Police officers often have to make tough decisions when they're on the job, and not every case they deal with is necessarily black and white.
That was theme behind today's burning question from Redditor DarkAura777, who asked the online community: "Cops of Reddit: What was your biggest, "I truly am sorry I have to arrest you moment" and why?"
Officers and others in the field had plenty to say.
"The lady drove 3 miles..."
I draw the blood for DWI arrests so not a cop but... I was sitting in the assistant district attorney's office when an officer calls in and he stated that he felt horrible arresting this lady for drunk driving (even though she was plastered) because she was at her boyfriends house and they all were drinking and the boyfriends friend started trying to assault her and her boyfriend did nothing about it. so she hit the friend in the head and got in her car and fled from danger.
Another driver called her into 911 for swerving. The lady drove 3 miles and made it to a gas station where she was found trying to call her friends on her phone for help. He felt bad that he had to bring her in but the ADA didn't accept any charges on her and the officer took her to her friends house. Two other officers went back to the boyfriends house and they got arrested with existing warrants and the assault.
Seeing that woman sitting in the jail for the few minutes she was there was heartbreaking. She was covered in scratches and her clothes were torn. I'm so glad they didn't charge her.
"As a probation agent..."
As a probation agent, I was supervising Tim, early 20s on probation for Possession of Narcotics.
Tim lived in assisted living apartments due to severe mental health. Great person who just needed help learning more about his mental health.
I received a report that Tim started to like one of the staff members, Stacy. She worked 3rd shift at their main house and often handed out medication. I talked to Tim about healthy boundaries between client and staff.
Well, fast forward a couple days, Tim checked himself in the hospital because he tried to make a few advances with Stacy but it was denied. Stacy described it as "scary" as she was working in the main house and he followed her in a room and shut the door. Another staff member intervened. She then proceeds to make a report about other behaviors like he stares at her and tries to be around her. He was arrested and had a short term jail hold (4 days) and we placed a no contact.
Fast forward a few weeks, I received another report from Stacy stating Tim continues to linger around the main building when she's there at night. The night before, she was on med duty and he went to pick up his medication. She asked him to leave multiple times but he never did. He continued to try to make advances towards her. Finally, a staff member walked in and told him to leave. Which he then left. She feels extremely unsafe.
I issue a warrant and go to his apartment. I am waiting for police to arrive and I ask him about that contact. He kept repeated, "I shouldn't have listened to her" However, he wouldn't go in much depth. Police arrive and he goes to jail.
I staff with my supervisor if we should revoke his probation as Tim is engaging in stalking behavior. I was finishing up my investigation and Tim adamantly denied Stacy ever telling him to leave that night. Finally, he breaks down and said they've been having a relationship for the past few months. Sure, checked his Facebook account, and it is apparent they were dating. She assured him no one will find out. Arranging times to meet. Extremely flirty and sexual messages were sent between them.
Stacy told me he was stalking her so she wouldn't lose her job. She reported the gestures as unwanted because other staff members caught them together.
I was pissed that he went to jail let alone we almost proceeded with revocation. I felt awful and apologized for the time he spent in jail.
This was reported to the supervisor. But she didn't lose her job. Anyone else would have their social work listened revoked or face criminal charges. She just kept on working there. The county moved Tim to a different program.
TLDR: Client was accused of stalking a staff member of his assisted living program. Turns out staff and client were in a relationship and staff made a false report so she wouldn't get fired.
"I once got a call for domestic violence."
I once got a call for domestic violence. Another officer and I park are cars halfway up the block (for safety reasons) and start walking up to the house when we're approached by a man. He tells us that we're there to arrest him, but he refuses to give a statement, he just says he's sorry. We put him in handcuffs pending the investigation, and I go inside.
Short end is that dad was drunk, didn't like the way the son #1 was talking to him, and started beating him. Mom tried to step in and got pushed down, son #2 tries to help, but dad attacks him and chases him out of the house. Mom and son lock themselves in the bathroom and daughter, who was frightened, runs to a neighbor's house. Mom and two sons agree on what happened, so it's an easy arrest.
But inside the house there was a door with a bunch of locks on it that piqued my curiosity. It was obviously used to lock someone inside. Mom and sons wouldn't tell me what it was for, so I asked dad. He said that the door was thier daughter's room. His sons would assault her at night so they locked her in to protect her. He said son # 1 had been arrested for it, but he wasn't given any jail time and a judge said it was okay as long as they locked the daughter in her room at night. He told me that when he drank he would get angry at his sons, but felt guilty that he did.
