Angry People Reveal Why They Went To War With Their Neighbors
[rebelmouse-image 18345426 is_animated_gif=Neighbor wars are hilarious in comedy films. Nobody really gets hurt, everything is funny, shirtless Zac Effron shows up and that's always good times. Real life can sometimes be just as hilarious as movies, but does that apply to the neighbor war trops? One Reddit user asked: Redditors who have gone to "war" with a neighbor, what's your story?
Yup, this is every bit as petty as you would think it is. We've got passive-aggressive bird feeders, nun fights, and a mariachi band that just won't stop. It's more than just that, though. Things get dark, of course, cause this is Reddit. Lives are lost, children are neglected, people are awful. Real neighbor wars don't often involve Zac Effron - much less shirtless Zac Effron.
Dancing On The Ceiling
[rebelmouse-image 18345428 is_animated_gif=Had a neighbor that lived downstairs. Did all sorts of loud s*** late into the night. Usually music and friends. One day I had enough and after about 10 minutes of very loud music I just started stomping on the floor. He came bursting out of his apartment and pounding on my door. I answered, acting very confused. "You need to stop stomping around! I'm trying to work!"
"I wasn't stomping."
"Yes you were!"
"I was dancing to your s****y music. Turn it down and it'll never happen again."
It never happened again.
The Mariachi Neighbor
[rebelmouse-image 18345433 is_animated_gif=The house I grew up at had that issue, new neighbors moved in and they would absolutely blast obnoxious mariachi music with as much bass as they could get out of their speakers, for most of the day.
We would ask them to turn it down, to no effect. I think they used to tell us they would, but then wouldn't. Eventually they got so irritated with us asking that once when I went over there to ask (16 or 17 years old), the "man" of the house threatened me with physical violence for asking.
So we started calling the cops. Unfortunately, they knew we were the ones calling, so everytime the cops showed up at their house for a noise complaint our vehicles would be vandalized: tires slashed, hoods and doors kicked in, etc.
As far as I know, the police were never able to do anything like issue a fine or anything like that. So it had no effect on them whatsoever.
Fighting A Bunch Of Nuns
[rebelmouse-image 18345434 is_animated_gif=My parent's neighbor constantly blows his leaves onto my parent's property. My dad tried to confront him a few times and the guy literally ran away every time. Yes, a grown man dropped his leafblower and ran inside and locked the door and pretended not to be home when he saw my dad coming, on multiple occasions. My father is not a scary man.
My dad was finally able to confront him one day -- he was super polite and said the guy could blow the leaves into their woods, but just not onto their clean lawn. The guy responded, "your property doesn't start until 10 feet from the road, so you can't do anything about it. If you want me to stop, sue me." This is technically correct, as the property is off a private road owned by a convent, and per state law the owner of the road also owns the 10 feet of land on either side of the road.
So, my dad called up the Convent and asked if the neighbor is allowed to dump his leaves on their property. Turns out they don't like that, so now instead of being in a neighborly argument with my parents, he's trying to fight a bunch of nuns in court. Not a good look.
Dorm Life
[rebelmouse-image 18345435 is_animated_gif=Live in a dorm with shared kitchen and toilet. One neighbor refused to buy toilet paper and always stole food. During a summer break only him and me were living at the dorm and he continued the practice so I made some stew and put a lot of laxatives in it. I also left only one roll of toilet paper in the bathroom that was covered in itching power.
He was PISSED, but I laugh whenever he tries to scold me for it
Four Months And Dozens Of Phone Calls
[rebelmouse-image 18345436 is_animated_gif=Years ago my upstairs neighbors were wanted felons living in an apartment leased by the ladies brother, they sold drugs out of there, loud music 8am-12am, locked their daughter outside for hours at a time so we would do things with her and give her snacks. You could tell her social and educational development was way behind. After finding their pictures online on the MN 50 most wanted I called the police - they didn't believe me. They called me a child (I was 22) all while the neighbors behavior got worse as more people reported them.
It took them 4 months and dozens of phone calls to finally get the police to arrest fugitives they were supposedly looking for...
Cold War Lawncare
[rebelmouse-image 18345438 is_animated_gif=It's more of a Cold War situation. When my boyfriend cuts the grass, even if our neighbor just cut his grass a few days prior, he (our neighbor) will cut his again the next day. He's an old man who can't stand to have his lawn just a smidge taller than ours.
