When someone is a constant jokester, it can be difficult to take them seriously.
A lot of people who live for the comedy of a good prank are often rarely serious.
And the people who are consistently the butt of the gag can grow tired of the "comedy" of it all.
So it's not a surprise when more serious moments aren't acknowledged.
Then the jokester gets their feelings hurt, and comedy turns to drama.
Redditor Ashamed_Purchase_681 wanted to discuss his experience and get some feedback, so naturally, he came to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subreddit.
He asked:
"AITA for laughing when my wife fell and pooped her pants because I thought it was a prank?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"I (33 M[ale]) think my wife (31 F[emale]) is genuinely funny, but her love of pranks and toilet humor can be a bit much."
"One day, I was in the living room."
"My wife ran in holding her tummy."
"She slipped and fell."
"Then she said something like, crap, I pooped my pants."
"Everything about it seemed like a prank she would do."
"From the double-meaning phrase, to the toilet humor, to the physical comedy."
"Despite the fact that I dislike most of her pranks, I found this one funny."
"But it wasn't pranking."
"When I realized, I tried to help her up."
"She told me not to touch her."
"She sarcastically called me husband of the year for laughing at her."
"I explained, but she said I should have known it wasn't a prank because she did a similar one before, and she doesn't repeat the same pranks."
The OP was left to wonder:
"Am I the a**hole?"
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared that OP WAS the A**hole.
"BAHAHAHAHAHAH NTA."
"Your wife is just the girl who cried poop." ~ Objective_Citron4560
"You should have known I was telling the truth because I've lied before."
"OK… NTA!" ~ hushnecampus
"NTA - This is what fruit is born of frequent pranks."
"And as a good partner, you were engaging and supporting her antics."
"When you realized it was real, you immediately went to help."
"She's probably mad at herself because she KNOWS you laughing was essentially her own doing." ~ Return_of_the_HoWaT
"It's almost like a staged TikTok video; the only thing that makes it funny is if it's real."
"Her pranks are probably so trashy that he immediately knows it's a prank and thus it's not funny."
"Then, when something actually happens to her that's not staged, suddenly it's humorous because it met all the qualifiers for comedy (spontaneity, unexpectedness), something he attributed to her finally producing a good prank only to be met with the truth." ~ NipppppppleCrust
"Exactly this."
"You can't prank someone constantly and then get mad when they assume it's another prank."
"Natural consequence of crying wolf." ~ Jwhiskey89
"Exactly this."
"If you train someone to expect chaos every time you run into a room clutching your stomach, you can't be shocked when they react like it's another bit."
"Honestly feels like a 'play silly games, win silly prizes' situation."
"She set the stage, you just followed the script." ~ firm75z
"So the story is probably fiction, but I do love the idea that it couldn't be a prank, not because it was in poor taste or taking things too far, but because it was too close to something she'd pulled before."
"NTA." ~ Khalman
"Yeah, he's supposed to recall every prank she has ever pulled and analyze it in the moment." ~ sisterfunkhaus
"So by this logic, anything that happens to her that doesn't repeat one of her 'pranks' he should assume is a prank… right?"
"NTA- this is karma."
"She's spent years making people—especially you—not believe her and assume anything that she says or that happens is just 'her being wacky.'"
"Now she's mad cause something actually happened and you figured it was just another one of her stupid pranks."
"Hopefully, this makes her think because by her own logic, you should never believe anything she says or that happens to her unless she's already done that in a prank."
"What if there's an actual emergency (she's in an accident, there's an intruder in the house, etc.) and you just assume it's yet another one of her stupid pranks?"
"I genuinely wonder how people actually bring themselves to trust someone like this."
"Can you have like a safe word or something for use when there's an emergency (no, probably not, cause then she'd use that, cause otherwise you won't fall for her precious prank)."
"Ugh… sorry, I cannot stand Pranksters, they just make it harder to trust people."
"Honestly, I hope she was very embarrassed and maybe learns a lesson here." ~ acegirl1985
"First time I've ever heard someone cry wolf about pooping themselves." ~ wannabeknowitall
"Right? I'm gonna take it as true simply because I'm a big fan of karma (the actual concept, not the points or whatever here)."
