People Love Talking About These 'Am I The Jerk?' Stories

"My brother disliked that side of the family (aunt/cousins) because they would just act poorly and blame him for everything that went wrong, this was during our childhood. Even as adults their side of the family is still very annoying, My brother has permanently distanced himself from that side of the family long ago. Anyways, a few months ago (during my birthday) my aunt posted on a social media account wishing me a happy birthday, I was not active on the site so I only reacted to the birthday wishes I was tagged in, whereas she didn't tag me so I never saw the post. (I should add that I reacted to someone's post whom my aunt didn't care about.) Weeks after. I saw my aunt somewhere and she was acting all poorly with me because I didn't comment or like her post but saying how I reacted to the neighbor's post. I did explain I never saw it because I was never on the social media site, I also thanked her during that time I saw her and apologized for not seeing it. She continued to act aggressively and was forcing me to say "thank you" again. By this time I was just thinking but thankfully I held it in and I was so close to saying "I can now see why my brother disliked you". I do understand if I was to say that, I would need to distance myself from the family after that. I will be honest as far as I am not actively trying to cause any drama nor would I like to say this, but I am worried if we are at a family event or something like that and we start drinking it may happen, so I am slightly prepared for it." Another User Comments: "Some advice my dad gave me years ago that still sticks with me: think about what you will gain from saying/doing something, and think about what could be lost and/or the relationships that could be damaged from saying/doing something. If the negatives outweigh the positives, it's probably worth just leaving well enough alone. That's for you to analyze and make a decision on of course. This post just made me think about that advice so I figured I would share." ThunderingSloth Another User Comments: "Only do it if you are ready to part ways with that part of your family. But, you also don't have to toe the line - when she becomes aggressive it is okay for you to say: "Dude! Aunt Sue! You need to chill out or you'll give yourself a heart attack. I don't know what is going on but you are irrationally angry over a minor issue. I apologized. It's time to move on." Then, if she gets her feathers in a dander it's time to walk away." [deleted] Another User Comments: "One of the best pieces of advice about dealing with difficult people came from an old farmer friend of the family. I was livid at a fellow who had gone back on a handshake deal that cost me money and was ranting to family and friends about what I could do to recover my money and get some satisfaction for the breach. The old man just looked and said "Son, never mess with a turd, no matter what happens you're gonna get dirt on your hands" That's been really good advice, there's lots of dirt lying around but you don't have to handle them. Let them lay there. Just put the aunt in the dirt category and don't deal with her anymore. I think your brother may have spoken to an old farmer some time ago..." EducationalOutcome26.