Cruise Neighbors
[rebelmouse-image 18345439 is_animated_gif=On a week long cruise. First two mornings our neighbors on both sides were ridiculously loud basicaly screaming in Spanish and constantly waking us up. We didn't go to bed until 3-4am so they cut into your sleep. On 3rd night at around 10-11pm we go to our room, blasted the TV (side note-TV's on cruises should be programmed to not go as loud as we made it) and left it like that until 3-4am. You could hear it outside our door, it was very loud like they were. Next morning what do you know the neighbors realized other people can hear them and were quiet the rest of the cruise.
He Got A Fence
[rebelmouse-image 18345440 is_animated_gif=When I was in elementary school, our neighbor's four dogs would always poop in our backyard. My mom asked the neighbor many times to pick it up, but he never did.
So every morning before school, my mom would send me and my brother on 'poop patrol'. At first we just put the poop in the neighbor's yard, but our neighbor never got the hint. My mom then had us put the poop on his porch and then he got a fence.
Food War
[rebelmouse-image 18345441 is_animated_gif=Well it all started one day when they were having their fence put in and one of the workers accidentally snapped one of our tomato plants at the base. So she decided to take it inside and cook all of the green tomatoes into this unbelievably yummy Indian food I can't even begin to pronounce or spell and brought it over as an apology. Then we made fresh cut pasta and gave them some to give the container back because we of course didn't want to keep it. Then they had the audacity to make us some Indian desert thing that tasted like heaven by then our garden had started to produce so we gave them two bags of produce that would have gone to waste and they gave use some eggplant dish. So we brought over a tray of cookies and now it's three years later and we are in a heated war over who can out food the other.
We're fighting a losing battle though because they are vegetarian and we are not so we have to modify most of what we make for them but we have a huge vegetable garden so we have the leg up on that.
Water Bottle Mountain
[rebelmouse-image 18345442 is_animated_gif=My neighbor leaves trash in their yard. We have a HOA that is basically as feckless as possible. And this isn't some s*** neighborhood, we're talking 300k in Columbus, Ohio, which is about as upper middle class as you can get in the midwest.
They don't tie up their garbage bags, so some random falls out, and blows into my yard. I took the 6 pieces I could find and duct taped them to their garage, because I wanted them to be aware of the issue.
For all of winter, they threw their plastic water bottles into a pile next to their garage, and it kept getting bigger and bigger until the snow melted and it was way too obvious, so they finally trashed it.
And if all this is too specific, and my neighbor happens to read this, then clean up your trash you Vernon Dursley looking f***.
Cocaine Club
[rebelmouse-image 18345443 is_animated_gif=I lived next door to a coke club for years. They'd start up around 11PM or midnight, and go till dawn.
The cops (Brooklyn) were clearly on the take, as they'd repeatedly tell me during the day that the place had been closed down, and yet they were showing up three or four times a week there to deal with fights. I asked one of them about why they couldn't close the place at 4AM one day after a particularly noisy fight, and they wouldn't even look me in the eye.
We had a huge number of beer bottles because I also used the place as a performance/rehearsal space, so at a certain point I'd start throwing bottles out my window to smash at their back door when they were noisy.
They really hated that, but as I pointed out, what were they going to do, call the cops? So they eventually managed to keep the noise down. It kinda worked out!
Eventually they were gentrified out of existence...
Babies To The Rescue
[rebelmouse-image 18345444 is_animated_gif=Back in like 2009-2010 I was at war with my downstairs neighbor. She would hit her ceiling with a broom stick, and I would point my bass speaker down toward the floor. I got pregnant with twins that were high risk, and got a temporary handicapped placard for parking closer. She borrowed one and took my spot.. few months go by of straight war...then I had my twins.
My washing machine had flooded her kitchen, and she came up to scream at me for ruining her dinner. I yelled back something sarcastic like: **"I totally did it on purpose, I mean come on lady!" **
She laughed, I laughed..and she asked to see the babies (they were in their swings in her line of sight) and just like that, it was over. I'll be damned if we didn't stop messing with each other, and that woman was the ONLY person to help me. We became best friends, and still are to this day. We still laugh at our silly war. Thank you Heather!
