"What's the most unfair thing you've ever seen?" –– Today's burning question from Redditor overclaimedmalpo is a doozy.
We like to think people get what they deserve, but that's just not true. At any given moment, your world could change in an instant, rocked by some terrible disaster. You never know when that moment will come; those of us who've made it through some dark times are hardened, even somewhat cynical.
After reading these, you'll understand why.
"The store decided..."
Early to mid 90s, Beastie boys were my favorite band at the time and they were on tour. My friends and I camped out all night at the local Ticketmaster and were 2nd in line to buy tickets. By morning, the line was at least a hundred people, probably more. The store decided to open the other door that was near the end of the line. So suddenly the line was reversed and we became second to last in line! People that had arrived merely minutes before were first in line. I'd camped there for tickets before and they never opened that door any other time. I. was. PISSED.
"I took care of a woman..."
I took care of a woman who had cancer and was in her end days. She was young, late 30s, and had 3 sons, ages 9, 11 and 18. Apparently she had only just been diagnosed earlier that year. Earlier in the year, when her husband got the news that she had cancer, he was on his way home to comfort her and was killed in a car accident. So these boys lost both their parents in the span of about 10 months. This woman not only found out she was dying, but then was loaded with the grief of his death and the uncertainty of her children's futures. All of us nurses had to rotate care of her, as no one could leave that room and not be in tears. We didn't want to add to the boys grief.
"The arresting officer..."
My first year working at the DA's office, there was a lady who was arrested and charged with possession of CDS - methamphetamine.
The arresting officer was the best guy we had. Real by the book kinda cop, which put a huge target on his back from the other cops who were....less thorough.
Anyway, the arrest was made following a routine traffic stop. The defendant gave the officer permission to search her vehicle. He found a small baggy with crystal shards in it. The field test came back positive and she was arrested and her car impounded.
That was Friday after 5, so she sat in jail until the following Monday for her initial appearance. That morning, she sat with the other inmates and sobbed throughout the proceedings before her name was called. You might be surprised, but that is really rare. 99% of the time, ppl are pretty resigned or sometimes just annoyed after they've had time to calm down, sober up, and the reality of their situation sinks in.
So when she gets called on by the judge, she gets really loud and is crying so hard, she kept interrupting the judge, who then threatened to remove her from court until she could control herself. Initial appearances are basically just to announce charges, set bail, and schedule the next court date, so there usually isn't cause for a defendant to say much, just state whether they understand their charges.
When asked if she understood, she starts wailing that she didn't do anything, that "it was just candy." And you can probably see where this is going. After we concluded, I contacted the lab to order a rush on the sample attached to her case.
A week later, the results came back as negative for meth or any other CDS. It was cinnamon hard candy that had gotten busted up in the bag in her purse. The defendant, being unable to afford bail, sat in jail that whole time.
Meanwhile, the officer came into our office in tears over what happened. He was convinced that someone in his department had tampered with his field kits, swapping them out for expired ones. Because he never had a kit long enough for it to expire. He worried that this was the perfect excuse the less scrupulous officers would have to pressure the chief of police to fire him over.
And here's where things reached new heights of shittiness: my supervisor decided the way to resolve the problem was to offer the lady a plea deal of the lesser charge for possession and manufacture of an imitation controlled substance. He reasoned that if she couldn't even afford bail, she would not be able to pay an attorney and the public defender would encourage her to take the deal, not being a thorough kind of guy.
Epilogue: I tried quietly talking several defense attorneys into representing her, but none even called her while she was in jail. After 3 more days of futilely trying to help her, I secretly went to the judge with a copy of the lab report. He ordered her immediate release without further comment. No charges were filed. And she never wound up suing everyone involved, though the defense attorneys I spoke with often threatened to do that when they wanted leverage on their other cases. I could have been fired for everything in this paragraph that I did, so it was a pretty big risk but I feel like I stopped a storm of unholy proportions and helped out someone who had fallen through the cracks in the system.