When I asked dad about it, he said that he had a hard time dealing with it at the time and left everything up to his wife.
CPS ended up doing an emergency removal on the daughter and another small child. I still had to arrest dad for attacking his family, but I felt bad for it. I have no idea what happened to any of them after that.
"Not sure how the guy ended up here..."
Just happened. Not sure how the guy ended up here but he had no phone, no family to call. Wasn't welcome at the homeless shelter because he was caught drinking there. Very cold outside. Mental health evaluated him and kicked him free saying they couldn't help. Didn't have any vouchers or money to stay at a motel. He asked to go to jail. I warned him of trespassing at the police department for the next 24 hours. He refused to leave. Arrested for trespassing. Was the best worst option.
"It was Christmas Eve..."
It was Christmas Eve at a super fancy hotel downtown in my city. Lady drove her vehicle into a parking barrier and hotel security called it in. Got out there and she had her daughter in the car with her. Mom had recently bought her a Christmas puppy, a tiny little corgi. So anyways, I called for one of our DWI units to do the test because it's a a felony for the child passenger. Mom fails and we have to handcuff her. She tried to run and my partner takes her to the ground as he falls slipping all in front of daughter and Christmas puppy.
Mom goes to jail and I had to stay with the little girl until her aunt arrived. Learned dad walked out on them earlier in month and mom was having a tough time dealing with it. Mom needed to go to jail, she was drunk but I felt for her and her daughter.
"I'm no longer a cop..."
I'm no longer a cop but my first ever DUI arrest was a guy I went to a very small college with and we graduated together. I knew his family, his dog's name; we were friends.
He was weaving all over both lanes and running onto the shoulder on both sides of the road. He cried and begged me to just let him go and he'd walk home and that he was sorry.
He had to go to jail.
"Had a patient..."
Not a cop but a paramedic. Had a patient that was driving on a Freeway at 100km/h when she started having a seizure. A man also driving on the Freeway noticed her slumped at the wheel so he sped up, pulled in front of her then used his car to slow hers down.
I rock up, assess and go to transport the lady to hospital. Cops rock up as they do and find the man had warrants out for his arrest. Slightly awkward, but he had to leave his car on the Freeway and go off to the cells.
"She was called to a shoplifting incident..."
I've told this story here before but I used to live with a cop.
She was called to a shoplifting incident and found a young, totally emaciated looking boy (couldn't have been older than 12) who the shopkeeper had pinched stealing some bare essential, a loaf of bread or a can of beans or something.
She and her partner did everything they could to talk him out of pressing charges on the kid but the shop keeper insisted and unfortunately her partner that day happened to be a superior or something and whether or not to follow through with the arrest was out of her hands. She had to take this crying, scared, starving boy to juvenile prison with teenagers who had committed real crimes.
She did everything she could to ensure he got immediate social services attention and lobbied to keep the charges from appearing on his record at all. But she still felt broken having to do that to a kid who needed help.
"My mother..."
My mother told me about a case she had. She didn't make the arrest but was the investigator. So basically the woman was stalked by her ex and constantly harassed. She tried to go to the police about it, 17 times, with proof and everything and they didn't do shit.
So she and her friends kidnapped him, beat him up and threw him naked in a ditch.
"So I'm finishing up some preliminary paperwork..."
So I'm finishing up some preliminary paperwork in the Dollar General parking lot in reference to a shoplifting when I see a pickup go passed me at a high rate of speed. I didn't have the opportunity to radar or pace it, but it was highway speeds in a 35. So I get on him after the 7 or 8 blocks to catch up he turns into the cemetery. I activate lights and here we goooooooo...
Get out, signs of an obvious DUI. I begin Standardized Field Sobriety Tests when he starts bawling. Gotta play the nice guy, tell him to take his time and collect himself. Well he asks, through his tears, if we can move to a different area. This is an issue, because the cemetery isn't very flat and the area we were was more optimal than any other area nearby. Well then I look behind him and see a tombstone with a familiar name. This guy was doing SFSTs in front of his dead mother.
Within the past two years, this guy had is house burn down, his mother died, and his wife divorced. And I knew all of this.