Bicycle Mediation
[rebelmouse-image 18345446 is_animated_gif=I ride my bike to the train station in the mornings. I have to ride past a few houses on the sidewalk before I can move onto the street. One day, a neighbor comes at me and accuses me of 'almost' hitting him with my bicycle. Now, I have no idea what he talked about since I've never been anywhere close to him but he insists on it. Fast forward a few weeks he complaints again that everybody keeps riding their bicycle on the sidewalk and he's scared for his life. He says he's terrified that people will hit him because he's deaf in one ear and won't hear them coming.
He doesn't look where he's goes and instead relies on what he can hear from his other ear, but that's outside the story!
I reassured him, saying I would go very slowly and watch out for him.
I almost never see him after that. Fast forward 2 months and suddenly a mediator shows at my door telling me that my neighbor wants to talk, but doesn't want to do it alone. I'm confused. The questions keep adding up. I told the mediator that if he wants to talk he can just knock on the door and we will talk, never had a problem with him before so no idea why he would now. Nothing came from that.
Another 2 months pass without incident. Then one day police officers show up at the door. Neighbor has filed a complaint about not only me, but also my other neighbor, claiming that we are threatening with the way we ride. That neighbor doesn't even know how to ride a bicycle. I explained the story to the police. They advised to be careful around his house, which I already was.
Another month later another mediator shows up and wants to talk with us together. At this point I refuse it. He's had plenty of opportunities and this is literally about things that aren't happening. This was 2 months ago, I wonder when his next complaint will be.
Deadly Dirt
[rebelmouse-image 18345447 is_animated_gif=A guy down the street from where I used to live would complain to me about how his neighbours wouldn't move their tractor and dirt load, they'd complain to me about his dogs being loose etc. One day a few years ago the guy complaining about the dirt strolled into their house and shot the elderly couple and their middle aged son dead.
Get Some Anger Management
[rebelmouse-image 18345448 is_animated_gif=Currently at war with two young women who live across the street. I'm a pretty live-and-let-live guy, so this took a lot.
I ignored the overgrown lawn and piles of leaves they raked up and left there to moulder. I didn't like the assorted s*** that collected on their front lawn, but that wasn't enough to prod me into action.
I didn't like the front-step parties they'd have every weekend that kept me awake or forced me to close my windows and turn on the AC. But I didn't call the city. Not even then they'd wake me, yelling in the middle of the street at 4 AM.
What finally put me over the edge is one has two kids. The oldest is about three years old. She shouts obscenities at him. Daily. The first time it happened I thought "You shouldn't do that, but kids can drive even the most reasonable person around the bend." Then I realized it was every day.
The poor little guy never says a word. It's like learned helplessness. The I started to listen for it, and realized she was constantly scream at them and berating them inside the house too, though I couldn't hear particulars. Just constant screaming.
You better believe I called Child and Family Services. I don't give a s*** if those horrible people key my car at 4 AM. If you treat a child like that, you don't deserve to have that child.
I am currently raining regulatory hell down on their heads through all the channels I can find... I will not stop until either those kids are taken from her or she gets some goddamned anger management.
Dogs And Fences
[rebelmouse-image 18345449 is_animated_gif=Dog kept chewing through old fence, kept coming up with excuses why he wouldn't pay his half to replace the fence. We shouldn't have had to pay any of it since it would have been structurally fine if his dog didn't keep chewing holes in it and escaping into our back yard. We decided to start leaving our side gate open, the dog would chew threw and then go wandering through the neighbourhood. After the third pick up from the pound he decided to buy scrap wood and patch up the holes.
Soccer Players
[rebelmouse-image 18345451 is_animated_gif=Lived in a dorm with 5 other guys in college and had to move out to the dorm across the quad building. (it was a total of like 40 ft move.) below us were the soccer players. They were a rowdy bunch and often partied until 3-4 am with loud music and drinking, often times we could feel the floor vibrate and we called safety services on them to get them to quiet down. Well when we were moving the decided to egg our door. we called safety services who claimed they "didn't have cameras" up on that particular set of dorms.
