Man won't stop making passive-aggressive comments, gets a taste of his own medicine when roommate uses his own words in front of friends and the landlord: 'People started looking at him differently'

Advertisement
  • I
  • "I got quiet revenge on my roommate by letting him live with his own words"

    TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - This happened last year when I was sharing a place with a guy I'd known since college.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - We were never close friends, more like convenient adults who paid rent on time and stayed out of each other's way.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - The problem was his mouth. He had this habit of making little comments that were always framed as jokes but somehow always landed on me.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Stuff like "must be nice to have an easy job" when I worked from home, or "wow you're really sensitive today" if I asked him to clean up his mess.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - If I called it out he'd laugh and say I was overthinking it. He also loved giving unsolicited advice, especially in front of other people, correcting how I cooked, how I folded laundry, how I parked.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Nothing big enough to justify a blow up, just constant low-grade disrespect that made me dread being in my own kitchen.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - I tried talking to him once, very calm, very adult, and he said, word for word, "I'm just honest.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - People should be tougher." That sentence stuck with me. So I stopped reacting. Completely. Instead, I started taking him at his word.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Every time he made one of his little comments, I treated it like useful feedback. If he said "you're being dramatic," I'd say "good to know" and write it down in the notes app on my phone.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - If he said "relax, it's not a big deal," I'd nod and say "okay, I'll remember that." At first he didn't notice.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Then one night we had friends over and he did his usual thing, joking about how I'm "uptight" about dishes.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - I smiled and said, very politely, "You told me before that honesty is important, so I'm glad you're being honest." He laughed, but it was a confused laugh.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Over the next few weeks, I kept doing it. Calm, pleasant, zero emotion. I also stopped covering for him.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - When the landlord asked why the trash was overflowing, I repeated his words back: "Oh, he said it's not a big deal." When a mutual friend asked why the living room was always a mess, I said, "He thinks people should be tougher about that stuff." Slowly, people started looking at him differently.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Not angrily, just with that pause, that little eyebrow raise. He started stumbling over his jokes, adding "I mean, unless you don't like that" and "I'm kidding, obviously" way too late.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - One night he finally snapped and asked why I was being so weird and passive aggressive.
  • Cheezburger Image 10601435904
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - I told him I wasn't. I said I was taking his advice seriously and trying not to be sensitive.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - He went quiet, like genuinely quiet, and after that he mostly stopped. No apology, of course.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - But the comments dried up. A month later he moved out and told someone I was "hard to read." Honestly, best compliment I've ever gotten.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - HowlmHangin Gotta admit, as a 58yo guy who's become pretty good at enforcing boundaries, my first thought was, "just call him out on his bullshit and tell him to fuck off." But by the end I couldn't help but think, "Wow, you handled that sooo much better than I would have." Well played. (My one complaint: Paragraphs, please!)
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - OldStudentChaplain Oh my goodness. You are a brilliant person!
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Live-Succotash2289 My polite response is "Thanks for letting me know." It just hangs there especially in a group setting.
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Calm-Lavishness5918 Thank you. Just took it all in. Well done on so many levels
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Unlucky-Captain 1431 Impressive work OP!
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - InterestingLeader822 Psychology right there! Great job!
  • TameGranite https://www.reddit.com/r/revengestories/comments/1qiwt61/i_got_quiet_revenge_on_my_roommate_by_letting_him/ - Msmellow420 Love it!!

Tags

Scroll Down For The Next Article