I didn't feel bad or guilty making the arrest, it definitely had to happen. However, I did feel for the person. I can only hope he's working to better himself now. This was about four months ago.
"Friend of mine..."
Friend of mine who is a cop woke me at 3 in the morning to tell me this story. I completely understand why, I would be bawling my eyes out at making an arrest he did.
He was called in to deal with a domestic dispute and arrested the woman because she beat the ever loving sh!t out of the man. He told me he probably had a broken nose and wouldn't be shocked if he had vision problems one of his eyes for the rest of his life. My friend brought the woman in and she had some fresh marks as well, a couple cuts and a solid bruise on her arm. She also had a couple wounds that had clearly been there for a couple days and a couple that looked like they had just healed.
My friend thinks that the man was abusing her for the longest time and she just snapped and defended herself.
Thing is...my friends mother was also abused by his father, so arresting who seemed to be the overall victim broke his heart.
"Legal limit..."
Legal limit in our state for drink driving is .05.
Setup a random site on a straight stretch of road, could probably see us for 2km in every direction.
This guy comes through, with his 2 kids in the back. He's returning home from a mates birthday.
Blows .06. Just over. He lived 3 houses down from where we setup the site... he could've gone backstreets or dodged us 50 different ways, but he was too honest / thought he was okay.
Felt bad then!
"I was in law school..."
Not a cop but a prosecutor. I was in law school working as a prosecutor for my summer job under the supervision of an assistant DA. I'm getting ready for my first trial of the summer. It's a fairly bad one. This guy was drunk and lit a random car on fire. The fire spread to the house because it was under a connected structure. An elderly man was inside and barely escaped and is messed up from smoke inhalation.
So it's my first week in the office (but my second summer, so I'm comfortable just stepping in and doing the work). My job is going to be jury selection and nothing else to get me back in the groove. In walks the defendant through the jail door into the courtroom, shackled at the wrists and ankle. I instantly recognize him. It's a guy who I used to work with/had some classes with who was constantly trying to convince my college girlfriend to date him instead of me.
I told my boss I needed to recuse myself from the case, but I stuck around and watched him get convicted. Ended up talking my boss into a lighter sentence recommendation though by vouching for his character/potential before he became an alcoholic. Ended up recommending, and getting, jail time plus rehab. I assume he's out by now.
"I got a call to a barber shop..."
I got a call to a barber shop at like 4 AM for a women outside who wanted her boyfriend, who she stated was on the inside, to give her her house key back. She initially told me that she had no way to get into her house because her boyfriend, now Ex, had the key and so she needed it back. She also decided it was a good time to tell me he had a felony warrant. I ran him and sure enough he had one.
I felt bad for her so I started to pound on the front door of this barbershop. I knew he probably wasn't going to answer so I yelled something about if he didn't open up I would report the barbershop to our problem properties unit for having someone sleeping overnight in the business.
Sure enough he comes to the door and opens it up. I immediately recognize him as a Janitor at one of the grocery stores I frequented while working midnight's, as it was the only thing open to get food. He was always really cool with me and seemed like a really hard working guy. He explains to me he has no key of hers and the only reason she is there is because she knows he has a warrant and she just wants him to go to jail. He said he planned on turning himself in soon but just wanted to get some things straightened out first with his kids.
Unfortunately I had already run his information on my car computer so I had no choice but to arrest him for the warrant. I felt so terrible but he was very understanding. I sit him in my patrol car and while another officer watches him I go and speak with her again. I tell her I wasn't able to get a key so she would have to find another way to get inside the house. She tells me that's ok she has a spare key....
I ask her for her information now and go run her and am praying to whatever God is out there that she also has any type of warrant as I was going to arrest her too. But she does not and she gets to go on her merry way.
On the way down to intake I ask the guy why he had to come to the door. Said it was his friends barbershop and he didn't want him to get in trouble over his drama. I felt so bad because I had to tell him I was just bluffing and none of that would have happened. Still feel terrible to this day.
For all the crime or mystery shows people watch perhaps the scariest instances are the tragedies that happen in real life. The most startling thing is while many murderers display red flags, a large amount tend to be seemingly nice people. Criminologists have found that in domestic-violence-related homicide in particular the perpetrator tends to employ an outwardly charming, charisma-filled act as part of their method.