"I flat out can't stand pranksters—it's literally just bullying/quasi-abusing someone and then gaslighting them into thinking it was nothing, and their victim is actually the bad guy for not having a sense of humor."
"I freaking LOVE the idea of something happening to a prankster and everyone just laughing, ignoring it because they've done the same thing as a prank."
"NTA and good, I hope this is true."
"She totally brought this on herself."
"Far as I'm concerned, any prankster that ends up screwed over by their own actions is just reaping what they sowed." ~ acegirl1985
"NTA- she's the boy who cried wolf." ~ ThrowRA4153
"This is exactly the kind of low-stakes drama I live for on this Reddit."
"I'm on your side, though I would apologize to your wife that this happened to her in the first place."
"It is objectively funny when written out. NTA." ~ cobaltaureus
"NTA. Read her the story of the boy who cried wolf."
"Unfortunately, the downside of being the lovable prankster is that people don't know when you are being serious." ~ Mauinfinity-0805
"NTA, it's sad for your wife in the moment, and I hope she'll forgive you for laughing, but that is pretty funny."
"Now go buy her something to make her feel less embarrassed." ~ JynxGirl
"NAH - Even without a history of pranks and toilet humor, that is hilarious."
"Without the history, I would say maybe a little AH just for not making sure she's ok first."
"But a full-grown adult falling while running to the bathroom and sh*tting themselves is a funny moment."
"The one-liner of 'crap I pooped my pants' is hysterical, and she should be proud of it."
"Albeit probably one of her more embarrassing moments, so I get him being a bit upset about it." ~ No_Struggle_6465
"NAH. S**t happens."
"Don't overanalyze this and make it a big deal, and it will be forgotten tomorrow by both." ~ MistressLyda
"Tell her this story about my grandpa."
"My grandpa was very funny, and he really liked to make jokes and pranks."
"He entertained himself and the whole family."
"My mom was used to these jokes whole childhood."
"Once my grandfather was climbing a tree to pick apples, he missed the ladder and fell."
"He was in the garden just with my mom, a little girl."
"My mom thought it was another joke, so she just stood there and laughed."
"Grandpa was out of breath and couldn't breathe."
"He tried to get her to call for help, but she thought it was another joke and just laughed."
"He finally got it together, got up, and it worked out well."
"If your wife likes to make jokes, she has to expect that others will laugh." ~ Life_Bit_4298
"NTA. If she continues to believe you were mockingly laughing at her, I would tell her that while it may have felt that way to her in the moment, you weren't laughing, thinking she'd actually crapped her pants."
"You were laughing because it fit her pranks and toilet humor, so that's what you thought it was."
"You were laughing at what you thought was her joke."
"You're not going to go along with a false image she has of the situation, because that would be harmful to your relationship."
"What she's upset about didn't actually happen."
"Apologizing or acting as if her mistaken view is justified would not be fair and wouldn't go anywhere positive."
"It's not quite the same as crying wolf, but it's the same pattern."
"She pranks a lot and makes toilet humor jokes."
"That's fine, but she can't stay seriously annoyed at you just because, for once, it was real and you didn't realize." ~ kurokomainu
"Bahaha, your only clue, she says, is that she's already done a prank EXACTLY like this before and wouldn't repeat it."
"I think you're off the hook. NTA." ~ EbbWilling7785
"NTA. She brought this on herself."
"Also hilarious." ~ the_elephant_stan
"NTA. She brought it on herself."
"You couldn't tell she was being serious because most of the time she isn't."
"You might have her peruse 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' for reference as to what happens when you take things to the point when people can't tell if you're serious." ~ cheekmo_52
"NTA. Can't be surprised by laughter when you regularly behave like a fool."
"Maybe she should grow up and stop pranks altogether?"
"I'm sure she can find a better use of her energies at her age." ~ MorganFreemanCoPilot
Well, this gag went down the crapper.
Reddit is with you, OP.
Your wife keeps playing all of these pranks.
They were bound to catch up to her.
You weren't trying to be malicious.
