People Feel Worn Out By These 'Am I The Jerk?' Stories

"I speak both English and Russian, and my friend group is literally just Russian speakers. I used to have no friends, and the reason I met this group is because we were all Russian speakers. So you guys know those annoying popular girls who try to make friends with everyone? One of them, let's call her Claire, decided they wanted to become a part of our group. It was fine. I did not mind translating back and forth (the rest of the group does not speak amazing English, hence why their friend group is a bunch of Russian speakers, and English is actually my first language; however, I learned Russian at a young age from my grandparents). The reason I translated, rather than the group switching languages, is because it's pretty stressful on them living in Canada and having to speak English all the time, and they are not going to be forced to speak a specific language because of one person. In fact, it's probably pretty nice for them to have some other Russian speakers in their lives outside of home. We are all still in high school, so all our classes are in English/French. The only time we ever speak in Russian is during our lunch break/spares. However, the problems started when Claire said, "Why can't you guys speak English like normal people?" and also "It's really insensitive of you guys to be speaking Russian after everything with Ukraine." I pointed out that a lot of Ukrainians speak Russian, and then she claimed I was lying. I then started naming regions of Ukraine where they speak Russian, and then she claimed I was "making crap up." This crap went on for a few weeks until the entire group decided we had had enough, and we completely ignored her; I just didn't translate anything. She called me a jerk for continuing to speak Russian (it's "insensitive") and saying we were excluding her, which we kind of were, and this is where I might be the jerk. But I also believe it makes no sense for someone to approach a group of Russian speakers, try to befriend them, and then call them insensitive for just speaking a goddam language. You wouldn't go up to Chinese speakers and call them insensitive jerks for speaking Chinese because of the horrible stuff China is doing. It's not like we were denying her a friend group. She has a huge friend group already; she just decided to join us for some reason. So what do you think? AITJ?" Another User Comments: "NTJ Jesus… what? If we can speak a language because it invaded another country, we (humanity) would be mute. Especially English. Britain is notorious for conquering others across hundreds of years, and the US is another example of historic invaders, but not quite compared to Brits. Speak whatever you want." Thediciplematt Another User Comments: "It’s always the ignorant ones with the biggest mouths. Ukrainians, especially Older ones, speak Russian. So do people from many Eastern European countries. You are right to ignore her. Also ask your history teacher if he could give a mini lesson on the Soviet Union and the Russian language." Jordren Another User Comments: "NTJ but watch out. It can be irritating. I have some friends who are Spanish speakers, and they often have little conversations and don't translate it all. Sometimes I think I understand because I speak French, so there's some overlap with English too. It's not a problem, but don't do too much. I know it's tempting to talk about others 'secretly' in Russian. Also, there are instant translate apps on phones; I'd be using that to listen to what you say if I thought you were talking about me." 867_-_5309