Neighbors are supposed to help each other out. Especially if they see that the other is making a big mistake. But what should you do when your neighbor ignores your timely advice and aggressively tells you to mind your own beeswax? Well, in that case, you sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, waiting for karma to show up.
Redditor MLC2001 told the story of how his grandfather moved to a nature preserve and spotted his neighbor illegally extending the boundaries of his land. When his grandpa approached the neighbor with some words of wisdom, counseling him to stop doing this, the neighbor told him to “mind his own damn business.” Naturally, we all know that the universe conspires to punish jerks like that. And that’s exactly what happened. Read on for the saucy details and Bored Panda’s interview with the Redditor!
One Reddit user told the story of how his grandfather warned his neighbor to stop land-grabbing
Image credits: flickr (not the actual photo)
The rude neighbor told the Redditor's grandpa to mind his own business, but what goes around comes around
Image credits: MLC2001
This is one of those tales where the moral of the story is as old as the invention of fire itself: don’t be a jerk to the people you live next to, even if you really can’t help yourself.
Heck, even cavemen knew to be nice to the savages living in the cave next to theirs because all of their survival depended on it. Sadly, it seems that in the modern world, due to a lack of saber-toothed tigers, we’ve forgotten just how important it is that other people have our back.
MLC2001’s grandfathers neighbor ended up losing his sports car and his golf cart, while his yard was torn up. All because he illegally grabbed more and more land, and didn’t want to listen to the pensioner’s advice.
And when the jerk neighbor dares ask the Redditor’s grandpa why he didn’t inform him that the authorities were getting ready to punish him, he replied that he thought the neighbor wanted him to “mind his own damn business.” Epic comeback. That kind of burn is going to need an ice pack.
Bored Panda contacted MLC2001 to hear about what happened and the fallout in more detail. “The neighbor seems to be more respectful after this incident. Can’t say he and gramps will ever be friends, but they’ve had conversations about other stuff since this happened and the neighbor has been less of a dismissive jerk than he was the first year and a half gramps lived there.”
“I think gramps just thinks it’s funny now,” the Redditor added. “At the time he seemed more detached, like he actually took the neighbor at his word and simply butted out of everything that was going on as he assumed the neighbor would be notified and would straighten everything out before it got too far along in the process. It wasn’t until neighbor returned and told other people what had happened that gramps learned about him not forwarding his mail and stuff.”
MLC2001 also said that “the golden rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” applies to neighbor relations. It never hurts to consider how your actions may impact others around you!”
“From comments made by other neighbors, it sounds like this guy wasn’t the only one, but he was the most obvious about it,” the Reddit user explained further. “I think people see land that doesn’t appear to belong to anyone, so they just fudge the line a little. But over time they become more brazen and suddenly they’ve taken more than they intended.”
The Redditor's grandpa impressed everyone
If you’re ever in a land dispute with a neighbor, then you know how difficult things can get. The Boundary Problems website analyzed what the most common behavior types of neighbors there are. According to the website, some neighbors are the quiet type and will quickly back down, not wanting to start a fight over something trivial. While other neighbors stand firm besides their principles and won’t ever back down until they see that justice is done.
There are also negotiators who look for compromises, as well as bullies who live by the motto ‘my way or the highway.’ Finally, there are the so-called ‘poker players’ who see disputes as a game that requires strategies to win, and who may use a decent dose of bluffing to get what they want. If only every neighbor was a negotiator, there would be way fewer problems in the world and plenty more healthy relationships between people who live next to each other.