A Teen Went To An HOA Meeting While His Dad Was Out Of Town, And He Angered Neighbors By Mocking Their Concerns
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When you live in an HOA neighborhood, they do more than make rules and fine people. They also hold meetings. In many cases, most homeowners don’t actually attend the meetings, but maybe they should. It can be enlightening.
In this story, one teenager attends an HOA meeting on his dad’s behalf, and he’s pretty annoyed by a complaint made by one of their neighbors. He can’t stop himself from giggling and even making fun of their concerns.
Now, the neighbors are mad at him and his dad, and he’s wondering how badly he actually messed up.
Let’s read all about it.
AITA for giggling at a family’s problems during an HOA meeting?
This happened this past Sunday. My dad and stepmom are out in a small trip and I’m pet sitting their cat and staying at their apartment whirl they’re out.
My dad asked me to attend the “HOA” (not sure how to call it, we live in Mexico and we don’t have an HOA in the US sense) meeting due to some points about renovations,and other important issues would be touched upon.
During the meeting, there was an “open mic” moment to discuss other matters in a more neutral way.
One of the neighbors, a woman that we’ll call Carol, raised a concern about the ongoing issue with the “gang” that’s been terrorizing the complex for a while now, and how nothing had been done to stop this.
This isn’t really a “gang” at all.
The gang in question? a group of kids between 6 to 10 yo
Their “clear gang activities”? talking about games in the elevator/corridors, playing in the main plaza after school, going from tower A to B to pick some of the other kids, or getting toys out to go play.
I know some of them, they sometimes come to the apartment asking for bandaids or get one of my nephews to go play with them, really good kids imo.
Most outrageous thing they’ve done was hit a garden light with a ball and breaking it, which they took full accountability for and told management as soon as it happened.
He doesn’t take the complaints about the “gang” seriously.
According Carol, the kids are an issue and they make her feel HIGHLY uncomfortable, because she can tell all of them are “up to no good”
Her daughter, a mid teens, added that she feels so insecure when she’s home alone cuz more than once the kids have come up to her door and tried the door handle, banged on it, and that they’ve even tried picking the lock.
Mind you, her apartment is across from my dad’s, and the kids only knock on his twice a week when my nephew is there.
And that she also felt unsafe walking anywhere near the plaza because she felt “perved on” by, again a bunch of kids between 6-10yo.
The whole family was upset.
The husband was also very mad cuz according to him, he’s seen them running around the underground parking lot, and I quote, “Keying cars and trying to open them, probably to steal the cara or whatever is inside!”, which cannot be true because all minors need to be accompanied by an adult or a security guard to access the parking area, to avoid any accident.
I couldn’t help it and snorted, then giggled when Mr. Dad added that whole bit about kids trying to steal cars, cuz as we all know, kids are into that kind of stuff.
Carol began to ask what was so funny and why I thought that “gang” activity was funny, when I could be the next one to be attacked.
He couldn’t resist speaking up.
I probably messed up by telling her that, I doubt that a bunch of kids who look for anthills to kick are crime masterminds, which of course got a couple of giggles from other neighbors.
Carol is now mad at me and my dad for raising “someone who supports gangs”
My dad doesn’t give a care because he hates Carol, and my stepmom is also mad at me for not taking this seriously.
In some way, somehow, am I in the wrong?
It’s possible that the kids are bigger troublemakers than he realizes. It’s also possible that the neighbors are overreacting.
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Let’s see how Reddit reacted.
Another Mexican citizen weighs in.
This person is on OP’s side.
Another person thinks Carol’s concerns are valid.
But this person thinks Carol is overreacting.
If the things the neighbors say are really happening, the concerns are valid. I wouldn’t want someone trying to pick my lock either. However, the elementary school-aged kids aren’t really a “gang.” They sound more like a group of kids who could really benefit from an adult supervisor.
Her description was a bit extreme. I could see how it’d be hard not to laugh.
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