My Neighbors are dropping the charges

[Shodburrito]

Hey everyone,

So as I promised, and against some of y’all’s advice, I went over to my neighbor’s house today to see if I could talk my way out of this.

I knocked on their door without warning. The husband, let’s call him Mike, answered. He’s in his late 20s or early 30s. The moment he saw me, his face went completely blank - not mad, not confused, just blank.

I kept it simple: “Hey, can we talk? I just want to apologize and see if there’s anything I can do to make this right.”

He blinked a few times, like he had to process the words. Then, without a word, he closed the door. Not slammed just shut it. Slowly.

So now I’m standing there on their porch, feeling really out of place. I wasn’t sure if I should leave, but I waited, because I was determined for them to talk to me, so I knocked on their door every couple minutes, and after about ten minutes, the door reopened. This time, his wife was with him. She was standing just a little behind him,

They invited me inside.

Their house was immaculate and I mean super clean and really expensive and nice. The kind of clean where you don’t even see a misplaced shoe or a single speck of dust. So I was nervous they were going to sue me big if they had money. 

Now, I obviosuly can't remember the exact dialogue we had but it went something like this:

They led me into the kitchen, and I sat at their island. The wife asked, “Lemonade or water?”

I said I was fine, but she turned around, pulled a pitcher from the fridge, and poured two glasses anyways. one for me, one for her. Mike didn’t drink anything.

I went through my whole speech about how I was sorry, how I was willing to compensate them financially, how I just wanted to make things right. I asked about how their dog was, and offered to pay for any vet expenses. I expected anger, frustration something. But they just sat there, staring at me.

I totally get it. They probably didn't know what to say. I just beat their dog up a week ago. But,

Then Mike finally spoke.

"We’re not upset anymore."

Just like that. No hesitation. No change in tone.

His wife smiled. “We get it. You just reacted out of fear. It was a misunderstanding.”

Mike nodded. “We’d like to move past this. We’ll talk to the police and try to get the charges dropped.”

That's great news, right? I think it seemed fake, but that's just because the whole interaction was akward. They were probably being somehwhat genuine.

Then they started asking me questions about my life. What I do, where I go to college, what my plans are, how old my dog is, how long we've had it,etc. It honestly made me more uncomfotable because this was totally fake small talk. I think they were just trying to make it less akwards but it wasn't helping.

So, I was trying to wrap things up when Mike suddenly asked (again this is generally what they said, not exactly) , “Do you ever think about the things you do?”

I hesitated. “Uh… what do you mean?”

“Like, do you ever look back on moments in your life and think about the consequences? About how one small decision can shape everything that happens after?”

I nodded slowly. “I mean… yeah, I guess.”

His wife spoke up. “It’s just… we think people who act on impulse like that, who let their fear take over, they eventually find themselves in the same situations again and again. Until one day… well.” She trailed off, but kept smiling.

I laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I hope not. I'm gonna work on myself going forward!”

Mike just stared at me for a second, then stood up. “Anyway, good talk.”

That was my cue to leave.

I thanked them, stood up, and started heading for the door when Mike said, completely casually, “Oh, and just so you know… people don't always get second chances forever.”

I froze for half a second, but he kept talking like it was nothing.

his wife piped in (kinda obnoxiously). "Just, you know… life has a way of balancing things out."

I said something lie “Yeah, for sure”, and got out of there.

I think they meant if I don’t change my actions, or behavior, I’ll do something like this again, and next time, the people involved won’t be as nice. I'm really grateful for them to be this nice and give me advice like this.

I have no clue if they’re actually dropping the charges or just trying to mess with my head though.

Don't know If ill update again, maybe once I figure out what the police does. 

Does this seem like a normal way to handle things, or was the vibe just weird because of the situation?

 

[puporing]

Seems like they were nice and wise people.. 