"Guy comes into the ER..."
Guy comes into the ER, MVA, BAC 0.19 over twice the legal limit. Hit another car head on killed the other driver and her passenger, a young couple who had 2 kids at home. They were out on a date night, he did not have a scratch on him.
"Basically he just found out..."
I worked with a guy. He was the sort of colleague that got on with everyone and loved by everyone and made everyone laugh and generally brought the mood up whenever he entered the room. He got banned from driving (don't know why didn't know him when it happened).
Basically he just found out he was becoming a father, it was his 28th birthday and his driving ban was about to be lifted. So was all excited about life. On his birthday night he had run out of booze so decided to go to the shop to buy more when a drunk driver in a stolen car ran into him and flung him in the air so far because he was going so fast and left the scene. He died on that spot.
For someone so happy and jolly and always there to bring people up to be wiped out just like that was just the hardest thing to take.
"When it came time..."
When I was in grade school we had a final group assignment to design a community centre, with my teacher promising a lobster dinner for the group that had the highest mark. I had a bit of a crush on my teacher and thought hey, lobster dinner.
My group busted their asses designing the "Hijinx" after school community centre, calling a long list of businesses to determine membership fees, cost of construction (we got hung up on a lot looking for price of building materials), community outreach programs and a whole lot more. We even helped the special needs kid in our group write a jingle - and we got the highest mark.
When it came time for our lobster dinner, my group stayed in the classroom during recess to enjoy the fruits of our labour. My teacher brings out our "lobster", which was a loaf of bread with googly eyes and paper lobster claws stuck in the side.
It was on that day I learned the true meaning of disappointment.
"People who get wrongfully convicted..."
People who get wrongfully convicted and spend many years in prison. Can you imagine that? Spending half of your life in prison for a crime you didn't commit.
"They also wouldn't let..."
Going to family Court with my dad and losing even though my mother didn't even bother to show up.
They also wouldn't let me testify.
Fact is, she kicked me out at 16 but kept reviving child support - court didn't want to hear it.
Real life contains the scariest horrors you could ask for. So aren't we all living in a horror movie, in a way? At least, these people sure freakin' were.
MisterSnowman69 asked: What was a moment in your life that felt like a horror movie scene?
In the words of the legendary Mary Vivian Pierce in the film Pink Flamingos, “Murder merely relieves tension”. I’m sure the following Redditors felt differently.
Nothing scarier than the woods at night.
Went into a real deep woods hike for only the second time in my life.
My gps broke and had to rely on my compass. Got turned around a few times because I couldn't remember the direction I came from, and it was getting dark. Lost the trail way.
But the woods are weirdly silent in the dark and alone.
It was around 2am by the time I found the trailhead.
Darn foxes.
the simpsons react GIFGiphyMy friend and I got lost late on one foggy night in the Italian countryside. There were rats all over and every once in a while we heard someone scream.
I've never been more sure I was about to get murdered than I was that night.
It was probably a red fox that was screaming.
Could've also been a lynx, but they are much rarer in Italy.
At least she wasn’t speaking in tongues.
My mom is quite the sleep talker, but it's usually pretty short and incoherent when it happens. One night as a teenager, I woke up to her scream-yelling the Hail Mary prayer (my bedroom was across the house and upstairs).
Difficult to get back to sleep after that one.
Sometimes scary sh*t ends up just being funny coincidences. Super funny. Right?
Don’t give them any ideas.
I was exploring an abandoned mental asylum and then got the scare of my life when a scary looking person inside one of the rooms was just staring at me without moving. Turns out some joker had left a cardboard cutout there.
And now I have plans this weekend... Just need to find a couple of cardboard cutouts and to break into the local abandoned asylum.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
Evil Dead Horror GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphyI was driving home on backcountry roads at midnight in heavy fog. Like can't see 10 feet in front of you thick. Suddenly I see an all-white silhouette running in front of the car. Every hair on my body stood up. I immediately think "oh god, oh f*ck, it's a f*cking woman in white, I'm gonna f*cking die"
Nope just a drunk who dove into the ditch.