So, since they "didn't have cameras", we egged them back. Safety service was called on us. They said they knew we did it because they saw the footage. We reminded them they "didn't have cameras" on that area. If they punished us, they would also have to punish the soccer players.
We then found out how to stop their music by trying to connect to their bluetooth speaker. Victory.
Taking It Out On Us
[rebelmouse-image 18345452 is_animated_gif=We had some problems with our former neighbor. He would come over and yell at us over the most random things that were A. never actually wrong, and/or B. not actually our fault. Once he came over on a Sunday morning ringing our doorbell & throwing a tantrum about some vines growing on the back fence. My husband went back there with him to check things out, and sure enough, they were growing up from the neighbor's side. Another time my husband was out in our driveway washing out a couple of flower pots and the dude came out of his house & started screaming at us about spraying dirty water into his yard (we weren't). He also called the fire department on us for smoking a brisket. Just lots of small weird incidents like that.
This was a relatively normal guy in his 40s with a job, wife & 2 kids, and we live in a pretty nice suburban neighborhood. LOL. It wasn't like it was some crazy old crackpot. They sold the house & moved last year (thank goodness), and we found out later they'd divorced & apparently had some pretty big financial issues. I guess maybe it was the stress of what was going on in his life, just taking it out on us.
Birds Don't Pay Taxes
[rebelmouse-image 18345453 is_animated_gif=This is so dumb. My neighbor got pissed that I hung up a bird feeder on my property, stating it attracted birds. I said "well that's the point", to which he goes on a tirade about how he pays taxes and the birds don't, and that they were destroying his house blah blah blah. This is all well and good until I just stopped responding to him and he brings up my ex girlfriend by saying "No wonder that lady moved out". It was an amicable breakup so this was not an ok thing to say on many levels.
I resisted the urge to punch him right then and there and calmly got into my car. Drove to the nearest Lowes, and bought a few more bird feeders to hang all around my property. I glared at him the whole time I was installing them. It's been two years, and he hasn't spoken to me since.
I had never had a problem with him before that, and I rarely even converse with my neighbors because I normally keep to myself.
H/T: Reddit
Some folks out there have crossed wires when it comes to sexy talk.
I've heard some of the creepiest things in life whispered in my ear.
Asking if I like being electrocuted is NOT an icebreaker.
That feels like a no-brainer!
But I'm not alone. The folks of Reddit had some experiences to share.
Redditor thecoragray asked:
"What is the least sexiest thing someone has ever said to you?"
Watch 'Silence of the Lambs' and do the exact opposite.
It's literally that easy.
Flesh Issues
“'I want to wear your skin.'”
"Alright Buffalo Bill I’m out."
Bronwynbagel
"My wife says she wants to climb inside my skin and live in me."
zetecvan
The Old Days
"I was in college, right when Pokémon go was at it's peak. I was catching a Jigglypuff before class was starting. This dude next to me said 'Hey baby. I can Jiggle your Puffs' I moved seats."
fairflightt
"What an amateur. He should have said 'Hey baby. You're making my Wiggly Tuff!'"
sweetnumb
Big NAY!
"A few weeks ago, in the midst of getting down and dirty, I said to my SO (in the straightest monotone voice) 'ride me like a horse - neigh.' She instantly starts laughing so hard she starts crying. After replaying it in my head I also start laughing."
Relentless_UK
"That is absolutely not sexy and absolutely hilarious at the same time. Wholesome!"
silvernightdoom
How Old?
"'You remind me of my old philosophy professor.' The image that immediately popped into my mind was of a geriatric man with heavyset glasses lost in a library."
Judge_T
Remind me of who? No, thank you.
Acknowledge other Humans
"'Why cant I bother people that sleep on the street? They are drugheads.'"
"When she said that I knew that she was not the one, people with that attitude are not for me."
tinytalldude
"I hate how so many people just dismiss homeless people as human beings just by saying they're drug addicts. 'Ok then maybe we can help them get off their addictions and that will eventually help them be more successful in life.'"
"'No they're dug addicts.' People will do anything they can to not recognize them as just other people."
macgregorio21
Slow Down
"When a sexy boss I had told me that if I screwed up what I was doing she'd kick me in my testicles. I know there are people that like that crap and stuff but she really meant it and it was as non-sexual and threatening as it could have been. At the end I didn't screw up and we shared some beers that same day, now she works from her home taking care of her 2 children, never thought she'd be able to have any kids."
xoxoxaxiyo
What's In a Name?