But yea the worry that you could get yourself into a similar situation again is legitimate, I think their hope is that you learned something from it.  For instance people getting into bar fights is somewhat common and someone who was initially a victim turns into the aggressor.. and next thing you know.. 

Maybe they have stories about this kind of thing, know people, or others they've dealt with. 

Hope it works out with the police side though.

[gettoefl]

Excellent, you have done yourself proud. Next you should buy them a gift and go tell them you appreciate their kindness in giving you a second chance. Gift can be wine, cake or chocolates. Tell them you are going to be a great neighbour from now on. If they need you, they can rely on you to look after their house if they go away for the weekend. Leave them your phone number and full name. 

[Basman]

Probably don't go near their dog from now on.

Edited Monday at 02:21 PM by Basman

[Hojo]

I think you broke the simulation, if this is real.

Edited Monday at 03:31 PM by Hojo

[Aaron p]

 

16 hours ago, Shodburrito said:

My Neighbors are dropping the charges

 

 

[Basman]

I bet they thought you where a crazy person which is probably why they where so shocked. Who beats up a dog after approaching it, right?

Good thing your into self-help. I willing to bet your life would be much worse in general if it wasn't for self-help.

Edited Monday at 05:20 PM by Basman

[PenguinPablo]

This is the craziest situation I've seen since joining this forum. LMAO!!

 

[Carl-Richard]

So what will you do to make sure this doesn't happen again?

[Raze]

I gave you the benefit of the doubt earlier but it’s clear this is larp. I’m guessing the trump regret thread from last week was also. 

[Jannes]

This is real self actualization at play here, I love it. 

12 hours ago, gettoefl said:

Excellent, you have done yourself proud. Next you should buy them a gift and go tell them you appreciate their kindness in giving you a second chance. Gift can be wine, cake or chocolates. Tell them you are going to be a great neighbour from now on. If they need you, they can rely on you to look after their house if they go away for the weekend. Leave them your phone number and full name. 

Let gettoefl be your north star!

Well except maybe dont offer them that you can look after their house (and dog). 

[Aaron p]

Actually mate this is what law enforcement does all the time, they tell your victims to play it cool before they send you to jail.

[Ulax]

13 hours ago, Raze said:

I gave you the benefit of the doubt earlier but it’s clear this is larp. I’m guessing the trump regret thread from last week was also. 

Yeah this reads like a fictional story lmao.

Can’t say for the certain tho. 
 

If this real though, then great work OP 👍 

Edited Tuesday at 10:08 AM by Ulax

[LoneWonderer]

Good on ya 👍 

[AION]

14 hours ago, Raze said:

I gave you the benefit of the doubt earlier but it’s clear this is larp. I’m guessing the trump regret thread from last week was also. 

It does seem insane but some people are Mr Bean in real life. It could be real. 

[Paradoxed]

I don't think this actually happened. This reads like fiction.

If it did happen, you are lucky they let it go. It seems like they could tell you don't feel remorseful from your conversation with them.

Edited Tuesday at 03:56 PM by Paradoxed

[gettoefl]

25 minutes ago, Paradoxed said:

I don't think this actually happened. This reads like fiction.

If it did happen, you are lucky they let it go. It seems like they could tell you don't feel remorseful from your conversation with them.

Irrelevant whether it happened. You only ever meet yourself in the world. What you write on forums or speak to others, you communicate always for your own benefit. Doesn't mean you are required to take on everything that accosts your path. Do whatever will teach you something important by sharing something simple. To teach is to refresh the truth one already knows within.

[Paradoxed]

10 minutes ago, gettoefl said:

Irrelevant whether it happened. You only ever meet yourself in the world. What you write on forums or speak to others, you communicate always for your own benefit. Doesn't mean you are required to take on everything that accosts your path. Do whatever will teach you something important by sharing something simple. To teach is to refresh the truth one already knows within.

Fair. There surely is something to learn here.

