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FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Petty grudge people hold against strangers | History Defined
Often, we don’t get to decide what random, sometimes pointless thought or experience manages to stick with us. Unfortunately, it can really feel like our brains love to make us remember moments that were not that pleasant at all.
Someone asked “what is the most petty, completely harmless grudge you are still holding against a total stranger who probably forgot you existed years ago?” and people share their stories. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to write down your own tales in the comments down below.
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#1
I was once invited to a wedding where I didn't know anyone except for the bride. When I sat down in church the woman I sat down next to rudely told me to sit somewhere else as I am not important enough to sit there (?). It was the last row with people in it so I had to sit alone in the last row while the spot next to her remained free. She also said it loud enough for everyone to turn around and look at me. Idk why but somehow it was just so humiliating and I regularly have to think about it and will never forgive her lol.
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#2
That one lady in a flight from Dubai that took out my luggage out of the overhead compartment and dropped it on the floor, in order to put hers in.
#3
I found a puppy scammer on Craigslist and I still go on - years later - to flag all of their posts (multiple cities).
#4
It is not petty. Well, it is. Very late 1990s, my now wife and I were to spend summer in a small town on Mobile Bay, in Alabama USA. We arranged for an apartment but arrived to find its construction incomplete. The lessor knew of its state but did not tell us. She allowed us to arrive with no place to stay. It caused massive inconvenience and problems. She was dismissive. Here we are, nearly 30 years later, and I remember her, the address, and I do things every few years to cause her massive problems. I am not usually a petty or vindictive person. I think, in part, it's because she incorrectly thought that we were people who she could jerk or mistreat with impunity. It could be something as simple as every two or three years my wife or somebody mentions that time in Alabama and it gets me thinking, and then I get mad, and then I inconvenience her life from afar. She doesn't even know it's me.
#5
When I was 15, I used to surf weekly. Theres certain etiquette when it comes to being out there waiting for waves. One of the things you dont do, is cut-off another person who has the outside track to catch a wave. Its rude and can cause a person to get rolled over the wave and tumbled by it. The term is "snaking" This one guy snaked me 3x in one session. Kept calling me "kid". I was a kid, and he was a grown man. But I was still angry that he had been such a jerk. For the next 30 years, I still look for that guy and his blue striped board, every time I go to the beach. I dont go as often anymore. But I will hold onto that forever.
#6
When I was 5, I had a babysitter for the first time (my Gram always babysat me before). The babysitter was an older lady and she was fine until she made me a pb&j and told me I couldn't dunk it in the milk. I remember thinking...ooooooohhhhh I'm telling! And I told my dad and never saw that lady again.
#7
I was working at a theme park and a kid was sitting on a railing and dropped their shoe in a pond. There were signs everywhere to not sit on the railing.
The mother was making a big song and dance about it so I decided to try and retrieve the shoe. I had to climb over the railing, perch on a tiny ledge and lean right over the water with this grabby stick thing while hanging on with one arm.
I got the shoe. People waiting in line cheered.
The mother angrily grabbed the shoe, turned her back on me and didn't even say thank you.
This was 25 years ago. I still hate that woman.
#8
I was staying at a hotel in Spain in a gay resort and went for breakfasts in the hotel restaurant. I put some bread in to the toasting machine (the one with the conveyor belt that takes ages) and went off to get the rest of my items as it went through. As I turned back to the toaster I saw this guy pick up my toast and go sit down. The British sense of justice and politeness and waiting your turn being violated made me furious. I made up a while back story as to how he was clearly French with that nose and attitude.
Not so strangely it turns out he lives in the same city as me and I see him out in bars and clubs sometimes. Even 9 years later I still get angry every time I see his snooty French looking face and big nose .
#10
We had just all moved to Florida and someone made fun of my four year old grandson’s New York Yankee cap he had on. This old guy ( I’m probably older than he was at the time now) started telling him he shouldn’t be wearing that hat and the many reasons he should wear another team’s hat. Dude, the kid is four. He probably couldn’t tell one Yankee player from another. He just wanted the same hat grandpa had. Still pisses me off and the kid is 21 now.
#11
My mom held a grudge for decades against a woman who wouldn’t buy Girl Scout cookies from me (about 33 years ago). We moved out of that neighborhood 23 years ago, but if you ask my mom today, she would still be mad about it.
