'That never happened': Man gets revenge on gaslighting mom using the same toxic tactic she used when he was a little boy

Some folks are plagued by their childhood trauma for the rest of their lives, while others seek a different approach to the healing process: Revenge. One man on Reddit did what we all wish we had the strength to do and faced his childhood demons head on; in his case, that meant having a long, dragged out conversation with his narcissistic mother. 

As a grown man, OP was determined to try and keep his relationship with his mom on good terms, however, she made it increasingly difficult by continuing her classic behavior of gaslighting him at every opportunity. With an already strained past, the man did his best to maintain contact between his family (his wife and small child included) and his aging, belittling mother, until he finally snapped. Technically, all he really did was pull an uno reverse card on her using her own words against her. 

After she repeatedly tried to insert herself into his child's life. OP and his wife begged her not to buy him any more toys as they didn't have room for them, so when she did so anyways, they gave away the toys to their friends. Angry with their 'ungratefulness' the mom went off and trash talked them to the rest of the family and that's when OP lost it. Scroll for the full story on how OP got his revenge on his gaslighting mom and how he inspires us all to cut toxic family members out of our lives as soon as possible. 

For more toxic family drama, check out this story about how a husband attempts to teach his wife a lesson by forcing her to sit next to a crying baby on a long flight. Ouch.

'Dumping [him] was the right decision': Couple breaks up, dude chops down 'their' special tree, she gets petty revenge

This is a great example of how petty revenge begets more petty revenge. In this story, a couple broke up after three years and the guy decided to chop down a special tree where they shared their first kiss. What a way to destroy any good memories the Redditor might keep.

 

Not only did she contact their property manager who made him get rid of the stump and plant a new willow tree, but also she refused to let him take a shower in her apartment afterward. This meant he had to get into his car completely covered in mud. Picturing the sight of him driving away like that, looking like a pile of dirt… I'm getting vicarious fulfillment just thinking about it.

 

Keep scrolling below to see what people had to say in the comments section. For more stories like this, here's one about a guy's crazy dating spreadsheet.

'I scanned about $475 worth of stuff': Dad takes kids to grocery store and lets them snack on whatever they want, then leaves without paying

This dad acts like he's never been to a grocery store in his entire life. He threw a fit just because the self-checkout was too much for him to handle.

Self-checkout has become a way of life in many parts of the world, replacing cashiers with scanning machines you can operate yourself. This works well for many shoppers, because it means you don't have to wait as long in lines, and plenty of people like the privacy of not having to talk to anyone while they shop. But not everyone feels that way — this guy, for example, feels plenty entitled to having a cashier check him out. 

I've seen freak outs over self-checkout lines before, so I'm inclined to believe this guy's terrible tale. Some people feel that when they're forced to scan their own items, they're "doing work" for the store. Then, they start yelling and requesting assistance, and the cashiers can't calm them down, because they're so worked up over this small slight. Some people just can't handle change, apparently. 

Scroll down to read the whole story. Then, these people shared the dumbest things they ever did in their 20s. 

'I [...] demanded that my boyfriend’s boss refunds me': Boss makes woman's boyfriend cancel vacation plans, she makes his boss pay her

This woman clearly really needs this vacation. Not only did she pay for everything beforehand herself, but when her boyfriend's boss made him cancel his plans three days before their trip, she refused to let this guy get off so easily. No, by this guy, we don't mean her boyfriend. We mean the boss.

 

She shared her story via this thread on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit, and let's just say that the ruthless judges of the AITA community were not exactly sympathetic to her cause. They felt that she took things a bit too far and that this boss, while unreasonable, didn't owe her that money whatsoever. It's the boyfriend who owes her that money. It's the boyfriend who should have stood up to his boss and said no. At the end of the day, he's the one she should be upset with, and honestly, what's stopping her from taking a solo trip if she needs this vacation so badly? 

 

For more stories like this, take a look at this post about a parking altercation.

'I became the HOA president': Resident gets even with neighbors who block his parking spot by joining HOA; becomes president, fines them

Karens infiltrate slowly into virtuous neighborhoods with a heavy sense of entitlement, ignoring HOA bylaws, under the assumption that they are divinely above it all. In this case, OP had a couple of parking spots that were legally his, that were occasionally empty. Whether they were occupied or not, OP's new neighbors took advantage of the Australian law which was lacking in the car parking department, and decidedly parked their own cars in those spots. They also began inviting family, friends, and other people to park there as well. They ended up continuously blocking OP's car, or taking his spot. At first, OP communicated, but realized quickly that wasn't going to cut it.

So he began hatching his plan for revenge… deciding to take it to the next level, and play the long game. His efforts certainly paid off. In Australia, they have what we would (more or less) call an HOA, but they call it the 'strata committee'. OP joined this committee, and within 6 months was elected president. He made sure that his neighbors paid heavy fines, and generally made parking an extremely miserable sport.

Scroll down to read the full, detailed account of events. For more stories like this one, here is a barista student who was crossed one too many times by a Karen customer who wanted her coffee 'hot' after letting it sit for 10 minutes out in the cold. The barista made sure Karen would never dare complain again.

'Got engaged to a horse girl': 20+ Things people wish they could redo from their youth

These people had jokes and great advice of what to do and not do while you're young. If you are young, take notes! 

Being in your 20s is a wild ride. You're a teenager for a long time, then suddenly, you're out in the real world, getting a job, getting married, having kids… or just watching as your friends and colleagues do those things. While you might be the same age as your friend group, suddenly you all have different responsibilities in life. There's also just a lot of freedom in your 20s. You can do as you please, and no one will really stop you, so you'd better make sure you're looking ahead to your future! As one person suggested, it's pretty silly not to plan for the long term and medium term future. That's great advice, and the people below shared their own sage wisdom and cautionary tales below. 

After that, click here for a story about a boss who broke her promise to an employee.