Gotta love paranoia.
When I was about 12, my parents went out for dinner leaving me home alone. We lived out in the country, on a private road with only three other houses, surrounded by cow fields and wooded areas.
I went into the the kitchen and glanced out the window towards the trees and there in the fading light I could see a person walking slowly through the woods. They were wearing all black, moving slowly and appeared to pause behind trees. My heart started pounding so hard in my ears I couldn't hear anything else and I was weak and shaky from fear. I froze and just watched them. Would they come to the house? Where were they going?
This was before cell phones but I suddenly remembered my mom had left the number of the restaurant by the living room phone. Slowly, I made my way towards the living room, trying to watch this stranger in the woods.
Just as I entered the living room, all the lights in the entire house went out. By this time it was nearly dark outside. I started openly sobbing and in the dark I heard a weird boom like noise. That was it, I ran to my parents room, hid under their bed and sobbed. That's where my mom found me hours later (it felt like).
Well, turns out the stranger in the woods was a stupid cow that had busted through a fence, the lights going out was from an accident a few miles away (hit the power line) and the boom was the pilot light in the gas stove. Man, I have never been that scared in my life though!
I have a lot of questions.
A naked man who was covered in blood chased me across a park at 2 in the morning. I was totally alone. He just wanted money for a bus (????) and luckily nothing bad happened but I thought I was going to die.
But of course, the genuine horrors do exist. And they aren’t scary in a fun horror movie way, they’re actually terrifying because they can happen to anyone.
A scary few seconds.
car chase GIF by Mayans M.C.GiphyI am a "baby" in a car seat in between cousins in backseat. Dad is driving. This is in the 80s and it is my aunt's insistence that I am in this seat even though I am like 5.
A sleeping semi driver is coming over into our lane and there is a cliff on other side. Basically my dad did some amazing driving but semi blew us up. I am uninjured sitting in the seat swinging my legs while everyone is unconscious. They all wake groaning. Dad doesnt wake up.
Long story short just minor scrapes and dad has broken leg. But the crunch of metal and those few seconds/minute of being the only "alive" person was quite fear inducing.
Glad they’re all ok now.
Two days after my now boyfriend told me he liked me he fell from a zip line and broke his back. Almost died. 6 months later he got into a car wreck from a drunk driver - almost died. 6 months after that, he passed out and had to have emergency brain surgery, again, almost died. I now have severe anxiety/separation anxiety/and ptsd. That whole year was a f*cking nightmare
Edit: we're both okay now, the brain injury was almost a year ago. But TBIs take a while to heal so he still has side effects. Thankfully our relationship is still strong; he's physically getting better and I'm healing emotionally too. Lucky for him, the trauma of the injuries has caused him to forget the majority of the pain and memories of those incidents.
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Driving home from work at 23, listening to my favorite song.
I pull up to a red light, and see this guy on a motorcycle coming up next to me in the other lane. I rolled down my window to compliment his bike when he stops. He doesn't, and runs the red light. He hits a car going at least 55mph. His motorcycle shatters apart, he goes flying, hits the hood of another car, and lands on the ground and rolls into the curb (no helmet). The car he hit with his motorcycle was totaled. I had to step over his body to talk to the police. He was still alive when they got there. I regret not holding his hand. It was just a normal day, and all of a sudden it felt like the rug was pulled from out beneath me. He was only 18.
Edit: The song was Sunny by Boney M., for those curious
What did we learn today, kids? Foxes scream like humans, shadowy figures are usually cows or drunken rednecks, and once again, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU RIDE ANY KIND OF BIKE.