#12
I was 13. My friend and I were at a hotel in Bangkok where she was staying. She’s Australian and I’m Thai.
A cleaner saw us and probably assumed I didn’t speak Thai. She mumbled to herself, “Wow, the fat one is REALLY fat.” And I knew she was talking about me. I felt terrible. Still think about that incident now that I’m in my 40s.
#13
A drunk guy body slammed me at a festival when I was sat on the grass minding my own business. He just came up behind me and launched his entire body weight on top of me and then walked off mocking me and laughing. Could have very easily broken my neck or caused spinal injuries. Never forgiven that jerk for such a reckless and unprovoked attack.
#14
Went on a trip with my best friend from college, her husband (who we both knew from college), my husband, and a friend of my friend.
First time meeting the extra friend, who acted weirdly territorial like she wanted to prove that she was the best friend now and not me. (Which was absolutely true and would not have been contested by me, as my friend and I lived in different states by that point whereas they worked together and saw each other all the time.)
Playing cards against humanity the first night. My friend’s husband made a great combo that had me absolutely cracking up. Extra friend cut through the laughter to say “Why don’t you just marry him already 🙄”
Everyone went absolutely silent.
It was such a weirdly juvenile thing to say from a 30yo woman and I don’t think anyone had any idea how to react. Definitely set the tone for the rest of the trip, trying to have a good time while dealing with this weirdly resentful new person.
#15
I was on a 5 hour train ride, and a guy kept clicking his pen open and closed the entire trip. 300 minutes of *click….click….clickclickclick……click* I was ready to burst.
#16
In 2009 a guy at Subway put one — ONE — olive on my sub after I said olives. Not "an olive." Olives. Plural. I think about this man at least twice a month. I don't know his name. I will never forgive him. Every time I'm at a Subway I silently audit the olive distribution. It has been 17 years.
#17
In 3rd grade when we had a field day, my class was divided into two teams and we had to do various activities to win and participate in a pizza party at the end of the day. I was part of the winning team but the teacher who was handling the party didn't know our class well and some of us, myself included, were told we couldn't join the pizza party because we were on the losing team. We weren't. I'm still pissed about that.
#18
I worked with a sweet elderly black lady, Susan, in a major retail store. Susan was like a grandmother to me and I loved her dearly. One day a very well dressed white woman walked up to me and whispered "You need to keep an eye on her. Those people like to steal everything!" While pointing at Susan. OMG. What? I looked at her like she had 2 heads and said "Excuse me!?! She is the best employee we have, and the nicest person I've ever met. Kindly see yourself out of my store." The lady huffed, looked offended, and stormed out of the store. That was 12 years ago. F that racists B.
#19
Mainly people who beeped at my fiancée when she would stall at the lights while learning to drive. It makes my blood boil.
What good is it beeping angrily at a learner driver with L plates on?
#20
A guy parked in my parking space once. I couldn't look him in the eye without wanting to punch him. How dare he!
This was 25 years ago.
#21
Years ago (petty, right?) I had assigned parking at my college apartment. We also had one of only ten tandem spaces out of about 30, which means my space held two cars. During spring break when the parking lot was almost entirely empty, I discovered a car parked behind me, blocking me in, when I had to leave to take a friend to the train station. We had to go around knocking on doors to find the car owner and it turned out another student’s parent owned the car - and took his sweet time walking as slowly as possible to come move his car. I’m still so irritated at how absurd it was for this idiot to choose to park behind the only other car in the parking lot when there were so many empty spaces.
#22
I was working at a sub shop in HS and the customer was upset about the price of his meal because I finished ringing him up and his coupon didn’t register to take off 14 cents. I was 17 and didn’t have the clearance to edit the transaction once his card had been charged, and stood therefor ten minutes while my manager finished his break as this ‘gentleman’ yelled at me from the other side of the register. My manager came in, immediately took over the situation and kicked the guy out; he was screaming at me and now escalating to profanity on his way out the door. I don’t remember the exact wording but something about being worthless and stupid and never amounting to anything because I couldn’t ring up an order right on a touchscreen. Turns out his coupon was expired.
The next day I’m at practice and a bunch of us are waiting just inside the school building for parents to arrive. I’m a captain and my coach had to leave early so I volunteered to linger at least until the middle schoolers get picked up. A 7th grader walks up to me and says “Hey, Dad, this is my captain. She’s awesome!” And I turn and lock eyes with the jerk who screamed at me the night before.
