It’s incredible - how many times have all sorts of wise people said that you should not mock others, if only because then a situation may inevitably arise when you need something that you previously mocked? Hundreds of books, thousands of stories and fables are devoted to this topic - and still, generations change, and in each there are always people who again step on this very rake.
For example, like the younger sister of the user u/Impossible_Ad1842, the hero of this story of ours, who, for almost a year and a half, from the moment the man bought himself an electric car, mocked her brother’s decision until... it turned out that her gas bills were too hefty for her to afford a SUV. However, let's talk about everything in order.
The author of the post has a younger sister who's married and delivered a baby recently
Image credits: Alexander Pöllinger (not the actual photo)
The couple has two huge SUVs, while the author owns a small electric car
Image credits: u/Impossible_Ad1842
Since the very moment the guy bought his car, the sister and BIL had been mocking him and his vehicle
Image credits: Emre Öztürk (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Impossible_Ad1842
But then one fine day the woman asked to borrow the author's car, as they can no longer afford gas for their SUVs
Image credits: Mike Bird (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Impossible_Ad1842
The man refused without hesitation, remembering all the jokes and puns towards him, while his mom asked him to agree
So, the Original Poster (OP), according to him, is the eldest son in the family, and he has two younger sisters. The middle child is 30 Y.O., she is married, and recently a baby was born in their family. The couple owns two SUVs, although the author of the post, as he himself admits, never understood why a family of two adults and a baby, where both parents work from home, needs two huge vehicles with seven seats each.
However, to the OP’s credit, he never voiced his questions out loud - unlike his sister and her husband. About a year and a half ago, the author bought himself an electric Audi, and since then, every meeting with his sister and BIL was rarely without jokes and puns directed at him and his vehicle.
The subject of jokes was the electric car itself, its small size compared to a SUV, and, as the sister stated, security in his masculinity, and so on, and so on... However, the man bore the ridicule quite calmly - fortunately, he truly believed that an electric car was a great investment.
And then, one fine day, the sister turned to him with an unexpected request. According to the woman, she and her husband can no longer afford gas for their two SUVs, so she would appreciate it if he would let them use his electric car from time to time. Of course, the spouses would be obliged to take care of the vehicle and charge it at their own expense... but the OP answered negatively. And here's why.
The guy, as he himself says, could easily lend them his car - especially since he also works from home, there are several grocery stores nearby, and he willingly uses the bus. But the author of the post sincerely believes that months of ridicule must be paid for, and in this case the payment will be the refusal of the sister’s request.
The original poster's mother thinks he is wrong and should agree, but his youngest sister expressed her massive support, demanding that her brother be left alone. However, as the OP admits, the younger sister does not drive, so she cannot fully assess this situation. So the guy decided to seek advice and support online.
Image credits: Cleyton Ewerton (not the actual photo)
“To be honest, I understand this man perfectly and, although I don’t drive a car myself, I still share his decision,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment over this case. “After all, if his sister wanted his brother to lend her his car, why didn’t she start with an apology for the plentiful ridicule? At least with a formal apology, just to show that she realized that she was wrong.”
“But no one did this - neither the woman nor her husband. You know, this behavior is common among young children when they do various pranks just to see how far they can go in their bad behavior, to ‘test’ the boundaries of parents’ patience. And the behavior of this adult woman is somewhat similar. After all, if they cannot afford to maintain two SUVs, there is always the opportunity to sell at least one for good money," Irina summarizes.
The vast majority of people in the comments to the original post also completely agree with the author, and also share the expert’s point of view. In the end, according to many commenters, the money from the possible sale of one SUV can pay for gas for a second one for a long time. “If they can’t afford to drive two SUVs, they should sell one. Problem solved,” one of the commenters wrote.
And also, according to commenters, the sister does not so much want to make a wise and balanced decision, but escape from some of the consequences of her previous poor choices at the expense of her older brother. And this desire, as some commenters believe, reveals her to be an extremely immature person, even if she’s married and has a kid herself. "You are under no obligation to provide a fix for her choices," some person aptly noted in the comments.
Well, our siblings and close relatives often try to take advantage of us to solve their own problems, both in childhood and in adulthood. Another example of such a story is this recent post of ours, about an elder brother who actually wanted to make his parents or siblings pay for him, going back in forth while arranging a family vacation. And we are almost sure that you also have similar examples - so please feel free to share your own tales in the comments below this post as well.
However, the common opinion online is that the author is right in his decision, while his sister looks very immature here
