As much as we would all like to think that all people can get along, some people simply can’t.
The worst instances are for people who are related, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor calledmevoldemort did her best at family functions to avoid her sister, who was always trying to start arguments with her.
But when her sister came up with a ridiculous insult to try to get her attention, the Original Poster (OP) could not help but laugh.
She asked the sub:
“AITA for bursting out into laughter when my sister called me ‘a Voldemort’?”
The OP recently went to a family party where her sister was in attendance.
“The other day, my (25 Female) family had a get-together to celebrate my brother’s (28 Male) wife’s pregnancy. It was just a small party.”
“His wife’s parents were there, a few cousins, our parents, and my sister, Katie (23 Female).”
“Katie and I don’t get along historically, but I mostly just try not to interact with her.”
The OP’s sister repeatedly tried to argue with her.
“At the party, I was minding my own business, talking with a cousin, when Katie walked by me with some snide comment.”
“I just ignored it.”
“This happened again a few more times, and each time I just didn’t respond; it’s nothing new.”
Katie then approached the OP directly.
“However, at one point (after we had finished eating), she approached me again.”
“Katie looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Just don’t think that nobody can tell what a Voldemort you are. Because that’s what you are, a real Voldemort.'”
“And, regrettably, at that I just started laughing. I started laughing really, really hard, and soon people were looking at us.”
“It truly wasn’t on purpose, but I didn’t know how else to respond to an adult calling me a ‘Voldemort’ and hoping that it would be a cutting blow.”
Katie caused a scene.
“Everyone started looking over at us, and that made Katie just start screaming at me, calling me a b***h, etc.”
“After a minute, I composed myself and just tried to walk away from the situation.”
“Katie just kept screaming, causing a scene, until my mom left with her.”
The family demanded that the OP try to keep the peace.
“I’ve been getting calls from my family, who all know that this kind of behavior is regular from Katie, telling me I shouldn’t have laughed at her.”
“And they’re right, I shouldn’t have. But it was honestly an instantaneous reaction, it wasn’t purposeful.”
“I’m starting to feel like I didn’t handle that encounter right, but I also don’t know what else I could have done differently.”
“I did my best to deescalate once I regained control of myself.”
“Am I the a**hole?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some laughed right along with the OP about her sister’s insult.
“Why did your sister call you Voldemort? Are you looking for immortality, trying to kill a teen? And what kind of reaction was she looking for? BTW, NTA.” – AdFun5978
“Katie’s insult reminds me of my just turned 4-year-old stomping her foot, putting her hands on her hips, and loudly proclaiming, ‘MAMA! you’re a (gasp!) MEANIE HEAD!’ <insert triumphant pose w/dramatic pause here>”
“This was after I told her that no, she would not, in fact, be eating Slurpees and ice cream sundaes for breakfast.”
“I tried, y’all. I tried so hard not to laugh in her face because this was Serious Business, but I failed. Lol (laughing out loud). Still funny 2 weeks later.” – Orthonut
“My guess is the sister meant dementor (as in, energy vampire, suck the life out of you, makes everything sad/dark, etc) and got a tiny bit confused and went with ‘a’ Voldemort.”
“If my guess is wrong, then I have no idea what ‘a’ Voldemort means… Maybe a person who is so paranoid about being dethroned that creates a whole army of ppl to prevent it and spends years hiding?” – Ok-Raspberry-8045
“NTA, what is her problem?”
“Laughing was probably the best thing you could do for yourself, and the worst thing you could do to her! And totally socially acceptable.” – Doc_Hank
“NTA. Ironically, your reaction was perfect. She’d been picking at you all night, desperate to hurt you and get a reaction.”
“She’s ridiculous and her insult was childish. Laughing in the face of that nonsense shows her how little power she has over you.”
“She needs to grow up and get a life. That’s not going to happen if people coddle her because that’s just how she is.” – SlabBeefPunch
“You know what she is like. Yes, she needs to make drama and it is entertaining to watch her humiliate herself over and over at every event.”