Have you ever met a murderer? It leaves you feeling gross. There was one murderer in our small wooded town that I met a few different times. He was a business owner of a run down pawn shop and the apartments above it since I could remember. Also since I could remember-dude was creepy.
As even teens if mom needed to run in to grab something like a cheap small appliance or movies we had to wait in the car. When older and working teens my sister had to deliver pizza there once. When she walked in the owner and a couple of guys hanging out there just stopped, then went "oh a wo-man!" and blank stared at her until she left.
We always heard the town rumor mill how he would rent to women in exchange for "favors" etc and he was on the state offender registry. You could just tell there was something wrong there. I personally only went inside the shop twice in my life and left quickly because of the odd atmosphere.
Years go by, the now old man is still running his increasingly rundown pawnshop and rentals and then BOOM police tape everywhere, scanners going crazy, his name is all over the news. Apparently after a conflict his older son went and confessed to helping his father clean up the crime scene.
This man had been involved with a woman and she had gone missing in 1998. No leads ever come about and people decided she must have runaway. It turns out that after a conflict the owner had murdered her cold blood. He then called his son to help him. He had dismembered her and burned her body in the furnace of the pawn shop.
He then continued to stay and work right there every day until he was convicted in 2013 of the henious crime.
While many red flags were noticed many of his oddities seemed to get brushed under the rug following the "poor people are crazy but people with money are just eccentric" rule while enjoying the privileges being a business owner in a tiny town offer.
Wanting to hear others encounter with real life monsters Rediitor White-cherries asked the online community:
"People who knew murders before they killed someone, what are some red flags you didn't notice at the time?"
The answers were plentiful and disturbing.
"He never had a sense of right/wrong.”
“My childhood friend killed his parents. His dad was my dad's best friend. Red flags? Drinking at an extremely young age, like 9."
“He never had a sense of right/wrong. Cruelty to animals. It reads like a profile of a future murderer. Heavy drug use did the rest of the work and he killed both of them for oxy."
“Since he was my friend, I guess I missed it all at the time. But my parents got me away from him with a quickness once I mentioned some things to them.“ andrewfnluck
The school bully...
“I went to school with three eventual murderers, but only one showed red flags to me. He was an extremely violent bully. He'd just attack people in the halls.”
“Trying to punch guys in the balls. Grab your nipple and twist. Punch kids in the arm or back. Typical bully stuff except he put everything into it. You wouldn't know he was even around and suddenly he was attacking you.”
“He murdered a classmate of ours who I really liked. It was in 7th grade and he beat him to death over a bag of pot. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder and was released 6 years later and has a long rap sheet.” GrandUnhappy9211
Total shock...
“So I went to a big university that had a weird close knit feel. There was this girl that I knew but I wasn't friends with. She was nice but very over the top bubbly, enthusiastic about EVERYTHING and super extroverted. She was just a little much for me. Good in very, very small doses.”
“She started dating this guy who was the opposite of her, shy, quiet, followed her around like a little puppy. I can't remember now if it was over a holiday break, like thanksgiving or Christmas or if it was just a weekend but we all found out that his parents, younger brother and dog were all killed in a house fire.”
“Everyone felt so bad for him. Her family took him in. Support poured out from everywhere. Then we find out he killed all of them and then set the house on fire to cover it up. Shocked everyone.” Mom-tired_send-wine
Horrific...
“Nothing. I would have told you he was truly one of the nicest, kindest guys I'd ever met. He was a regular customer at a place my SIL bartended at. He was always nice, friendly, funny, a genuinely good guy."
“When the Husband and I would visit SIL at work he'd chat with us like we were old friends. He obviously had a bit of a crush on SIL but she was involved and had a small child and he respected that. Never even hit on her."
“There were many nights he'd stay past close to help her clean up, take trash out, lug kegs for her. Sometimes they'd go over to the after hours bar with a couple other people. They got to know each other quite well over several years (or so we thought)."
“Then one night SIL' s friend was at the bar and had too much so she couldn't drive. He offered to drive her home. SIL would never watch an impaired friend go out alone with just any customer but she never thought twice about this."
“In fact, she even thought it was so like him to offer... Such a nice guy!! She was happy her friend would get home safe ... They found her friend's body the next day."
“She had been strangled to death. He apparently drove around with her body until almost sun up not sure what to do with her when he decided to return to the bar."