Hopefully, she's learned a lesson.
Woman Asks If It's Wrong To Hold Grudge After Mom Told Her When She 8 Years Old That She Wished She'd Aborted Her
While some people view having and raising children as the greatest blessing, some parents hold their children's existence against them for their entire lives.
And when they feel that way about their children, they're unfortunately typically pretty honest about it, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor heavelymango knew from the time she was young that her mother did not really like her and significantly favored her sister.
But when her mother told her at the age of eight that she wished she had aborted her, the Original Poster (OP) held on to that grudge for years after the fact.
She asked the sub:
The OP had a grudge against her mother.
"I (22 Female) have been holding onto a grudge due to something my mom told me when I was roughly eight or nine years old."
"Growing up, I was a rebellious kid and always felt as if my mom favored my older sister. My sister would always get whatever she wanted."
"I know she was born with Down syndrome and always needed more attention and care, but if my sister wanted my tablet, for example, she would have it for the whole day while mine was limited to 30 minutes so she could have it."
"As a kid, I lashed out more because of this. She could take all of my things, but I could never use hers."
During a heated moment, the OP's mother said something unforgivable.
"Eventually, this led to an argument with my mom. I don't recall the whole thing, but it was related to my sister and how I felt my mom didn't care about me or give me the same amount of attention."
"The fight got heated, and I probably told my mom that I hated my sister and her."
"I remember she said back, 'I never wanted you from the start. I knew I should've aborted you when I had the chance.'"
" I didn't know what aborted meant at the time, and I remember I looked it up, and it made me cry. I never forgot it, and it lingers in my mind whenever I am home."
The OP's mother pressured her to "let it go" and move on.
"Even growing up, I still brought it up, and she would get mad, saying I need to let it go and how I'm stubborn for not just forgetting what she said."
"There was even a time in high school when she took me to a therapist, and she complained about how I never dropped what she said."
"She says I need to move on from it because it has affected my relationship with her, and she wants to fix it."
"I know I'm older now and it was so long ago, but it still hurts, and I feel like it's made me not want to have her in my life in the future, and I have told this to her."
"How I don't want her in my life once I move out, get married, or have my own kids."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that this sounded like a core memory more than a grudge.
"The axe forgets. The tree remembers."
"It sounds less like you're holding a grudge and more that this is a formative, core memory for you."
"It won't stop being a core memory (unless maybe with the help of a lot of therapy). Has your mom ever apologized for saying that? Because you don't have to forget to forgive, but if she's not remorseful for saying that terrible thing to her young child (not just remorseful that you remember it), then she probably needs therapy (or is a narcissist/sociopath/similar)."
"You are certainly not obligated to 'get over it.'" - Hot-Can3615
"This is not a 'grudge'; it is pain that is still felt to such a degree. If she said it, then she was thinking it. She'll probably never apologize, but that doesn't mean your pain is or was invalid." - Fast_Register_9480
"NOR. This kind of thing needs a real apology. Like she needs to acknowledge the damage and genuinely care about it. Brushing it off won’t make it go away." - TentacleWolverine
"NOR. Did she really want to fix things? She basically just told you to get over it from the start instead of giving you a sincere apology."
"That isn't working on anything. She wants you to get over it so she can pretend that she never said it, so she doesn't have to feel bad about what she did. It doesn't sound like she cares much about how you feel."
"She just doesn't want to deal with it. For that reason, I would still have issues with what she said." - Chemical-Ad6809
"If your relationship with your mother is being affected by the actions of your mother, your mother is responsible for fixing it."
"You should know you probably aren't ever going to get closure, but you don't have to swallow it down. It helps to be the person you needed when you were younger out loud to yourself, but especially to others."
"For example: My name is Liz, and my mom told me to go ahead and do it already and save us all the heartache when I finally had the courage to tell her about how much I've been struggling with self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm never going to forgive her for that, and we have never been close as a result of her actions."
"You aren't holding onto a grudge; you have a core memory of your mother distilling her feelings into a world-shattering sentence."
"You did not have a secure attachment before and can't have one now because of the deep trauma. You do not apologize for being stabbed."
