Just admit it, you've had something similar happen to you, too - when you made some kind of mistake in communicating with your parents or in-laws as an adult, and then it became a reason for countless jokes and puns from them? And when you asked them to wrap it up - did the elders immediately assume a pose of offended innocence?
Something similar recently happened to the user CherryShirt, the author of today's story. They decided to bring their parents a bottle of wine - okay, let's be honest - some bad wine, just in case they liked it. Of course, they didn't like it - and the dad immediately unsheathed his pun catapult, and for a long time.
More info: Mumsnet
The author of the post recently bought some wine on special offer - but the subsequent events only proved it was a mistake
Image credits: Pixabay / Pixabay (not the actual photo)
The author didn't like the wine at all, and decided to bring another remaining bottle to their parents - just in case
Image credits: CherryShirt
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The parents didn't like it either - and the author's dad started making fun of the child for this, over and over
Image credits: CherryShirt
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
A few days later the author snapped at him, urging him to stop it with the jokes
Image credits: CherryShirt
Now the dad started sulking and the author took it online, seeking support from the netizens
So, the Original Poster (OP) says that they recently bought several bottles of wine, Royal Tokaji, on special offer. The wine had good reviews and an even better price - and the author fell into the trap. It turned out that either the original poster's tastes didn’t match the critics' tastes, or the wine really was tasteless.
Be that as it may, the original poster had one more bottle left, and they decided to give it another chance. When going to visit their parents, who, as they knew, were wine connoisseurs, the OP took the ill-fated bottle. Just in case - what if the parents liked it?
Running ahead - they didn’t like it. Neither dad, nor mom. The thrifty mom put the bottle in the fridge - she would use the wine in her cooking, and the dad thought that the gift (although the original poster honestly admitted for what purpose and under what circumstances they brought this wine) was an excellent opportunity to practice his wit.
And so, for the next week, the original poster had to deal with numerous snide remarks and jokes from him. Maybe some of them were genuine masterpieces of humor, worthy of induction into the Standup Hall of Fame (if such a thing exists, of course) - but when you're being pestered all week long, it gets a bit annoying, doesn't it?
Anyway, sooner or later, the OP snapped at him - and the decent gentleman immediately turned offense mode on, claiming that he just wanted to joke, and the original poster was just not a connoisseur of good humor (or of good wine, either - I had to get in a snide remark too, sorry...). So the author decided to share this story online - just to vent about it.
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Well, I'll say right away that many dads are prone to this sin, and I myself had to face the same thing, because my late FIL was a real vessel of sarcasm and puns - and from the first days of our acquaintance he decided that I’d be an excellent target. He was unlucky - I accepted the challenge and his every joke and pun was invariably returned to him, many times amplified.
This went on for a few weeks until my father-in-law threw in the towel, and we were literally best friends until he passed away last year. Hell, I dread what will happen when I become a snarky old geezer myself...
But seriously, humor can be a terrible weapon, especially in the wrong hands. "'Joking' is a tactic commonly used by abusers. We put the word joking in quotes when discussing it in the abusive context because words that deliberately hurt others are not truly jokes," The Mend Project's dedicated post claims.
"Real, intelligent, humor is not at the expense of another person; this type of banter takes the easy, cheap-shot, road. To make an entertaining joke that everyone can enjoy requires more creativity than sarcasm and put-downs. <...> Jokes that make someone feel uncomfortable or hurt, or that specifically address something the other person asked not to discuss, are abusive."
Well, the opinions of readers under the original post were actually divided into two camps. The adherents of the first rightly noted the inappropriateness of repeating jokes on the same topic over and over again, and called on the author to have a serious talk with dad. "If he says it again, just say, firmly, it was funny the first time, looking him in the eye, He'll get the message," someone suggested.
Other commenters do believe that the best defense is an offense, and are eager to suggest that the author make fun of dad in return. "Have a bottle of it sent to his house every month for the next year," another responder wittily wrote. And which concept do you, our dear readers, lean more toward?
People in the comments sided with the author, suggesting they either speak to dad seriously, or to take this joking challenge