“He dumped her body in the back alley next to the dumpster. SIL had to testify against him. In court it was brought to light that he had a history of violence against women (no murders, but several assaults). We were all absolutely shocked. BTW - He got Life." Kteefish
When a dv victim decides to leave they are at the greatest risk of fatal attack.
“My cousin's husband. When they first got married, he was a decent guy though I had only met him after they got married. I thought it was weird that she had a kid that wasn't living with them, but I was young and brushed it off. Over a decade later, I find out he was abusive and she was divorcing him. He shot her outside her workplace. It was on thr news. Thankfully he was caught not long after.” KosherWitch
“I always think about that one interaction.”
“So I worked with a guy, and one day he seemed upset. He got married young and he feared his wife, who separated from him, was starting to date his ex best friend. I said, "that's tough, sorry to hear it, you're young, next…"…..he immediately got this intense look and said he'd kill them.”
“I told him you don't want to say that, and blew it off. It seemed like blowing off steam kind of comment, but I was surprised at the Intensity…normally an extremely laid back guy. However, I felt it strange enough that I wanted to walk away.”
“Six months later he went to his old apartment at 6am, and the two were in bed. He entered their bedroom, put them on their knees and shot each in the head. He then put the gun to his head and ended it. The girl flinched at the shot, and survived a head shot. The new boyfriend died. I always think about that one interaction.” CLO54
“They were just shady a** people...”
“My friends husband killed her after they broke up by bludgeoning her to death and then took the car and her body and burned it in the woods. Big red flags from this guy was, he was still with his ex wife and they were in a polyamorous relationship with extreme jealousy, he was a total douche, didn't work, very possessive and jealous, and had hit her a few times before that I knew of.”
“He killed her because she broke up with them and was taking the house they had bought. He fought chickens and dogs also. He was using her for a free ride for insurance and financial support. His ex wife and son (17) were also in on the murder and helped to plan it.”
“They were just shady a** people and the world would have been a better place if they had never existed and had a child. We reported her missing an hour after she did not show from work and her daughter had found evidence that something had happened at the end of their driveway, she wasn't found for a few weeks but we all knew who was behind it as soon as she went missing.” AeBS1978
Creepy red flags...
“I worked with Edward Paul Morris right up until the point he murdered his pregnant wife and their children. Can't say it was so much missed signs as much as signs that are even more disturbing in hindsight.”
“On the surface he seemed like a polite, friendly guy if a little awkward. He would make small talk with me in the office breakroom, almost always complaining about his wife and stress at home. He treated it like chit-chat but it was clear he couldn't stop thinking about it.”
“When a mutual co-worker and I moved into a rental house together he offered to come mow the lawn (he did some yard maintenence work on the side). We didn't have curtains up yet and I was in my new bedroom putting clothes away when I realized he was outside, lawn mower running but just standing there and staring at me through the window. Creeped me right the f**k out.” serenidade
So sad...
“A guy I knew from HS stalked an ex GF, ran through her sliding glass door, shot and killed her then killed himself. He had evidently been stalkerish with some other exes as well but because it was in another county it wasn't easy to find. There was a push to create a central register of people with protective orders like they do sex offenders in Texas because of him.”
“He hid it very well. I knew he had some substance abuse issues but he had stopped drinking and started going to church. Turns out that was even BS, he was going to the church his ex went to so he could talk to her. Edit: Monica's Law” TheProle
Remember that if you think you or someone you know is or could be experiencing domestic violence you can get ahold of the National Domestic Violence Hotline anytime by calling 1-800-799-7233(SAFE) or by texting START to 88788. If you see something say something by calling either a hotline to local law enforcement.
Many people would rather focus on the scandals associated with celebrities notorious for bad behavior.
This is a shame since many of their phenomenal talents are overlooked in favor of a juicy tabloid.
But what about the genuinely well-behaved celebrities? Well, they are not without haters too, unfortunately.
For instance, stars like Taylor Swift – who has been a positive role model and ally of the LGBTQ community – still has her share of critics no matter how hard she tries to shake it off.
Curious to hear positive examples from strangers online, Redditor AndweleHarris asked:
"Who's that one celebrity that has like no haters?"
These Canadian comics were found to be simply irresistible.
The Actor From 'Honey I Shrunk The Kids"
"Rick Moranis. The guy stopped acting to take care of his kids after his wife's death."
