We all know, at least on some level, that actions have consequences, sometimes even expensive or long-term consequences.
But there are some people who truly believe that they are above those consequences, no matter what, side-eyed the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITAH) subReddit.
Redditor aitahearingaides had never really liked her obnoxious cousin that much, and those feelings only intensified the day he threw her into the family pool to ruin the hairstyle she’d just paid for.
But when her time in the pool also ruined her $6,000 hearing aids, the Original Poster (OP) was quick to teach him a lesson by insisting he pay for replacements.
She asked the sub:
“AITAH for suing my cousin for 6,000 dollars to pay for my hearing aides after he threw me in the pool?”
The OP had an annoying cousin she did not like.
“My family is all on my cousin’s side for this issue, and I wanted some outside judgment.”
“My cousin (25 Male) has always been the golden child of our generation. He’s funny, good-looking, and outgoing, not to mention a boy amongst girls. He’s always loved to mess around and play pranks.”
“For the record, I really dislike this cousin. I think he’s irresponsible, childish, and annoying.”
“I have had hearing problems for years. I recently got a $6,000 pair of hearing aids.”
During a family gathering, the cousin threw the OP in the pool.
“Recently at my grandmother’s birthday party, we were all eating and drinking on the back porch. My grandmother has a pool.”
“My cousin decided he was going to throw me in the pool because it would be funny to ruin my hair that I just got done that day. I repeatedly told him to stop and put me down, in a very serious and not playful at all tone.”
“He threw me in the pool, and my hearing aids were ruined. After when I told him what happened, he basically said, ‘Whoops, didn’t know you had hearing aids now.'”
The OP insisted her cousin pay for the damages.
“When I told him the cost of them and that he would have to replace them, he freaked out and said no way.”
“My family didn’t want me to make him pay for them because I significantly out-earn him and also everyone else in the family. He was in college at the time, barely making ends meet in a call center job. His girlfriend and he have a baby and they live in a one-bedroom apartment.”
“He refused to pay, so I took him to court. I won. He refused to make the payments after, so I took him back to court and his wages are now being garnished for the maximum amount, which is 20% of his total wages.”
“It pushed him over the edge of what he could afford, so he’s had to work extra and drop out of college to be able to pay their rent.”
The OP felt her cousin got what he deserved.
“My family is absolutely fuming at me.”
“I think he made one bad choice after the other, and he has never given a sincere apology during this whole ordeal.”
“Had he given me a real apology after the incident and asked if he could wait till he finished school to pay me back I would’ve been fine with it.”
“But the entitled little pr**k is digging his feet in at every move.”
“AITAH? The only reason I could see me maybe being the a**hole is because it’s affecting his child and girlfriend.”
“AITAH?”
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 reassured the OP that there were ways her cousin could work this out.
“NTA. Where he f**ked up was not negotiating a payment plan with you that he could afford after he did it. A 20 percent garnish is a harsh way to learn his lesson, but he earned that lesson.” – ElonsRocket22
“He can go back to court and request a lower percentage if it’s really hurting him. That he hasn’t done so just shows me he’d rather play the victim and try to make her look bad. The court would listen to ‘in school with a wife and a kid’ and likely adjust that percentage until after graduation.” – JaninthePan
“The ‘The only reason I could see me maybe being the ahole is because it’s affecting his child and girlfriend’ is wrong.”
“OP, the only one affecting his girlfriend and child is him and his poor life choices. He chose to throw you in the pool because he wanted to mess up your hair (for f**k’s sake, he did it to hurt you).”
“He chose to not apologize or try to work with you. He chose to be sued. And I doubt he even considered how those poor choices would affect his child and girlfriend.”
“One could even say having a child, while in college and barely able to cover your rent, was also a poor life choice.” – FunSprinkles8
“At multiple points, he could have not thrown her in the pool. At multiple points after that, he could have got on his knees, groveled at OP’s feet, and begged for forgiveness, or even just apologized in a normal way after throwing her in the pool.”
“With a proper display of humility, he might even have got away with paying less than the damage he caused. Which he kind of already was when OP only told him he was responsible for the cost of the hearing aids.”
“He specifically wanted to throw OP in the pool to mess up their hair that she had just had done that day. Getting your hair done isn’t free.”
“This guy wanted to be cruel because he finds it funny. I bet he doesn’t think it’s funny now. OP is definitely NTA.” – Nothingnoteworth
“Funny how the family is quick to blame OP and hold her responsible, while not doing anything for their ‘golden child.’ If he’s so infallible, pony up the $6k on his behalf and let him pay you back later.”
“NTA, OP. Your family members and golden boy definitely are the AHs, though.” – Carbon-Base
Others agreed and said it was right for the cousin to be punished for his behavior.
“This isn’t an expensive outfit or purse (definitely hair) that he ruined. He ruined something that someone needs for daily living!”
“That will affect their life in a dangerous way until they are replaced. That would take a while to replace as it’s more than a months work for most. What is she supposed to do in the interim, just stay home and leave her life until he can get his s**t together so she can HEAR again?!”
“Acting like he just broke a toy is the most enabling, outrageous, insensitive behavior I’ve seen.” – freebrdstairway
“NTA. Your cousin ruined your $6,000 hearing aids despite your warnings, so it’s fair to expect him to pay for the damage. While it’s unfortunate the situation affects his family, he refused to take responsibility or apologize.”
“You gave him a chance before taking legal action, and the consequences are his own doing. You’re just holding him accountable for something that directly impacts your life.” – miasdeepertruths
“I’m sure the family thinks that 6,000 is just a drop in the bucket for the OP and not something to be concerned about.”
“What a f**ked argument that is, too. ‘I make more money than you so you’re just… allowed to break my sh*t and say, whoops?'”
“I hate that argument. It’s so stupid and if you think about it for more than a second, you realize the logical conclusion of it. The only safe people are the poorest because it’s okay to break someone’s s**t but as long as they make more money than you?”
“I dunno. Sorry for ranting. NTA.” – possibly_being_screw
“Just because OP ‘makes more money’ than another person, doesn’t mean they have extra money to throw around like that. 6k is a lot no matter how you look at it.”
“The family doesn’t know OP’s so there could be other expenses OP has to take care of.”
“F**k ’em and make the cousin pay it off.” – Snoo30319
“The family has clearly enabled this behavior for years and that’s why he thinks he can get away with being a d**khead. He just found out that’s not how it works in the real world most of the time.” – Jackski
“So if he’d broken a wheelchair that someone needed to get around, he and the family would think it’s okay not to replace it? Because it’s hearing aids, equipment that you need to be able to hear and function in your day-to-day life, they think it’s okay for him to just say ‘whoops’ and get away with it?”
“NTA.”
“But your family is the worst. I can’t believe they would enable him like that. If they all think it’s so hard on him, why are they not all chipping in to pay off his debt?”
“I’m sorry you have a family of selfish a**holes!” – millymollymel
The subReddit was infuriated on the OP’s behalf that her cousin had insisted on ruining her freshly-done hair, let alone ruining her hearing aids that she needed for daily life.
It was clear that the OP’s cousin needed to learn some respect, not only for other people but for other people’s things, and to finally understand at the age of 25 that actions have consequences.