"Find another therapist. I mean it. Someone who cares about your well-being wouldn't force you to apologize for being verbally abused as a child. I'm 29 now, and I lived through it. I still struggle with suicidal ideation daily, but once I stopped relying on my mom and unstable sources for support, my life got better immediately."
"You want things for comfort and familiarity. Don't let your mom or your therapist gaslight you into crossing a boundary."
"It might help to ask for a written five-part apology from your mom. 1. Acknowledge what you did 2. Say why it was wrong 3. Promise not to do it again 4. Ask how to make amends. 5. Share your feelings at this time if there's anything you'd like to say."
"My mom can be a good person and a bad mom and role model. Being in your own company is so much better than poor company." - PotLuckyPodcast
Others hoped the OP would go no contact with her mother sooner rather than later.
"NOR. It’s emotional abuse. And you do not owe her closeness after that, especially as she refuses to be accountable for that and try to make it up to you."
"She knows you have her number, and she can’t forgive you for knowing what a colloidal b***h she is."
"It’s unlikely that will change; it will at least be turned back on you with her the victim."
"Stop expecting her to apologize. If she doesn’t pay your bills, ghost her." - SnooCheesecakes2723
"My mom said something similar. My brother and I were adopted, and when I was a teen, in front of a church lady, she said, 'We didn't even really want you, but the people didn't want to split y'all up, so we just took you, too.'"
"Me and the church lady were shook. When I say my falbbers were ghasted. Like huh? She didn't remember saying that when I brought it up years after the fact."
"I also got grounded two times for two separate nine weeks (for C's on my report card) and a three and a half to four months (for smoking at 16 and getting caught because she liked to just pop up out of nowhere), and we just had a talk about that, and she didn't even remember."
"She said, 'No, I didn't. I never grounded you for that long,' and when I gave my rebuttal, she said, 'Well, if I did, it definitely wasn't for no nine weeks or months,' and this started because she was praising me for reading so much and liking books. I said, 'Well, when you were grounded like me, that's all I could do (no TV, no friends outside of school, no music, nothing but my room and books)."
"There's a reason I only call or answer her calls once or twice every few weeks. And I only call to get food, really..." - ManicalMoe
"‘Fine, I'm sorry’ is not an apology."
"Whilst I’m sure it was said in anger, most things said in anger have a grain of truth. There are also some things that no half-decent parent ever says to their children, no matter how angry they are, and this is one of them! It also sounds like she has made repeated similar comments of not wanting you as her child."
"I understand her eldest had a disability, but this is no excuse for neglecting and emotionally abusing her younger child. Lots of families deal with a child with additional needs whilst still managing to prioritise their other kids. Children with Down syndrome are capable of understanding ‘that’s your sister's, not yours; give it back’ !! It sounds like your mum has mental health issues?"
"Do you have a present father or other family you can turn to?"
"Protect your peace. Your mum has hurt you time and time again, honestly, for no real gain other than momentarily satisfying her anger. You owe this woman nothing." - Background_Term9810
"I went through something similar. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make comments that implied she didn't want me, though it was never that explicit. 'I only had you because your brother wanted a sister,' and 'My figure never recovered after you; after your brother, it did.'"
"Each comment stayed with me, but I never addressed it with her. I tried to move on and leave it in the past. She did a lot of horrible things throughout my life, but her behavior was always ignored because that's the precedent my dad set, where she can do essentially whatever she wants."
"A few months ago, she came to see me because I was desperate for help and sick. Instead of helping, she made my life so much worse. I won't go into details. At one point, I could no longer keep it inside, and I told her that she is a narcissist, to which she responded with, 'It would have been better if I had never had you.'"
"In some ways, it felt really good to hear her come out and say it. It felt good to hear the truth I've always known."
"I don't know what you should do, but I've chosen to not forgive."
"Every time I forgave, I just let her know that she can get away with whatever horrible things she had done. Her apologies were never real apologies. She always found ways to blame me or others for whatever she had done."