– joeO44
Aspiring Football Player
"John Candy"
– zen1001
"My favorite John Candy story: Joe Montana was playing for the 49ers in an important game, may have even been the Super Bowl. His team is down, they've got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it."
"Montana comes into the huddle and starts calling the play, then stops and points to the stands and says:"
"Hey, isn't that John Candy?"
"Teammates look over, and it is, indeed, John Candy. Turns out he was a big football fan."
"Montana returned his focus to the game and went on to lead a game-winning drive down the field."
These European personalities won the hearts of many people from around the world.
The Dowager Countess of Grantham
"Maggie Smith"
"Professor McGonagall is the most underrated Harry Potter character in the series."
"She is so funny, even when she is strictly serious! But I mostly praise Maggie Smith for her line delivery in general."
Practically perfect
"Julie Andrews"
– __Soju__
"I effing LOVE her story about how Walt Disney waited for her to give birth before filming Mary Poppins. Keep in mind at that stage Julie Andrews was nothing more than a mildly successful West End/Broadway actress. The fact that one of the biggest film producers at the time wanted her specifically to play Mary Poppins AND he was happy to wait until after her pregnancy is a true testament to her phenomenal acting and singing ability."
"It paid off too: Julie Andrews won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Mary Poppins, her feature film debut too!"
A.K.A. André René Roussimoff
"Andre the Giant."
"i was fortunate enough to catch a screening of The Princess Bride in Nashville a couple years ago; Cary Elwes (who plays the love interest) was there after the show and told some stories about working with different cast members. when he got to Andre, he recounted how he was the 'mood maker' of the cast and always had a smile on his face. he even broke his foot during one of the last scenes but powered through it because the other actors had been filming all day and wanted to go home."
"a real shame that he passed away so prematurely."
– 8-chan
These real American idols are truly adored.
Viggo Wherever He Goes
"Viggo Mortensen"
"He once gave my mom some chocolates, she still talks about it haha. In an industry rife with ego and jerks, he's a great guy."
America's Sweetheart
"Dolly Parton"
"She had me at, 'It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!' She does plenty of good in this world."
– Phuni44
GIF by Dolly PartonGiphyBetty White"
"Google her variety show. A ton of people hated her because she wouldn't fire her black costar. She pretty much told those people to f*** off for lack of a better term and it makes me love her even more!"
I can confidently assume Dick Van Dyke has no haters.
How could he? He's a lovable icon and is a very affable person to work with.
I would know. Although it was a brief blip in my performing career, I had the honor to share the stage with the Disney legend known for playing Bert in Mary Poppins.
He was extremely gracious and he shook hands with all of us in the ensemble of our show while looking at us individually with a glimmer in his eye.
He loves people. You could tell. And we love him.
Everybody loves to hate a villain.
Usually, we think of villains in relation to novels, television shows, comic books, and movies. But history books and popular culture have a knack for drawing lines between good and evil too.
But, as we know, history is full of bias and injected with human emotion. Subtle exaggerations or scapegoating ploys add on to one another over years and years.
And eventually, even good people can be labeled as the scourges of our past.
Redditor blackwraythbutimpink asked:
"Who is seen as a 'bad guy' in history but was actually ok?"
Of course, Hollywood has a lot to do with it. A good script needs conflict and a villain, even if that means stretching the truth a bit.
Full of Heart, In Fact
"More so sports history, but the film Cinderella Man portrayed boxer Max Baer as a murderous psychopath who gladly killed two fighters in the ring."
"In reality, he was personally devastated by these deaths. In the one he was most directly responsible for, he ended up giving his winnings from his next few fights to the fighters family."
-- lemihaf
Wrong Name
"William Murdoch was the guy who shoots two passengers and then himself in 'Titanic.' "
"In reality, while there were reports of an officer shooting two passengers and then committing suicide, there was nothing confirming it to have been Murdoch."
"In fact, Murdoch was in charge of launching life boats on the starboard side and had launched more than half of his fully loaded lifeboats before anyone else launched any. No one knows for sure what happened to him aside that he was lost with the ship."
-- RichardCano
Not All Rivals Are Evil
"The play Mozart and Salieri (and later the film Amadeus) popularized the idea that Mozart's rival, Antonio Salieri, was a huge jerk who ultimately killed Mozart..."
