Sometimes, no most of the time, an argument isn't worth the stress. It can take a lot of will power and quiet strength but we all have to weigh the options. There are just some minds we will never change. And some people we will just never see eye to eye with, even though we share DNA. So personal sacrifices have to be made in order to continue with peace. And often, many of us must swallow a bitter pill so we don't have to participate in drama.
Redditor u/splashingseal wanted to discuss all the times we've let things go for one reason or another by asking.... What's the worst thing you've tolerated to avoid confrontation?In the cupboard....
My flatmate will put my earphones in my food cupboard to tidy them away, but then leave all his dishes about the kitchen and living room
Not the worst, but so needlessly infuriating.
On the Edge....
An emotionally abusive relationship where I was constantly on edge because almost every single conversation resulted in an argument or me being put down. One night he had a huge fight with my mother, and I still went home with him. I immediately texted her to say he was being an ahole and that I actually agreed with her, but I didn't want to deal with the stress of him picking a fight with me about it.
That was probably the defining moment that made me start to reflect and realize the relationship was unhealthy.
As of Tuesday.....
My current work situation as of Tuesday. As part of my job I handle the timesheets for my office and my coworker checks them to see if everything is recorded correctly. If I make a mistake, I understand i need correction but the way she's been handling it lately has been too much. Now instead of calling me over to her desk, she just lectures me in front of the entire office. Then sometimes she complains to sups about me within earshot, pretty much repeating what she said very loudly to my face.
She's even made me cry once, but that was more frustration honestly (I'm an angry crier).
I say as of Tuesday because the last blow up over a timesheet error (that I handled on my own) was one too many. I finally had too much and told my sup it was bothering me. I'm hoping she can meditate between us so I don't start to panic every time I hear my coworker sigh a certain way.
The Chair...
GIF by Kim's ConvenienceGiphyMy MSc supervisor taking 6 months to return drafts. By repeatedly doing this, he extended the time it took by 3 years.
Eventually the department chair got wind of this and kicked his butt into gear. I wish I'd approached the chair sooner (well, at all.)
Fredo....
I used to have a roommate and all she ate was fettuccini alfredo for all three meals a day. And she'd only eat half of it and just leave the bowl sitting there. So there were just bowls of half eaten pasta scattered around the house and if we asked her to clean it she'd get upset and yell at us for "making her do all the work".
Yet if anyone else in the house had even a speck of dust near them she'd come in screaming, calling us lazy, telling us how horrible it was for her to live in such a mess. Once she tried to have me kicked out of the house for leaving a half full can of pop lying around that she knocked over and spilled. It was half full because I'd just opened it and was in the middle of drinking it. Meanwhile there's f*cking fettuccini everywhere.
Dad's day....
My fathers wedding. Absolutely hate his wife, her kids. She's a witch and that's not even biased, she's the type to go out of her way to lie in court in a case she has nothing to do with to make people miserable.
He basically blackmailed my sibling and I to come to the wedding ( which we were informed of a week prior as "an important event" and the night before as his actual second wedding) or he would never come to ours in the future.
Yeah, kinda wish I was a confrontational person, just this one time. It would have been glorious.
Oh and then he didn't inform my mother of it. So we kept the secret for another 2 years until he slipped up. Not my story to tell, and that was a conversation I didn't want to have.
Health Issues....
"You guys shouldn't be allowed to become NICU nurses unless you've had a premature baby yourself." Obviously from a mom in the worst moment of her life.
We get a lot of horrible comments or tongue lashing from parents who are just scared, frustrated or mad. I can't retaliate or say anything I might want to say, so we just sit quietly and say we're sorry they're in this situation.
On and On....
90s beauty GIFGiphyAn Uber driver who rambled on and on to me that women shouldn't work, should cook and raise kids. Said repeatedly how his engineer daughter was a disappointment because she works and has his grandkids in daycare. This was shortly after I, a woman, told him I was traveling for work. I just nodded along praying my hotel was closer.
I Hate You....
Right now I'm tolerating an ex roommate treating their gf and my close friend (separate people) like absolute crap, emotionally abusing and manipulating them. It's terrible and I hate.
However, they live quite a ways away from me and as things stand confronting him about it will only make things worse for the people I care about.