I remember just the direct eye contact as silence as neither of us spoke and stared each other down. He took his daughter by the elbow and pulled her away. It was so, so awkward, and when everyone who witnessed this exchanged asked me what it was about I said it was nothing because I didn’t want to embarrass the daughter/my young teammate.
The next day we were told she quit the team. Next I heard of her she’d left the school. Never saw her again. I think about her and her awful dad occasionally.
#23
I entered a 20 page report into a state competition where there were multiple events when I was in high school. When the awards ceremony happened, my report got second place which of course is still great imo because top 3 moved to nationals.
The same day though, I received the scoresheets where two judges rated the report out of 100 for a maximum of 200 points. I heard that the first place report got 196 points whereas my report got 199 points with a 5 point automatic deduction to make it 194 points.
I looked at the reason for the 5 point deduction and it was because the judge said my state name wasn’t on the cover of the report… but it 100% was right there. So I missed out first place because my judge could not simply read. Still feel strongly about it.
#24
Buying a few pieces from a co-op art gallery along the Oregon Coast. The shop attendant (who was also one of the artists featured there) was making small talk and asked where we were staying. We told her we were staying in a gorgeous apartment above [famous local restaurant], both of which were owned by the same people who also operated [other local art gallery]
She asked us if we had checked out their gallery yet and I said no, but…
She interrupted me to say “Good, you couldn’t afford anything in there anyway.”
I had been about to explain that the gallery was closed for the duration of our stay, but that we had purchased one of their sculptures that they had featured in the apartment.
I know she was more just making a gauche observation on how expensive their work is rather than any comment on us in particular, but I thought it was such a rude thing to say, especially to someone who was actively making a purchase in her shop.
Also just kind of reeked of artist rivalry, like she was trying to drive business away from them. Not a good neighborly look.
#25
I lost a a trivia contest in 6th grade because my science teacher didn't believe me (or knew I was right but was mad I came up with something) when I said "cyan" for a color that started with C. Then she told me to look it up and all she had were kids dictionaries with no cyan.
#26
My grade school made us all do something sport related every Wednesday after school during winter whether we wanted to or not. So I was stuck in a five pin bowling alley from October to April. The owners of the lanes were generous enough to hand out small prizes in April which was the only thing I was looking forward to. The day came and they drew for prizes for girls and prizes for boys. I kept waiting for my name to be picked from the boys barrel. Instead my name was in the girl’s barrel and they looked around looking for a girl with a boy’s name. I pointed out it was me and I was clearly a boy. They could’ve just put my name into the boy barrel and picked another girl name. Heck, they could’ve just handed me a girl prize since the prizes were all the same. Instead they took one look at me and tossed my name into the trash. Everyone else got prizes except me.
#27
My parents were on a trip to Greece and we had an older woman staying with the 4 of us kids for almost 2 weeks. She wasn’t family, but apparently my parents trusted her, lol. One evening after supper, my younger sister didn’t want dessert, she’s never liked pudding, and wanted to be excused from the table. This woman yelled at her and told her she wasn’t going anywhere until her vanilla pudding was gone. Little 6 yr old me stood by my sister and dared the woman to touch my sister or make her eat the pudding. As my older brother told my parents when they returned (mid ‘70’s, so maybe 1 call to check on us and that was it,) the look and challenge I gave the woman is something he’ll never forget. I was willing to throw down to protect my little sister over pudding. We still joke about how I almost took out our babysitter, and how our parents left us with this woman while they went to Greece. The following year when they went to France they flew our grandma in and she stayed with us without incident. My sister still doesn’t like vanilla pudding, and I still don’t like old ladies who try to push kids around.
#28
When I was 13 I went to go see Lady Gaga at the Roseland Ballroom, very small venue with maybe 2000 people attending. She has never done a venue that small since and probably never will again.
At the time I'd just figured out I was gay, and Gaga was my lifeline to accepting myself.
After the show, I begged my parents to go to the stage door and we did. I was behind someone else waiting for her to come out and sign things and when she finally did, after she spoke to the person in front of me they moved aside so I could go meet my idol. Then some idiot darted in front of me and grabbed Gaga's wig like a psycho. Obviously her security got involved and ushered her into a car, but I never got to thank her for helping me accept myself and never got my merch signed.
