Teen Backed For Confronting 'Bully' Half-Sister Over 'Jokes' About Dead Mom
A teen received online support after sharing that she confronted her half-sister for making "jokes" about her mother, who recently passed away "due to drug use."
Posting in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) forum under the username u/Mchappymeals222, the teen said the confrontation took place in front of her sister's friends. Her dad scolded her for this; however, her stepmom said she did "nothing wrong."
The post has garnered more than 9,100 upvotes and over 500 comments from Redditors, slamming the half-sister's "cruel" behavior and their father for enabling it.
At the beginning of her post, u/Mchappymeals222 explained that she moved in with her father about a year ago following her mother's death. Unfortunately, the transition has been rough.
"My sister, who is only 4 months older than me, hates me because I am an affair baby," u/Mchappymeals222. "Every day she will do things to make me feel like an alien [in] my own home. She ripped a photo I had of my mom and [stole] a necklace my mother gave me...she also will bump into me on purpose when I'm walking around the house."
Things finally hit a head when u/Mchappymeals222's sister started making "jokes" about u/Mchappymeals222's mother in front of some friends.
"[She said] stuff like, 'I wouldn't talk to her she's only gonna end up like her mom in a few years,' or, 'the reason why she looks like that is because her mom used while she was pregnant,'" u/Mchappymeals222 recalled. "She also said 'druggies like her mom don't deserve a life anyway.'"
Upset, u/Mchappymeals222 responded: "What kind [of] evil soul makes jokes about someone's dead mom, not just anyone but their own sister? I have not done one thing to you but you [have] done nothing but make my life miserable, I'm sorry that your dad cheated on your mom and I'm sorry that caused my existence but I'm here now so deal with it or at least leave me alone."
Her sister ran away, accusing u/Mchappymeals222 of "ruining" her life. When u/Mchappymeals222's dad and stepmom found out, her father scolded her for embarrassing her sister in front of her friends. Her stepmom, meanwhile, argued that u/Mchappymeals222 was right to confront her sister.
According to Meryn Callander, author and "attachment parenting advocate," children of infidelity "often react with intense feelings of anger, anxiety, guilt, shame, sadness, and confusion."
"They may act out, regress, or withdraw," Callander wrote in her book, After His Affair: Women Rising From The Ashes Of Infidelity via Kindred Media. "They may feel pressured to win back the love of the unfaithful parent or to become the caretaker of the betrayed parent."
While many Redditors agreed that u/Mchappymeals222's half-sister has every right to be angry about her dad's affair, they also agreed that she has no right to take that anger out on u/Mchappymeals222. As a result, many praised u/Mchappymeals222 for standing up for herself.
"First and foremost, YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME FOR YOUR PARENTS AFFAIR. I understand why your sister is angry, but she needs to be angry at your father, not you," wrote u/soundslikemhnamahna. "NTA [not the a**hole]."
"Your sister is a liar and a bully, your father a spineless a**hole who enables a bully because of his own guilt...NTA," commented u/pegsper.
"NTA...your half-sister and her friends were being unbelievably cruel. I'm so sorry for your mom's passing, and I'm sorry your dad isn't doing more to protect you," said u/cassowary32.
Redditor u/fallingfaster345 added: "NTA. You stood up for yourself after a long time of being bullied that your dad didn't do much to mitigate...Your sister can deal with your father any way she feels, but she's displacing her feelings onto you which is completely inappropriate. Good for you for standing up for yourself."
Other AITA posters to go viral in recent weeks include a mother who said she's thinking of cutting her daughter off financially, a woman who told her boyfriend's parents she doesn't want children, and a father who told his child they should "be over" his decade-old affair.