So for right now all I can do us my best to be there for them and support them until they find a way to get away from him. It's terrible, and I hate it, and I wish I could just rip him a new one, but I've dealt with people like him before and I know he'll just take it out on everyone else and they wouldn't be able to handle that right now.
Off the Road....
driving rush hour GIFGiphyMy Driving Instructor used to debate me on Islam Vs Christianity (though I'm not sure why - I'm agnostic).
Of course I was completely fine with this, in fact as a Welsh born and bred village lad living in a big multicultural city for the first time, I found it fascinating. He was a fantastic instructor and clearly a good dude. But at one stage he tried his best to convince me that the Charlie Hebdo shooting was justified.
I've never been so glad to be in a situation where eye contact is actively dissuaded.
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Redditor imboredaa wanted to discuss all the ways so many of us get lost watching things on the internet, so they asked:
"What are some of the craziest/strangest rabbit holes you’ve ever been down?"
I constantly get lost on talent show audition rabbit holes.
And I am proud!
Restored
Serial Killer Chainsaw GIF by Rise RecordsGiphy"YouTube videos of old chainsaw restorations. No idea why, but I guess that’s why it’s a rabbit hole. I don’t even own a chainsaw or have a need for one."
aretelio
'rooms/shared'
"I really enjoy going on a city’s Craigslist, then to 'rooms/shared' (or whatever it is for finding a room mate) and then typing words like 'warning' or 'beware' in the search to see what kind of horror show nightmare room mate scenarios people have decided to write about... it's usually some juicy headline like 'warning!!!'"
"Do NOT rent from this woman!!!! She is a PSYCHO!!….'"
"And after reading it, it’s always a guess to decide who is the actual crazy person, the landlord or tenant. Could be a bitter ex, tenant, or a scam, or whatever. But it’s an easy way to dive quick into some weird corners of the internet that are filled with drama."
After the Ice
"I spent a bunch of time about 12 years or so ago reading about all the details of the Titanic, how it sunk, what happened as it was sinking, who died, who survived. I got into the life stories of the people who died, and what became of the people who survived. And then I very nearly bought a piece of carpet from the Titanic."
SweetCosmicPope
Expeditions
"Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition"
"Dumb, then numb, a** thought he could fly a balloon to the North Pole. They had cyanide capsules and all, in case they crashed and were about to freeze to death. Or get eaten by a polar bear during a three month night. He and his assistants somehow managed to do both."
"Plot twist: Andree, the worst captain of all time, noticed the balloon was leaking the night before they were about to leave, pumped it up a bit, and said 'f**k it that'll do.' It did not do."
Needydadthrowaway
Thanks John
"An Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Started with 1 and ended up with a 20+ collection."
originalsanitizer
"Uncle John's Bathroom Readers are so addictive."
evanman69
Toilet time can be knowledge time.
Living Sky High
City In The Sky Vfx GIF by PBSGiphy"Turning old planes into houses! About 10 years ago I found a company that would do it for you. The wings were decks and the plane was mounted to a pedestal that allowed it to be rotate with the sun!"
BeeEyeAm
Doggerland
"Mega tsunamis. Thousand foot walls of water moving at hundreds of mph? It happens more than you would think. The Azore-Gibraltar fault will cause one one day. There evidence they happened a few times in the Pacific. It doesn't take a meteor to happen, it could be an underwater landslide (Doggerland), or a large section of a volcanic island shearing off and falling into the ocean (Oahu). Doggerland is another rabbit hole that is worth googling."
KD_Burner_Account133
Hitting the Keys
"Mechanical keyboards. I wanted to buy one, so I started researching and watching videos of reviews. I went deeper and deeper, seeing special cables, obscure companies, the tons of switches, etc etc."
"I stopped when a Youtuber I watched made a video asking her viewers and discord users to stop bullying and harassing her for using some kind of switches or keycaps. I bought my keyboard and never went back to that crazy fandom."
NirvanaForce
In the Sky
"I worked in administration at an aviation academy for a few years and decided I’d start listening to aviation podcasts since I didn’t know much about it. I came across a plane crash podcast that talks about crashes in history and how it improved the safety of flying."