“How can you not laugh at an adult throwing tantrums and trying to get a rise out of people for attention without any reason?”
“That is what she is like and I find it funny to watch her make a fool of herself. That is what I am like.”
“You have done nothing for years over her behavior, so I know you have no power to do anything but accept mine. I will laugh at her every time she tries to be a child to get attention. I don’t know how you have been able to keep a straight face for so long.” – ohno_spaghetti_o
A few really wanted the OP to run with this “a Voldemort” insult.
“It’s the article that gets me. Not THE Voldemort. Just A Voldemort. Of the Battersley Voldemorts.”
“(NTA).” – LockedTomb
“I’m gonna need you to dress up as Voldemort for Halloween or the next family function. Priceless.” – Spirited-Lime96
“From now I would come to every family gathering and announce you’re here to get that d**n Potter kid.”
“Maybe carry around a little Draco Malfoy doll. Tell everyone he’s your real son.”
“Oh, IKEA used to sell these really cute stuffed rats. I can’t find the rat right now but they have a snake! You’d have your own Nagini.”
“Why the h**l is your family letting this go and yelling at you. I know it’s the whole don’t rock the boat thing, but your sister is 23. If she can’t go to family functions without trying to pick fights or screaming, she should not be invited. NTA.” – Slendermanismydad
“Just popping in here to say, please get a Harry Potter wand, and next time you see her point it at her and go, ‘Avada Kedavra!'” – GypsyPal
“OP should change her social media profile pictures to Voldemort. Embrace it!” – stellablue925
Others joked that there was a far worse insult to be had in the Harry Potter universe.
“NTA. But you missed the opportunity to say, ‘Well, I’d rather be Voldemort than Dolores Umbridge. Everyone hates her.'”
“She would’ve cried.” – Dry_Mastodon7574
“NTA. That’s a very weird attempt at an insult. Now if she’d called you Umbridge…” – booksrmylife
“If she wanted to do any actual damage, she could’ve just called OP Umbridge. Or Rowling.” – Blackenedblue
“To be honest, I don’t find Voldemort insulting at all but call me Umbridge and I WILL take it personally. I don’t know any Voldemorts, but have met a few Umbridges.” – BackhandSlapper
Some confirmed the OP’s reaction was reasonable, while her family’s was not.
“NTA. Your whole family knows what she’s like and because they can’t control her, they end up trying to control you so they don’t have to deal with her scenes.”
“You should provoke her intentionally every time at every gathering until they shut her down for her behavior.” – Substantial_Bench102
“It sounds like laughing is the right reaction. NTA. Your family shouldn’t be supporting her insulting people anyway, even if they’re hilariously bad insults.” – Fine_Ill_get_reddit
“NTA and it’s repulsive that people want you to cater to Katie’s bratty behavior. Why do people do that?”
“Oh, Katie behaves horribly, but we just have to suck it up because that’s the way she is. Nope, not gonna happen.”
“If Katie wants to behave like a brat, Katie will get treated like one. And laughing at her was the best way to handle it.” – jgl1313
“NTA. Keep laughing at her every time. Let her make a complete fool of herself and maybe that’ll finally have some consequences that make her change her behavior.” – The_Additional_Pylon
“NTA, but your family is wrong, you absolutely should have laughed at her.”
“They want you to be a boat steadier for a toxic relative. Thing is, the more of that behavior you tolerate, the more she will engage in.”
“You should laugh at her a lot. And tell your relatives that get on you about it that they should not be enabling her.”
“They will say something like, ‘That’s just how she is, deal with it’ or some such.”
“When they do, tell them, ‘Well, maybe if more people would stop enabling it, she wouldn’t be.’ Instead of steadying the boat, they should chuck her overboard.” – Derek_Kent
Not only did the subReddit find no fault with the OP’s reaction to her sister, but they also couldn’t figure out what the sister was trying to accomplish with her insult.
While anyone who has read Harry Potter can agree that Voldemort was terrible, the way she phrased her insult, and the fact that she used this as a metaphor at all, raised some serious questions.