"...but in reality there's no indication that Mozart was poisoned, or that Salieri had anything to do with his death. Also Salieri was a philanthropist and probably a lot more decent than theater/film made him out to be when they needed an antagonist for Mozart."
-- Renmauzuo
An Impressive Navigator
"Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty. Portrayed as a monster in novels and films. He was actually a well thought of Naval Officer who when forced off his ship sailed a small craft 4000 miles with minimal provisions."
"When there was no suitable craft available he and his crew then built their own and sailed from East Timor back to England. He was exonerated by the courts, and had a successful career as Governor of New South Wales."
Other people set their sights on the historical figures who were cast in the wrong light by the inaccurate, prevailing narratives about them.
Peacebroker
"Khrushchev was actually the bigger man during the Cuban missile crisis. He initiated the negotiations and even let Kennedy look like the hero by keeping America's side of the bargain secret."
"Not to mention all the measures he took afterwards to prevent something like it from happening again."
A Man of Principles
"Brutus. He's gone down as committing one of history's greatest betrayals, but what he actually did was choose his Republican ideals over a man he personally loved (who had sparked a civil war with an illegal invasion of Italy, and was unquestionably acting like an autocrat)."
-- Cougar_Boot
Ousted, But a Good Leader
"Thomas Sankara. When he lead Burkina Faso it was probably the most progressive African nation at the time, and even by todays standards it would be up there when compared to them."
"He was also responsible for not only making it less reliant on France, but also it's name (which used to be 'Upper Volta'), and interestingly since he was a guitarist he also wrote the new national anthem."
"He was assassinated in 1987 after a coup."
And others set their sights on the figures who found themselves in the tabloids and discussions of popular culture.
It Was Actually Terrible
"The lady who sued McDonald's for giving her third degree burns." -- skittlkiller57
"Dude, yes. She got fucking third degree burns."
"She was burned so badly it fused her labia. All she wanted was for them to pay for her medical bills due to their obscenely hot flesh searing coffee, which had already been the subject of numerous complaints." -- ARabidDingo
Scapegoated
"Monica Lewinski. Gonna leave it at that." -- PetiteSymphony
"Pretty fu**ed up how the world blamed the young intern for the sex scandal instead of the powerful, much older president..." -- AkechiJubeiMitsuhide
Smearing Pee Wee
"Paul Reubens. For decades of my life I was under the impression that Pee Wee Herman was guilty of some child-predator sh**."
"But no, dude was just spotted in a porn theater. I don't think the masturbation claims were ever even substantiated. Meaning he lost his career because he legally watched porn in his personal free time."
-- Bugbrain_04
It's a list that may drive you to check twice when you hear everyone bashing a historical figure. Perhaps some enemy of theirs began all that bashing.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
People can't function sometimes without being a magnet for drama. The good thing is, these people are also usually extremely bad at hiding their propensity for being involved in said drama.
People who put things on their social media like "I probably hate you," or something of the kind. You know immediately to run in the other direction.
So when u/Pornflakes122 asked:
"What screams 'that person that everyone hates?'"
Here were some of those answers.
Soyyy Drama Free
"'Drama free!! F**k the haters! I'm so real everyone else just can't handle it, people are just soooo fake.'"
"Usually embroiled in drama nonstop and their personality is about as deep as an inflatable toddler pool."-inducedjoy
Def The Kid Who Said "DIDNT WE HAVE HOMEWORK?!"
"Calls all mandatory meetings at 4:30 on Fridays."
"She will also push those meetings last minute to 5:30 because she's on client calls and regularly schedules stuff at noon because 'that's when everyone is available, you can just have lunch later.'"
"No, we can't... The one hour we're all available is lunch is because we're busy the other working hours of the day. The lack of respect for the team's time is wild."
"When we suggested maybe noon and 5:30 weren't great times for all hands meetings that should have been an email, she started scheduling them for 7:30am to respect our time. So considerate."-A_giant_dog
This Is Just Rude
"I was hanging out with the cute co-worker in the dining room between service. I guess the sunlight was shining on me, and she says, 'Y'know Bokb, I really love how you have such bright blue eyes and brown hair!'"
"I simply nodded and smiled really big, and she continues: 'I bet you were really handsome when you were younger.'"
"Yeah, big oof."-Bokb3o
Like, when someone does or says these things, you can't help but think about how much you'd rather they just sink into the void of oblivion.