"I've had two women call out (one screamed out) my name during sex. Nothing puts me off more which, in their defense, they didn't know."
"It just comes off as cheesy to me and makes me laugh, pulling me right out of the zone. Nope."
Striking-Ad-9179
"I'm the same way. It takes me out of the moment, like a teacher calling your name while you're daydreaming in class. I'm always like, 'Huh? What do you want?' for a second before it clicks. Then I'm like, 'Ohhhhh right. Right, that. No problem. I got you there.'"
"Thankfully I don't say all of this out loud."
MyPeeSacIsFull
Feeders
"'The way you eat makes me so horny.'"
"It was twenty minutes into our first date. I was eating a salad. There was not a second date, and I gave up entirely after that because it was the third 'feeder' in a row. I have very terrible dating luck. lol."
Donequis
Whew... people really need to think before they speak.
Do you have any crazy comments to share? Let us know in the comments below.
CW: Graphic stories and experiences.
Life is full of all kinds of events.
Events and things we can never unsee.
Or actions we can never undo.
I don't know if there is any way to be prepared to see the worst of life or to find yourself involved in such things.
It all just seems to happen.
A dark twist and turn can be just around each and every corner.
Redditor Similar_Helicopter27 wanted to see who would share about some of life's darker moments, so they asked:
"What's the most f**ked up thing you’ve ever did/saw?"
I've witnessed muggings and car accidents.
That's why I try not to leave the house.
Bounced Back
"I saw my little brother getting hit by a car and flying a few meters through the air when he was only 6 years old. Fortunately he didn’t even break a bone but damn, I‘ll never forget this."
ShaiHuludTheFirst
In a matter of seconds...
"The most f**ked up thing I’ve seen was a guy who had just been in a motorcycle accident bleeding out on the side of the freeway. He was clenching onto the hand of the girl who was the driver of the car involved. She was crying hysterically. I saw his hand turn white in a matter of seconds. I remember it whenever I see someone on a bike."
Mellopiex
Like a Movie
"I witnessed a bad car accident once. The car launched off of an overpass as I went under it. The car flipped several times. It was like something out of a movie. I was the first person on the scene, my wife called 911. It was not a pretty sight. wasn't much left of the person's body."
Upbeat-Character-938
That's a NYC Story
"Found a dead body on the sidewalk in front of my building on my third day living in NYC. When I told my supervisor about it at work, hoping to process it with someone, she just kind of brushed it off like 'welcome to New York.'"
quinnards
Only in New York is a dead person on the street just another ordinary day.
3AM
"I tripped over a dead body in tall grass working an accident trying to find the missing passenger. It was 3am and raining."
HAWMadden
It was spiritually bad
"I worked for a horse training ranch for a month when I was a kid. Me and the dude I worked with found a cow that had been dead for a while out in the field. It was bloated and gonna' blow soon. We did not engage with the cow, we weren't prepared for a clean up that day."
"When we came back prepared for cleaning the next day it had ruptured and the smell was life changing. It was spiritually bad. Since I was basically an unpaid intern, the paid guys told me to take a hike. 14 year old me took a hike. I was a hard working kid and they knew it so let me off with that one."
ProfessorWhat42
Poor Baby
"The photo evidence for a child murder case that they showed in court when I worked for the department of human services. The parents wanted to retain custody of their older son which is why they were involved with CPS. I was 22. There were just countless pages we had to look at while the expert witnesses explained what we were seeing. The images are burned into my brain forever, and I’ll never forget his name as long as I live. That poor baby."
FloridaMomm
The Boy
"Saw a kid I knew get hit by a car, flip through the air, jump up and picked up one of his shoes and then collapse and got airlifted out. The rest of us were sitting on the corner eating hamburgers. Never saw him again. They said he was paralyzed."
"I brought his banged up bike and glasses and shoes back to my house but they never got picked up. My dad was on the volunteer fire department and managed the Medivac landing and was first on scene because we only lived a few doors down."
unwittyusername42
Silence
"Watching a car traveling at about 130mph in my rear view mirror almost hit me but instead hit the base of a bridge, the crunching sound then bodies flying everywhere, then total silence."