I'll probably never get another chance like that and 12 years later I'm still salty about it. If I ever see that insane guy again I'd throw hands, but realistically it's instead just a very silly grudge I will hold forever against a stranger that likely doesn't remember me at all.
#29
I was walking down the road and two women were walking towards me. They were talking to each other and not paying attention to their surroundings. They swerved to my side of the pavement and kept walking.
When they reached me, they didn't move over so I just stood there, waiting for them to go around.
It was petty but I was so annoyed that they swerved into my path and expected me to move out of their way.
It was 10 years ago and I'm still annoyed by their rudeness when I think about it.
#30
A woman cut in front of my mom at a bakery when I was maybe 8. My mom didn't say anything, just quietly put her hand on my shoulder. On the way home she said "some people carry so little inside they need to take from others." I still think about that woman every time someone cuts in line. I hope her bread was stale.
#31
When I was in 3rd grade, I had a desk at the back of the room with a tiny goalpost and backdrop on the corner of it. When I’d finish my tests or class work early, I’d spend my free time flicking tiny paper footballs through the uprights.
Well, our normal teacher had to take medical leave and we had a substitute for two months. She never said anything about my goalpost, never mentioned having a problem with it. I had to miss a day for a doctors appointment and she tore my uprights down and threw them away. I’m 47 now and I’m still bitter.
#32
The teacher who ruined my perfect spelling test record by saying I'd misspelled "airplane".
#33
When I was about ten I was in Boy Scouts, and we were at this camp in Virginia. They were doing a thing where if you picked up a can from the trail you could turn it in at a trading post for a penny. A can of soda was 25¢, so I was collecting cans toward that goal.
It was going great, I had 20 cents already and I had my five cans. I turned them in and asked for five cents. The dude running the trading post gave me five pennies, since I didn't specifically ask for a nickel, and then pointed to the sign which said that they did not accept pennies. The pennies that he had just given me. No amount of pleading would make him budge.
I never got that can of soda, and I'm still salty. I collected 25 cans off of the trails over the course of a week and over 50 miles of hiking.
#34
I went to a free concert at a park in a small town one summer after work. I walked there and most people brought their own chairs, sat in the grass, or sat on public benches. I sat down at one of the benches available, there weren’t many, and I remember intentionally scooting over to the end in case anyone wanted to sit next to me. Suddenly an elderly woman who would have been sitting farther away from me with her back toward me gets,out of her chair and walks over to me. Mind you, I’m smiling at her as she approaches, as she gets to me she leans over and points her finger at me and says, “if you can’t see I’m glad” and walked away and sat back down. It was so out of nowhere I just laughed. I wish to this day I had gone up to her and said, “Excuse me? What?” But I was speechless. I stayed a bit longer and enjoyed the show. She never even looked at me after. It was so weird. I think about it sometimes to this day but have assumed she maybe had dementia. If she didn’t though…that was just cold lol.
#35
At a gig in 2000 I bought a bottle of water from the bar and when I looked down at my wallet the guy sitting near where I was standing stole it. I told the bartender (who must have seen it happen) and he said he didn't care. Still angry.
#36
Guy mumbled something at me. I said "Beg your pardon?" And he looked at me as if I was illiterate or something. Had to spell it out for him "I didn't catch you the first time can you please tell me what you're saying". Moron.
#37
I was maybe 4 or 5 years old, playing with a bunch of other kids at someone's house for a playdate. Out of all the kids, there was this younger little boy, probably 1 or 2 years old, who was fascinated with any toy I picked up and played with - me, being the nice kid, once I realised they were interested in what I was holding, I placed it in front of them, which they happily took, and I'd find something else to play with.
After the third or fourth time I did this I realised he just dropped whatever he was holding and just wanted whatever I had at the time, so I kinda just kept playing with the Hot Wheels car I had and let him watch.
Then his mum came in, saw us playing, proceeded to get in my face and scold me for not sharing, snatched the car out of my hand while looking me in the eyes, and give it to her son. The son accepts it... then immediately drops it once she leaves and I pick up something else.
I have no idea where or when this happened, but decades later I can still picture that woman's blonde hair and blue eyes as she kneeled down to get in my face, and feel salty about it.
#38
There were two lines at the DMV, one was insanely long and the other short. I asked a worker which line I needed to stand in to get my learner's permit photo. She told me that I needed to be in the long one. That's ok. I don't hate her. She made a mistake. But after an hour in the long line, I approached the window and met my archenemy.
"Learner's permit? I can take your picture here but you should have been in that line."
"I was told to stand in this one."
"No one told you to stand in this line."
"Are you serious? Why would I--"
"Stand back."
And that, kids, is how I wound up with an angry Learner's Permit photo. This was fifteen years ago.
#39
I had a really full-on shopkeeper ask me a ton of questions (he owned a men’s fashion store and I was checking it out with my boyfriend).
The dude was so in my face and asked if I wanted to go into the back room and look at some vintage magazines and I started giggling nervously, which is something I do when I don’t know what else to do.
He called me incorrigible and then further grilled me and asked me if there were any famous women I looked up to (obvious answer for me is Dana Scully/Gillian Anderson), but I couldn’t think on the spot and he huffed and we left.
Left super baffled, ruminated on it and seriously considered throwing a brick through his stupid shopfront window lol
#40
I was at a hotel buffet, which was extremely rare because I go to buffets maybe a couple times a decade. At one point, I was eying something else that I wanted, and finally decided to get up and go get some. Right as I walked up to the feeding trough, this fat little butterball of a child darts in front of me, scoops up the remainder of what I wanted to try, farts, and runs off. I was *aghast*. I can't even remember what food I wanted to try, but I still remember that child, who left me in a cloud of stink after stealing my lunch.
#41
Oh my gosh, let me tell you. So at my school we used to do a dance competition and the rules were that you couldn't have props or dress up. My class worked hard to get the choreography down and we were winning, like all the teachers judging were really into our dance and loved it. The last class came in... They were dressed up with props. Innocent little child me thought, surely not, they're going to get disqualified. Nope. All they did was stand there and play air guitar with their props. They won and I'm still not happy about it. This happened like 15 years ago but I'm not ready to let it go.
#42
I had applied for a job at a department store (I think it was a JC Penny) when I was 19. I checked on the application that I was only interested in permanent, full-time work; I did not check the boxes for seasonal or part-time. Got called for an interview and I confirmed on the phone that this was for a full-time, permanent position.
Got to the interview wearing a professional dress and was confused to be ushered into a room full of teenagers in jeans. A manager entered, introduced herself as Mercedes, looked at me (overdressed compared to the rest of the room), and said, "You're all here to interview for part-time, temporary positions, so you can just relax."
I said, "I was told this was a full-time, permanent position? I didn't apply for part-time or seasonal."
Mercedes looked at me like I was an idiot and without missing a beat, said, "**NO**. If you don't want to be here, you can leave." So I left. I could not believe this woman had both wasted my time and then acted like I was the idiot for being there.
It's been 25 years and wherever Mercedes is, I would not feel bad if she was having a miserable life.
#43
My dentist had a Freudian slip and mentioned my acne. I hated that guy with a passion. I kinda hate people like him now, too.
A drink acquaintance let out my cat, she had been asked to be careful before. He never got back home.
There are many..
#44
Story 1: I made a couple pans of brownies for my son't Blue & Gold Boy Scout awards ceremony. I arrived early to help in the kitchen and set the pans down in the dining area knowing I had to cut them up later (easier to transport uncut).
A few hours later a number of people were in the kitchen helping me and a woman waltz's into the kitchen with MY brownie pans and says "I have these brownies I need to cut up" and everyone in the kitchen is thanking HER for them, like she baked them! Do you think she said something like, "Oh, I didn't make them they were sitting out there"? NO! She just says "you're welcome" and takes all the credit.
I didn't know what to say without sounding like a jerk, but I'm still fuming about it lol.
Story 2: I'm camping with our Boy Scout troop and brought a bag of licorice I intended to share. I set the bag on the main picnic table and went to set up my tent etc, and a little while later a woman is walking around with MY licorice handing it out to people and they're all thanking HER!! Again, how am I going to respond w/o sounding petty?
#45
Stranger to me: Rahm Emmanuel. I was leaving my hotel in Chicago for work and he must have been there for a meeting or something but his security detail physically and aggressively blocked me as I was walking out of the hotel and rushed him to a waiting car. I wasn't even looking in his general direction and couldn't care less. I had to be delayed because a Very Important Person thought more people cared about him than they did.
#46
The teacher who asked us to google recycling and non-recycling residues and I wrote thousand of them, and she didn't even check homework and forgot about it, lol.
I wrote down the descriptions of each one and draw them, I'd never put too much effort on a homework like that before. I think I drew up to 20.
#47
I once was stuck on a 5 hour bus trip with a woman sitting behind me who smelled like she bathed in perfume.
I spent the entire trip with a headache and swearing to somehow get revenge on her.
It has been 10 years and I've not gotten my revenge, nor do i remember what she looks like, but I'm still holding a grudge against her for it. .
#48
I saw a physical therapist for foot pain when I was 9 years old and she said "you're a bit chubby like your dad" which gave me long term body image issues. If she's still alive I sincerely hope she's hated by her family too. .
#49
She was the first customer i had to serve on my first day at my first job at 16, she didn’t even let me get my greeting out before she literally threw her change at me and started demanding “tea!”tea!” and didn’t even look me in the eye. I was so shocked at her audacity that i held the grudge for the past 8 years. Saw her fall on the bus last month best day of my life.
#51
I let a friend of a friend borrow my copy of Vice City like 20 years ago. Never saw it again.
#52
IN 2018 I was at the Trevi fountain and stopped some pickpocketers from getting the tourists next to me. The tourists just said - NBD. I didnt have anything in my pockets anyway.
YOU'RE WELCOME!
#53
In 5th grade, around 2001, I got my ear pierced. White boys with earrings was rare back then, at least where I grew up. My gym coach, who I already disliked, said “earrings are for gay men” and I looked “gay” for having one.
He ended up becoming the vice principal at my middle school and was always being creepy to both boys and girls. He eventually got fired, but I don’t think he got charged for anything. This was 15 years or so before Me Too.
#54
My parents took me and my best friend to New Orleans for a college graduation trip. It was so much fun, but by the end we were all sunburned and exhausted. We live in Texas so it's about a 10 hour drive and we decided to break it up into two days and stay in Galveston. My mom did one of the blind deals for a hotel and we ended up at a very fancy hotel. We are not fancy people. We rolled in looking rough and went straight upstairs to put our luggage up so we could go to dinner. As the elevator door opened, my mom said "I think our room is this way" and a very well dressed man who was waiting for the elevator overheard and incredulously said "you're all staying in one room?" And then chuckled in the most cartoonishly snooty voice as we walked past him. My friend turned and loudly mocked his laugh as I dragged her away. To this day, over 10 years later, we all still say "you're all (insert uncouth action here)?" in our snooty voice.
#55
When I was 19 I worked in apartment leasing and they hired a new manager who fired me for not going around door to door to do lease renewals on my day off.
I was too young to know this was probably illegal. She also told me I was obviously stupid because I asked questions about office procedures, etc. Apparently smart people don’t ask questions.
I ended up eventually going to college and, ultimately, getting a Ph.D. in molecular biology and doing research at an Ivy League lab. They didn’t mind me asking questions, lol.
#56
The woman on the seat in front of me on a budget airline flight from London to Paris about 25 years ago who insisted on draping her nasty, over-bleached hair over the back of the seat so I spent the entire time staring at her split ends.
I asked her to move it, she refused.
I *might* have implemented a diabolical revenge (strange how easy it is for nasty hair to get tangled in the clips holding up the tray table) but I still haven't forgiven her.
#57
Very active female cyclist here, but I’m not stick skinny like a lot of cyclists can be, and at the time I wasn’t even close to overweight, I’m tall and not petite. Guy I used to work with said to me one day, “it’s so weird how you bike SO much but aren’t skinny.”
The audacity lol.
#58
After several chemo sessions, I became increasingly tired. I was at the store checking out with the cashier. It was taking me slightly longer than usual to pay and generally organize myself. A woman behind me started to sigh out loud and angrily said "let's hurry things along". I looked at her and said "I'm sorry but I can't move as quickly for you as you'd like but I just had a chemo session". She retorted, "we're all going through something". I just continued along at my own pace. I didn't know what to say. I was too tired. It's true everyone is going through something. Yet she could have shown some empathy for my situation, I thought. Still can't forget her words and look on her face during such a hard time in my life.
#59
A teenage girl at the Farmer’s Market crepe stand many years ago put brown avocado in my crepe. When I pointed it out to her, she became defensive and said snippily, “Just because they’re brown doesn’t mean they’re bad.” I didn’t have a come back for that at the moment and accepted the crepe from her. I should have said yes, but it means it’s not fresh. Her snotty attitude still haunts me.
#60
Guy at a gas station like 4 years ago who grabbed the pump I was clearly pulling up to. Made eye contact and everything. I think about that man every single time I get gas.
#61
10 years ago now I went to study in Beijing for a couple of months with other students from my program. We lived on the university campus and there were two streets on campus that had a bunch of little stores.
One time, two classmates and I were looking for shoes on the west side of the campus. While I was in the advanced class and could communicate decently in mandarin chinese, one of the two girls I was with could barely get out a sentence. So we stop by a shoe stand and the girl attempts as best as she can to explain her shoe size. She looks around for a few minutes, uncertain, and the shop owner starts telling his co-worker in mandarin that "Foreigners are so stupid. They come here and don't speak a lick of chinese." Obviously, he wasn't expecting another white girl to understand him. Which, fair.
I stopped and looked at him, and he was smiling stupidly at me. I took a breath and replied to him in mandarin "What about you, can you speak any english? Any french?" His face dropped.
We didn't buy shoes from him. And I still think about it.
#62
Elijah Wood bumped into me at the 2001 Comic-Con, almost knocking me down with his messenger bag. He didn’t stop or apologize. HE IS MY MORTAL ENEMY.
#63
Visited California with my family as a kid, I'm East Asian.
One day we're crossing the road after a trip to the mall and I'm with grandma, the rest of the family has reached the other side but we're lagging behind. Grandma decides to hurry it up instead of waiting for the next light but we're slow so we're only halfway across the road when the light turns red.
This stupid soccer mom lady rolls down the window of her family car and does her best "teaching the savages" impression, slow chiding voice and everything. "No, *uh-huh*, we don't do that in this country.".
#64
Seven years ago, a guy sprinted to catch my elevator, squeezed through the closing doors like an action hero, and then pressed the button for the second floor. I still pray both sides of his pillow are eternally lukewarm.
#65
The barista who spelled my name Rhachel in 2017. I have never forgiven her. Every time I see a Racheal I side-eye them.
#66
2 old guys discussing soccer very loudly in an otherwise silent train car at like 11pm. Had to listen to them for like an hour probably, it was incredibly annoying.
#67
In the 5th grade my teacher loaned me out to the special education class program. They were doing the 12 days of Christmas and only had 11 students. My teacher volunteered me and I was mortified.
What do you think ?
Patricia Steward 26 minutes ago
Good grief, people, LET IT GO! You're not doing yourself any favors.
Man in the mirror 4 hours ago (edited)
When I was in law school there was one opening in my university for an internship in my country's supreme court. Massive opportunity. I applied. Since both grades and applicant lists were public I knew I was clearly the best candidate. Highest grade and most appropriate elective subjects. Other students were already congratulating me in the hallways. The constitutional law teacher who was president of the selection committee very obviously didn't like me, I'm not sure why, but he frequently made it clear in class. So he went and pressured another student with better grades who didn't want the internship (she wanted to intern abroad) to apply, so she did and got the internship even though applications were closed. Then another student who had applied, was clearly less eligible than I was, but whose mother was the attorney general, got a special second spot in the internship created just for her on behest of that same teacher. 15 years later I still clench my fists thinking about it.
Patricia Steward 26 minutes ago
Good grief, people, LET IT GO! You're not doing yourself any favors.
Man in the mirror 4 hours ago (edited)
When I was in law school there was one opening in my university for an internship in my country's supreme court. Massive opportunity. I applied. Since both grades and applicant lists were public I knew I was clearly the best candidate. Highest grade and most appropriate elective subjects. Other students were already congratulating me in the hallways. The constitutional law teacher who was president of the selection committee very obviously didn't like me, I'm not sure why, but he frequently made it clear in class. So he went and pressured another student with better grades who didn't want the internship (she wanted to intern abroad) to apply, so she did and got the internship even though applications were closed. Then another student who had applied, was clearly less eligible than I was, but whose mother was the attorney general, got a special second spot in the internship created just for her on behest of that same teacher. 15 years later I still clench my fists thinking about it.
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