"I was fascinated by it, and found myself gradually needing to know more and listening to more of the same type of podcasts, watching videos, and listening to black box recordings. It was eerie but interesting at the time. Now, I regret it tremendously because since then I’ve developed horrible anxiety when flying."
contagiousphrase
The Big Questions
steve harvey lol GIF by TV Land ClassicGiphy"Spent a lot of time in the 'quantum consciousness' rabbit hole. I had just deconstructed from religion and wanted answers about life, death, and reality. It was long before I made peace with not knowing. I spent around a year obsessed with quantum experiments, psychedelics, and the general philosophy of consciousness."
excusetheblood
Lives (and chores) can be put on serious hold when you find a juicy enough topic to research!
Well, what rabbit holes have you gotten lost in? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor Who_Did_You_Expect1 wanted to hear about the things from our memories that still haunt our nightmares, so they asked:
"What's the most f--ked up thing you saw that still haunts you to this day?"
Living through peril is unimaginable. I've been luckier than most.
Tragic
Sad Best Friends GIF by Lisa VertudachesGiphy"I watched cancer kill my baby brother. He was in grade school when I was in college. 25 years, and I still see it in my dreams."
TheDigitalRanger
Ay Dios mio, Dios mio!
"When I was about 8, my sister and I were walking with my mom to a bus stop to see my grandma in Mexico city. There was a lady on a bike crossing the intersection that we had just crossed ourselves but she didn't stop in time to the next one and didn't look both ways, she didn't have time to stop her bike. All I remember is the lady making the beginning of a scream as a white old muscle car ran over her (bike and all) at a high speed."
" remember the sound it made as it broke everywhere. My mother took her sweater off as she screamed and covered both my sister's and my head from looking, but it was too late. I remember looking at my sister with tears in her eyes, and I was too shocked to react or comprehend what I had just seen happened. A lot of people immediately surrounded the place, and the driver came out of his car and held his head with his hands after seeing the lady on the pavement."
"I didn't look at the lady anymore. I remember hearing people screaming in shock. My mother told my dad later as she cried. I remember hearing her wake up screaming for weeks after this saying: ay Dios mio, Dios mio! Still makes my heart race when I think about it."
amahied
I Quit
"I was a news photographer for a while in the 90’s. I got called out to an accident. A high school girl ran into the back of a semi. As I was shooting, I noticed her wallet was on the ground. It had a plastic picture holder and the wind was flipping back and forth. I saw her prom pictures and shots of her with her family."
"I quit being a news photographer shortly after. I never forgot that day, and it still haunts me."
No_Confusion4720
Images
"I saw the aftermath rather than the actual event. A woman was walking home from the grocery store late at night. She crossed the road without using the crosswalks and got hit by an SUV. The two images cemented in my mind are of her, embedded in the windshield, and the driver of the car standing a little ways down the street vomiting. I've never seen someone look so utterly broken as the way the driver looked. I can't imagine what he was going through."
GrowlyBear2
Everyday
Sad Rabbit GIF by Muffin & NutsGiphy"When I was 16 I was in a car wreck with my best friend since 3rd grade. I pulled him from the car with a broken shoulder while he was bloody, lifeless, limp. He died within the hour, not long after the ambulance got us. It’s been 18 years and I still think about it every single day."
oil_can_guster
I couldn't imagine living with that.
I also couldn't move...
"Coming to after getting hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian. Was face down, all I could see was blood soaked road and thought 'f**k, that doesn't look good.' I also couldn't move. The last thing I remember seeing before that was the grill of the vehicle. I still get jumpy when I catch a vehicles grill out of the corner of my eye and I'm not expecting it to be there."
"I'd seen a lot of accidents prior to that, but something about it being my own blood hit different."
"And yes, I had the right of way and was crossing in the proper place, at the proper time. Driver plain a** wasn't paying attention. It was daylight to boot, so no reason they couldn't see me."
Sweet_Force1478
Bad Dreams
"I was volunteering with my k9 working with NYC emergency services and chief Patell during 911 WTC attacks. We were in the middle of where the twin towers used to stand The thick gray dust, horrible smell of burnt things and dead people was all around but when the dogs started to find bodies and body parts it really freaked me out and I will forever live with this reality that seems like a bad dream."
DjCanicus
Missing
Confused Wile E Coyote GIF by Looney TunesGiphy"A family of four that had burned in a plane crash. I used to do a woodland search and rescue, and we saw a lot of wild crap, but I still have dreams about what I saw when we went to look for a missing plane."
JalenTargaryen
Goodness life is dark sometimes.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