Scary sh*t surrounds us. But where there is horror, there are heroes. So next time you think you see a scary figure in the woods, know that Bruce Campbell is probably right around the corner
Hypocrisy is everywhere; it's like a disease. And sadly everyone does it. Some of us indulge in smaller doses than others. But some people live their life by it. Like how can you support civil servants, like police, firefighters, etc... yet try to find ways to hide money in order to not pay taxes? Tell me... I'll wait.
Manga...
Hungry Night Court GIF by LaffGiphyItalian moms that say you're too fat then say I'm making grandma cry by not finishing my pasta.
Asian moms too! Not only that if you try to not eat, they make to go containers for you. Oh, sorry I have to leave, RUNS AT LEAST HAVE SOME FRUIT.
Phonies...
Celebrities positioning themselves as champions for social justice while launching a clothing line with no comment on the labor conditions their garments are made in.
Sexy Times...
The Porn Industry
Why is prostitution considered a crime, but it becomes perfectly legal once a camera is put beside them?
I think the first amendment helps with that one. There's been many a supreme-court case about whether porn is protected speech.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
You can get away with WAY more crap, in general, when you're attractive.
But we all kind of aspire to attractiveness and it's not like it's attractive people's fault, exactly. So what is there to be done?
So true. Money and beauty are treated like virtues and they aren't. They're luck of the draw. It probably helps you to be a better person if people assume that you are gentle and clever just by looking at your face or wallet.
KIDS
GIF by MOODMANGiphyPeople screaming at you if you don't want Kids and Kids are the greatest thing in the World and then turn around and whine how expensive they are and how annoying yadda yadda.
Yeah see... humans are a mess. And too often then not, personal conviction and dignity are just a myth, or a punchline. Double standards have always been a way of life. And many of us have begrudgingly learned to navigate.
Fashion
Fashion Model GIF by NYFW: The ShowsGiphyIf a skinny person wears something out of the ordinary, it's a fashion statement and awesome. It can even just be something like a crop top or overalls.
But God forbid a fat person wear the same thing.
Distractions
The hypocrisy hypocrisy. People love to call it out but rarely notice it on themselves and if they notice it then it's something completely different or a distraction.
That's the worst. I hate that I have to hate that. But if I don't hate it, then the hate will just continue. So, really, my hate comes from my love of an end to hate. So anyone who hates my hate hates love. And we must hate anyone who hates love!
My Morality
My own personal hypocrisy; When I was a lot less well off financially, delivering pizzas trying to get through college, I kept a cup of coins in my car. When a homeless person would approach me for spare change, I gave them the cup. Most of the time it was nearly full, so there was probably 20-30 dollars in there.
Now that I have a good salaried job, even if I've got a few bucks in my wallet, I tend to not even make eye contact anymore. I know it's awful, I know it makes me crappy, but the last 4-5 years have made me a jaded craphead towards people in general. I used to be so hopeful and I wanted to help everyone, and tried to live a life that reflected that.
Now, while my general and political morality is pretty much the same, my personal morality has gotten more grey. I'd jaded, I hate people, I assume the worst of people I used to assume the best of. I don't really care about the strangers around me like I used to, but I still expect everyone else to.
Placing Blame
Victim mentality.
It's so freaking frustrating when it becomes entrenched. "You did this, it's your fault" "you should've known to do x, its your fault" Yeah bro your problems aren't my problems and if all you do is make excuses and blame me for them, it's not going to be my fault when you don't develop as a person and accomplish your dreams. I'm sure they'll find someone to blame though.
In D.C.
Donald Trump Reaction GIF by Election 2016GiphyPoliticians work part time, are given free housing, education, and health care, and exempt from the everyday violence we experience, but refuse to lift a finger to help us.
At this points most people running for a position in the government are only in it for the benefits of being a politician and the amount of money they can embezzle. Well in my country at least.
Just speak a truth and live it. Yes, it maybe hard. But what part of life isn't? Hypocrisy is just lying. Plain and simple. And it's a sin to lie.
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