PinotGreasy
"The instant silence after so much noise is odd it is like a second but almost feels like several minutes of pure peacefulness then bam the sound is back and everything is crazy."
Ok_Dog_4059
Well, that is a lot of nightmares being relived.
Bless you all for sharing.
People Share The Most Dangerous Places For Americans To Travel
International travel is an incredible, priceless experience, but there are certain safety concerns that a person should always address before traveling.
But there is a lot more to it than sharing your travel itinerary with a trusted love one, depending on where you want to go.
Digging for unique travel advice, one Redditor asked:
"Where are the most dangerous places for Americans to travel?"
A Legitimate Question
"I wonder if this sort of thing actually draws Americans there: either for the near-death rush or to prove that they survived despite all the clear advice not to go."
- LTVOLT
According to the U.S. State Department...
"The US State Department has a color-coded advisory system about how dangerous countries are for Americans to visit."
"The highest level (don’t travel there for any reason) are: Venezuela, Haiti, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, North Korea, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali, and Burkina Faso."
- ShinjukuAce
Venezuela
"VENEZUELA. As soon as you leave the airport, you can be intercepted by criminals and even corrupt police to rob you or worse."
- Ari_Goddess305
Seriously, Venezuela
"Little-known fact: From 2016–2019, Venezuelan government death squads are believed to have murdered at least 18,000 people, according to this report by Human Rights Watch. They've undoubtedly killed thousands more since then."
- KurtisC1993
Central African Republic
"Some tips for traveling to the Central African Republic:"
"Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney."
"Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc."
"Be sure to appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact with hostage-takers, media, U.S. and host country government agencies, and Members of Congress, if you are taken hostage or detained."
"Establish a proof of life protocol with your loved ones, so that if you are taken hostage, your loved ones can know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax)."
"Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them."
- Passing4human
Iran
"I have a Croatian citizenship and in fact, many people speculate that Croatians originated from Iran (at least language-wise) and thus, Iranians are welcoming to Croatians. I have had friends go there and said it was great, super welcoming people, cheap, etc.; just don't go with an American passport."
- Fancy_Poetry_1705
Florida Interstates
"On I-4, you would never get anywhere, you can only go 0 miles per hour between Tampa and Orlando. Some people were supposed to be at work ten years ago and they're still stuck in traffic."
- han7nah
Unsafe for Women
"Can confirm, my good friend never felt more harassed or uncomfortable than when she was in Egypt. And she has been all over for work."
- JRoll555
The Sentinel Islands
"The Sentinel Islands in India. Inhabitants will kill any foreigners that come to the island, even if people at sea wash up on the island. They consider everyone not from the island a threat, therefore killing anyone coming there. The Indian government actually put a three-mile no-boat border there to protect everyone from the Sentinel Islands."
- Alarmed_Koala_1558
Get to the Appointment on Time
"Parts of Mexico are scary as h**l. I used to live in a border town where Americans went across the line for medical and dental care. It’s reached the point with the Drug Cartel violence and kidnapping that these offices have armed security meet the Americans at the border crossing, escort them to and from the doctor's office, and then back to the border."
- toddfredd
Unkissable Rock
"Blarney castle. When Americans come here, they almost always pay money to kiss a stone that is routinely defiled by the locals on a regular basis, and has been for decades."
- Fathertedisbrilliant
North Korea
"The American government does ban citizens from traveling to North Korea (you have to ask the Department of State for permission and get a special passport. You have to have a reason for going and tourism won't cut it). It's a relatively recent ban put in place after the Otto kid, if I recall correctly."
"I believe North Korea is also the only country the US government bans us from visiting. I wonder why some other countries haven't been banned (some are more dangerous than North Korea at this point)."
- PM_SOME_OBESE_CATS
Mogadishu
"Mogadishu is number one."
"From what I read, if you travel there, it is a guarantee that you will be dead within hours."
- death_or_glory_
Tanzania
"I'll never forget the time I (an American) was in Tanzania and trying to arrange passage to Madagascar via a shipping vessel (I met someone who knew someone who knew someone who could get me on the ship for very cheap). Eventually, the captain told me he would grant me passage, but warned me that if pirates boarded their ship, they would likely take me with them and hold me hostage."