"And I'm truly just done with it. As sad as it is to not have a mom, it's sadder to pretend that you have one when in reality you don't... quite the opposite, if anything." - Neos_Mom
"So, OP, what will hurt more: keeping her and the grudge in your life or making a break and going low or no contact with her?"
"Frankly, we've no idea of what she might have been dealing with at the time, but regardless, what she said was said only to cause pain and suffering. 'Sorry' doesn't magic that intent away."
"Me, I think spending time alone or with friends or in therapy away from her might be what you need here. You might come to some sort of acceptance, but if this is something that's just going to keep coming between you, then stop trying to have that relationship." - Tal_Tos_72
After the OP received feedback, she shared a few clarifications from her original post.
"I wanted to clear some things up, take accountability where it's due, and provide some much-needed context from many people commenting the same questions."
"I want to be completely honest. We had many arguments, and I was a rebellious kid. I acted out and argued with my mom."
"I don't want to give off the impression that I was an entirely innocent kid who never did anything wrong and my mom just snapped out of nowhere. We both said hateful and hurtful things to each other during our fights."
"Growing up, the only way she would accept an apology was if I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. If I ever asked her to apologize to me, she would say, 'I have nothing to apologize for; you should be the one begging for my forgiveness.'"
The OP had a lot of physical memories, too.
"Things also would turn into physical arguments, not just verbal ones."
"There were times when she would get so angry she would get physical. Like yanking me by my hair, twisting my arms, or throwing things at me (like remotes, a bug spray can, or a radio)."
"When she yanked my hair, I would fight back just to get her to let me go, and she would scream that I was trying to kill her and she would get me arrested. When she twisted my arm, and I begged her to stop because it felt like it was going to break, she would say she hoped it did."
"When she threw objects at me, she would say she wished they would hit my face."
"I remember in middle school, during an argument, she said she wished she could break my face and that she hated it because I look like my dad. I won’t lie, whenever she said things like that, I would say nasty comments about how she chose to have him put us in her."
While the OP wasn't financially ready to move out yet, she hoped to as soon as possible.
"Why haven't I moved out yet? The main reason I haven't been able to move out is financial."
"I wasn't making enough to support myself without worrying about whether I’d end up having to crawl back home."
"Thankfully, I have recently found a better-paying job. My plan is to move out between mid-to-late October, or early November at the latest."
"The only reason I can't leave this exact second is because I have a few legal/administrative things to get cleared up so I’m completely untied from my mom, which will take a few weeks."
The OP also had proof that her mother liked her sister better.
"Has my mom ever admitted to favoring my sister? Yes."
"In arguments, she has explicitly told me that she doesn't see me as her legitimate daughter, and that she adored my sister more and forever will. She has also called me a 'monster,' told me there is a certain type of evil inside of me, and said she was afraid I would be just like my dad and try to harm them."
"She would even tell me that she was telling family and friends these things about me, but then later claim she 'just said it in the moment' and wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell people that."
"Because I was so confused growing up and didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth, I started avoiding our family when they came over."
"Naturally, that just made things worse because she would get mad at me for avoiding them (even now as an adult), completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who lied about what she told them."
Unfortunately, the OP didn't have support from her father.
"What about my dad? My dad is not in my life."
"He was around sporadically, but never as a stable parent. My parents separated before I was born and divorced when I was two or three."
"Growing up, it was just constant back-and-forth toxicity, with him telling me how toxic my mother was, and her telling me the same about him."
"He would mostly only come over to see my sister, and often used me to care for her if he wanted to take her out to eat. Ultimately, my dad didn't care about anyone else other than my sister (and his drugs)."
"I hope this can clear some questions on the original post. I know I didn't provide many details as I originally should have. I honestly didn't want to post something too long, and I honestly did not expect it to be noticed."
"Thank you all for taking time to talk to me and share your thoughts."
The subReddit fully sided with the OP, pointing out that no matter how heated the moment was, it would never excuse the terrible things the OP's mother had said to her.
If the OP's mother really wanted a relationship with her, she'd drop the defensiveness and demands, offer a genuine apology, and work hard to be better for both of her children.
That takes a very rare kind of person to pull off, and it didn't sound like the OP's mother had that in her.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp