty about the whole thing. I’m planning to clean up all the cigarette butts along the street and stop smoking around my neighbours’ houses.
But I’m wondering if I should do more.
Read on to find out what they’re considering.
Would it be appropriate to put an apology letter in each neighbour’s letterbox?
I even considered including a small amount of cash as a gesture of apology, but I’m worried that might come across as weird or insulting.
Or would you prefer that someone in my situation simply cleaned up their mess, changed their behaviour and left without making a big deal out of it?
I’d really appreciate hearing how you’d feel if you were one of my neighbours, especially from people in Melbourne who’ve dealt with similar situations.
It’s really sweet that this person has realised the error of their ways and is keen to make amends with their neighbours.
A lot of people never consider whether what they’re doing is right or not, and it takes some guts to realise you’re wrong and change – but even more so to fess up to everyone you’ve affected.
But giving the neighbours cash to make amends? That seems unnecessary.
Let’s see what the Reddit community made of this.
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This person suggested that simply not dropping the butts any more would be the best apology.
While others agreed that mentioning it during natural interactions would be the best way forward.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who is told their fence doesn’t meet community guidelines, but then they find a way around those guidelines in their own handbook.
Meanwhile, this Redditor thought that a cash gift would be a little odd.
Honestly, the neighbours will presumably just appreciate the fact that their neighbour isn’t littering cigarette butts everywhere any more. And whether or not all the neighbours were bothered or just this one household, keeping the street clean is a nice thing to do for everyone involved anyway – it will benefit the folk who live there as well as anyone passing by. And the best thing of all in this story is that the litterer has realised the error of their ways and committed not to do it any more. All’s well that ends well.
And while it really is honourable that they are wanting to do more in the way of apologising to their neighbours, it’s really not necessary. Sending a note, while it might be appreciated, would probably just confuse the folks who weren’t bothered or didn’t even notice, and sending them cash would be even weirder. Instead, simply cleaning up, not doing it again, and maybe mentioning it if in conversation with other neighbours would be fine – but honestly, this person’s self-awareness is the best thing.
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