"I didn't fully trust that the crew/captain wouldn't sell me to the pirates, haha... so I never did make that trip. Amsterdam was a nice alternative though."
"I did visit Zanzibar. the red colobus monkeys were cool, but nothing compared to how I imagine seeing lemurs in the wild would be. My only advice to people in Zanzibar: If the ATM in Stonetown isn't working, don't follow a guy named Jeff to the 'other ATM.' There isn't another ATM. And, Jeff will not want Zambian Kwatcha when he robs you. However, if you agree to buy several football jerseys from him, he will not harm you (yes, this is a real story from my trip)."
"Oh, and don't trust the taxi drivers when you want to buy a ticket to the ferry that takes you to Zanzibar... they will take you to a fake ticket place that sells you a one-way ticket, not allowing return passage. This didn't happen to me, but to some of my friends."
- AquanautOrange
Applies to Everyone
"Some of these countries aren't dangerous to Americans specifically. They are just dangerous places to travel to in general, irrespective of what your nationality is. Like, nobody is traveling to Ukraine or Venezuela right now."
"With that said, being a Westerner (especially white, affluent-looking) will make you a target for crime in pretty much any country stricken by poverty, war, or social conflict. Even in politically 'friendly' countries like South Africa, you still need to be extra vigilant."
- Enceladus89
While traveling is an amazing experience, it may be more important than ever to exercise caution while visiting another country. A person should always travel prepared, but it may be more important now than it used to be to send a friend your itinerary and to travel with someone you trust.
But some of the places described here might be better to put off visiting for the time being, at least until the increased political unrest ebbs away a bit.
People Break Down Which Main Characters Are The Hardest To Sympathize With
Between all the movies coming out and various streaming services we have to pick from, we're really at the top of the entertainment era right now.
But despite how much we have to pick from, there are some pretty unlikeable characters out there, and some of them are in some predominant, if not leading, roles.
Redditor LuinAelin asked:
"Who's the worst main character we're supposed to sympathize with?"
Hate for Caillou
"I can see the intention behind Caillou, like presenting kids with a child who's actually childish. he throws tantrums and acts selfishly and then grows."
"But I feel like that's too complex for kids. I think kids watch Caillou acting like a sh*thead and just focus on that without internalizing the show's morals."
"Caillou is Tyler Durden from 'Fight Club' for kids."
- mrbaryonyx
An Angry Rant for Caillou
"That f**ker basically teaches kids how to whine about s**t because, 'It's not fair.' What's not fair is parents having to listen to their kids behave like that lollipop-looking piece of s**t."
"F**k you, Caillou. You better hope I better never see your a** in the streets."
- Sammichface
Piper from 'Orange is the New Black'
"I don't know, the other characters point out her character flaws. How superficial and manipulative she is. And then they go into her family dynamics to show why she is the way she is."
"It's the same with all the other characters. It's just at the beginning, we are meant to believe she is somewhat different from the other prisoners because of her background, but the show shows she is actually much the same."
- No_Marsupial_8574
Emily from 'Emily in Paris'
"I don’t just find her annoying, I truly do not like her. She is a deeply toxic person."
"It’s not just that she is spoiled and treats people around her like they are just for her own personal benefit, it’s how she does not care about the pain and problems she inflicts."
"She seems regretful about being found out or getting consequences for her actions, but not about her actions themselves. It’s always 'I can explain!' after she has had plenty of time and situations to come clean about something and, well, explain… but always only a last resort after lying and covering up."
"She is very manipulative and spins all situations to be about her or to her benefit. She plays the victim when she can and only apologizes to gain back control of a situation, but never really seems to try and change her behavior."
- ecalicious
Joel Goodsen from 'Risky Business'
"There's a setup, in the beginning, that Tom Cruise is in some business class where they're supposed to come up with some business idea. Then his parents go away for the weekend."
"Cue that famous scene. Tom Cruise, the protagonist and high school student, orders a sex worker. They turns out to be a man. But that man gives him another number to call and he finally gets a girl, and they bang."