Not Worthy Of Accolades
"If a person makes a big deal out of doing something that they should be doing anyway."
"EG: 'I take care of my kids,' 'I always tell the truth,' 'I'm always on time for work,' 'I shower regularly' etc etc that person is best avoided. They're usually anything but what they claim to be."-Johhnymaddog316
Run Away! Run Far Far Away!
"I have a co-worker that will cut your story off mid sentence to one up you with their own story that's barely even related to the topic at hand."
"They are so self involved (and long winded) that people will see him in the break room, and decide to take the elevator to one of the other break rooms on another floor. Lmao..."
"To clarify; Most of his stories are about how awesome New Jersey/New York is and how stupid Washington Staters are."
"After a while of being made fun of by him, I just wanna scream 'If you love Jersey so much, then MOVE BACK TO JERSEY!'"-conflictmuffin
Yeah, Don't Be A Jerk To Retail Workers
"Yelling at a checkout clerk at Walmart."
"I mean like seriously what could they have done to you to make you that upset. Maybe you need some anger management training."
"This happened at the self check out lane so I don't know what the Walmart check out clerk could have even done. I was in the next lane and my back was to this woman so I didn't see what happened."
"But this women kept yelling at the clerk 'I want to talk to your manager right now !!!'"
"Eventually they both walked up to the service desk together to get a manager. I felt sorry for the clerk ( and the manager !)"-Tuesday2017
You Really Need A New Outlet, Bro
"I know a guy that radiates insecurity about his masculinity."
"Any times he sees a person park slightly too close to his car, he starts going off about hypotheticals where if they scratched his paint, he'd slash their tires or he'd pull out his collapsible baton from his trunk and beat them up."
"He generally lies about anything and wants everyone to know that he is the strongest person in the room. He once told us that he did 100 lb arm curls with his shoulder dislocated."
"And how he has to constantly fight his sister every time he goes home because she is always trying to stab him, and that's how he learned hot to knife fight."
"Of course he also get really angry any time you even hint that he is exaggerating. He no kidding once punched himself in the face 5 times and spent the rest of the day pouting when someone told him that they didn't believe his stories.
Needless to say, no one enjoys talking to him."-ExplosiveMel
A moment around these people is enough to want to spend a lifetime avoiding them.
Just The Worst Person Ever
"Overly competitive for no reason, even on co-op games. If you win they get butthurt, if they win they throw it in your face. Makes jokes at other people's expense. Also can't ever take a joke back."
"Never grew out of the middle school days of bulling (wet willies, bean dips, wedgies, etc). Yells in arguments of any sort in order to 'win' the argument or not letting the other person talk."
"Pretends like they have never done anything wrong, even if they just did 10 mins beforehand. Finds the most low self esteem person in a group and puts them down to make themselves feel better about themselves."
"Will literally say something along the lines of: 'Yeah I know I'm an a**hole, you can ask any of my friends.'"-AskinggAlesana
Always The Victim, Never The Perpetrator
"Had a boyfriend for years who's ex wife was constantly making 'new best friends' with everyone. I finally met her, she seemed nice enough. Next thing you know she's inviting me over, wants me to do all kinds of stuff with her."
"My bfs mom called me and said don't trust her. His brother said don't trust her. My stupid self trusted her."
"Our 'friendship' posted about two weeks before she called CPS on my kid for mooning her kid. They were both 7. She said 'What about the trauma my child and I suffered because of you and your child?'"
Leave It In High School Bub
"There was a guy I went to school with up until the end of high school, and everyone (even teachers) hated him. He would constantly annoy everyone."
"He'd start sh*t with people for absolutely no reason. He'd interrupt the class regularly. He tried to act tough but when someone stepped up to him, he'd run away. He was nearly universally disliked everywhere he went."
"I had the misfortune of running into him a few months ago and he's still the same sh*t disturber he always was."
"He hasn't grown up, and he tried dragging me into petty drama that I frankly don't have the time nor patience for anymore. I told him not to speak to me again, and blocked him on everything I could think of."-yeetgodmcnechass
These people are peppered throughout the world and thankfully, are walking red flags that people can spot from miles away. However, that doesn't mean you can't start with caution in case one of them is hiding amongst the "normal" people.
The victims, the drama stirrers, the jerks, the bullies-they aren't worth your time or space. Don't give it to them.