My take is that whether "real or not real" the right thing was done in apologizing. But I have to say that apologizing just for the sake of making things better and potentially get the charges dropped is just self-preservation, and little growth is made unless truly sorry, which let's be honest, remorse should probably be felt and internalized. It's not just about being neighborly. It's an empty gesture if not truly sorry, seeing the wrong in what was done, or if behavior stays the same moving forward and nothing is truly acknowledged.

Everybody makes mistakes. I cannot fairly assume their is no true sorrow being felt. I encourage growth from this.  I would advise seeking help for this type of outburst. If I go to court for a speeding ticket, and the judge agrees to not add any points to my license and give me a warning, but I speed out of the courthouse parking lot and blow the stop sign, then I simply got lucky.

The lesson is deep contemplation, healing and learning not being so reactive. There is also a lesson in the utility of apologizing, and also forgiving despite it being incredibly difficult for them to have done that. Nobody should be applauded for simply apologizing to neighbors unless it's authentic. That's a lesson too. I interpreted much of this as inauthentic, as the original thread is riddled with defensive justifications for the outburst. It was not "woah I did something horrible how could I possibly have done this, I love animals" it was "welp looks like I'm going to jail for something I did that was justified, not like I woke up and chose violence or anything guys so go easy on me!" In this thread I sense gratefulness for them showing mercy and being nice, but less genuine thought being put into how the situation could've been avoided, what will be done moving forward to be better, etc.

Obviously I am judging words on a forum post, interpreting them, and giving my two cents.

[gettoefl]

1 minute ago, Paradoxed said:

Fair. There surely is something to learn here.

My take is that whether "real or not real" the right thing was done in apologizing. But I have to say that apologizing just for the sake of making things better and potentially get the charges dropped is just self-preservation, and little growth is made unless truly sorry, which let's be honest, remorse should probably be felt and internalized. It's not just about being neighborly. It's an empty gesture if not truly sorry, seeing the wrong in what was done, or if behavior stays the same moving forward and nothing is truly acknowledged.

Everybody makes mistakes. I cannot fairly assume their is no true sorrow being felt. I encourage growth from this.  I would advise seeking help for this type of outburst. If I go to court for a speeding ticket, and the judge agrees to not add any points to my license and give me a warning, but I speed out of the courthouse parking lot and blow the stop sign, then I simply got lucky.

The lesson is deep contemplation, healing and learning not being so reactive. There is also a lesson in the utility of apologizing, and also forgiving despite it being incredibly difficult for them to have done that. Nobody should be applauded for simply apologizing to neighbors unless it's authentic. That's a lesson too. I interpreted much of this as inauthentic, as the original thread is riddled with defensive justifications for the outburst. It was not "woah I did something horrible how could I possibly have done this, I love animals" it was "welp looks like I'm going to jail for something I did that was justified, not like I woke up and chose violence or anything guys so go easy on me!" In this thread I sense gratefulness for them showing mercy and being nice, but less genuine thought being put into how the situation could've been avoided, what will be done moving forward to be better, etc.

Obviously I am judging words on a forum post, interpreting them, and giving my two cents.

Good points. My take is to make any apparent enemy a valuable bestie. This needs to be sincere and concrete. Not just words but helpful actions. I want to be the best neighbor out there. When they go on vacation, they should trust me enough to leave their keys with me and to feed the animals. This improves their quality of life substantially. And mine too when I go on vacation.

[Paradoxed]

21 minutes ago, gettoefl said:

Good points. My take is to make any apparent enemy a valuable bestie. This needs to be sincere and concrete. Not just words but helpful actions. I want to be the best neighbor out there. When they go on vacation, they should trust me enough to leave their keys with me and to feed the animals. This improves their quality of life substantially. And mine too when I go on vacation.

100 percent. Genuine neighborliness is truly a virtue. I like the enemy turned to bestie idea, which I've seen played out in my life after resolving conflicts. This could blossom into an authentic relationship for OP

Edited Tuesday at 05:31 PM by Paradoxed