"Something happens where Cruise now needs money. He and the sex worker he's 'befriended' decide to start a brothel in his parents' house. A brothel that caters exclusively to Cruise's high school friends. They make the money they need and then some. Parents come home none the wiser."
"We end with Tom Cruise back in the business class failing the assignment because he was busy doing the whole child brothel thing but ends with a voice-over where he's proudly saying how much money he actually made."
"Turns out he actually was a businessman!"
- MurderDoneRight
Rory Gilmore from the 'Gilmore Girls'
"Whiny, narcissistic, cheated on multiple boyfriends and with a married man..."
"In hindsight, it's not a surprise she turned out how she did with everyone powdering her @ss from day one of the show."
"The way she collapsed because one whole person told her she wasn't cut out for the career she wanted was proof of that. In any other show, that would be the point where the protagonist digs deeps to remember why they wanted that dream or realize their talents were better suited for something else."
"Instead, Rory trashes a boat, quits Yale for half the year, moves in with her grandparents because Lorelei put a foot up her a** for once, and then spun her wheels for the next decade after graduation, doing nothing of note while thinking her farts smelled of roses."
"Mitchum did absolutely nothing wrong, and boy was he ever vindicated in the sequel."
- Shirogayne-at-WF
Both of the 'Gilmore Girls'
"I think people miss the real point of the show, at least to me. You can have all the intelligence, money, and opportunity to succeed in life but your choices are what dictate outcomes."
"Rory and Lorelei are both victims of their own choices. I feel like the revival completed that circle."
- Loocha
Nate from 'Ted Lasso'
"I would have said Nate from 'Ted Lasso,' but the show caught my vibe and turned him into the antagonist."
"I hope he doesn’t get a redemption arc."
"The writers are gonna have to do some next-level s**t if they want me to ever like Nate again."
- Polarexpress07
Cade Yaeger from 'Transformers'
"Cade Yaeger from the newer 'Transformers' movies. Was Sam a good main character? No. Not at all. But d**n, Cade is horrible."
"In his first, let's say, 10 minutes on screen, we learn that he doesn't pay for his house, his electricity, he doesn't pay his employee, he is a s**t inventor, overly protective of his daughter, and is all around an a**. And he only gets worse."
- RangerPeterF
Jax Teller from 'Sons of Anarchy'
"Jax Teller from 'Sons of Anarchy.'"
"Dude’s son straight up got kidnapped and his wife got injured to the point she couldn’t perform surgeries because his stepdad put a hit out on her, and it STILL wasn’t enough for him to leave his dumb motorcycle club."
"His wife begged him to leave for their safety and he wouldn’t... she tried to leave on her own with her children and he stopped her. Then she ends up getting murdered by his psycho mom..."
"The dude was a straight-up piece of s**t."
- ssitchy
Noah from 'The Notebook'
"You're supposed to watch it and be like, 'Yeah, Ryan Gosling is the better man, and Rachel McAdams needs to leave that swine James Marsden for him!' when in reality Ryan Gosling's character is a total f**king weirdo, and James Marsden's character is just like a regular dude who treats her well and isn't evil or anything."
- Shigidy
Oscar from 'Shark Tale'
"He's a lying, self-serving, womanizing, ego-filled waste of space who uses everyone else for personal gain and nothing else."
"It's actually impressive that the 'hot fish' he's after is an incredibly shallow gold digger, but manages to be a better person simply because she directly tells him that's who she is. She's still trash, but she's honest trash."
- mark-five
Mark from 'Rent'
"I love 'Rent,' but as I get older, the more ridiculous it gets. Mark is a rich kid who has parents that love him but he runs off to cosplay as someone who is poor to make 'films,' which is really just him pointing his camera at poor people all day."
"He doesn't think he should have to pay rent to Benny because they were friends and he let them stay for free for a long time and he thinks that should just last forever?"
"Then he finally gets a job but quits because it was 'selling out.' Ughhhh."
- UniBrow4o9
The Silly Rabbit from 'Trix'
"The kids from the Trix cereal commercials. All the rabbit wants to do is eat some cereal, but the kids won't let him just because he's a rabbit. Racist pr**ks."
- Goldensandslash15
While there's a lot of entertaining material here, it's a clear reminder that some pretty unlikeable characters have been created for leading roles, and they're often distastefully masquerading as likeable ones.