Mom’s response to her young teen son’s cruel dating prank goes viral and wins the internet’s praise



A slew of Reddit users praised an anonymous mother for doing the right thing after her son's cruel dating prank on a friend resulted in a severe punishment.

The topic was broached on popular Reddit thread "r/AmItheA**hole."

What are the details?

The unnamed mother, who goes by the user "conflictedMomThA," explained that her 15-year-old son — whom she referred to as "Jacob" in the thread — pulled an "incredibly cruel 'prank'" on "Ashley," a female friend.

"I know this girl, she's been to our house and even attended Jacob's birthday party a month ago," the mom wrote. "She seemed incredibly sweet if not a bit shy. So when my oldest son 'Mark' (17) came to me and told me Jacob had asked Ashley out on a date as a prank I was stunned."

The mother said that she immediately wanted to confront her son in hopes that the report wasn't true — but had suspicions that the teen had gone and made a mockery out of Ashley's apparent affections toward him after she'd seen lengthy message exchanges with her son and his friends on chatting app Discord.

"I was speechless," she said of reading the messages, which were left open on a public device. "And that's not even getting into HOW he was talking, like he was some thug and not a 15 year old living in a gated community."

The woman said that she felt gutted over her son's apparent heartlessness and debated on how to confront him and how to handle the ensuing consequences.

"[A]fter a day of thought I decided what was going to happen," she recalled. "First things first, he was grounded, for how long I'm not sure. Secondly, I'd gotten Jacob a bike for his birthday but it hadn't arrived until the day previous and I'd planned to give it to him when my parents came to visit since they'd been unable to make his party."

The mom said that she decided to use the bicycle as a teaching tool — and one that he'd likely never forget.

"[I]nstead of [giving him the bike] I showed him I knew about the 'prank' and told him he was grounded, then I made him carry the new bike out of my bedroom closet and to the car before driving to Ashley's house, him crying the whole way," she said. "I'd called her parents earlier and explained everything and so once we got there I had him cart it to their front porch and ring the bell."

At that point, she said, she demanded her son issue an apology to the young girl in front of her parents — and give her the bike.

"[I]n front of me, Ashley, her parents, and God I had him give a sincere apology and gift her the bike," the mother said. "Even I apologized to her, saying I didn't raise my boy this way and what he did was unforgivable. I also called the parents of the other boys who were apart of this little stunt and they all seemed rightfully horrified by their sons' involvement."

The woman said that she eventually told her parents what happened to her son's bike — but that they responded that she had been too harsh and had gone too far with the punishment.

"I still feel like what I did was right but having my parents more or less dog pile on me like this actually made me wonder if how I handled it was too extreme? AITA here?" she asked, using the abbreviation for "Am I the asshole?"

What has been the response?

The thread, shared on Thursday, has amassed more than 19,500 upvotes and received more than 2,000 comments, resulting in an overwhelming number of users branding her "not the asshole."

One user responded, "[Y]ou did the right thing. If there hadn’t been consequences that hit where it hurt, he may not have learned how unacceptable that behavior is. That cruelty is sadly common in kids around that age, but this is the absolute right step towards him becoming a good man."

Another added, "I'm sad to say I know how cruel young boys can be. Not personally but back when I was in high school I witness something similar to this happen to the 'weird girl' and it ended very very poorly for her. May she rest in peace."

"Not to mention the effects of these kinds of 'jokes' are lasting," one user responded. "I’m 21, I had this s**t happen to me when I was 11-15, I still have a hard time accepting compliments, or believing anyone could be attracted to me despite being in a 5 year relationship. In my head I’m still the undesirable girl who people find so repulsive that the idea of dating me is a big hilarious joke to them."

Another responded, "Your son has hopefully learned a lesson here. You're doing tough things a parent needs to do to raise their kids properly. You could've handled this an easy way, but you did it the hard way and the right way."

You can read the full thread of responses here.

(H/T: Newsweek)

Social media brands bride-to-be as 'homophobic' after she dared ask her gay bridesmaid to pair up with a groomsman for the big day



A large amount of Reddit users say that an anonymous bride-to-be is "homophobic" because she asked her openly gay bridesmaid sister to be paired up with one of her betrothed's groomsmen for their wedding festivities.

The topic was broached on popular Reddit thread "r/AmItheAsshole."

What are the details?

As highlighted by a Wednesday Newsweek report, the bridesmaid is miffed that her sister wouldn't let her bring her girlfriend of three years to her wedding.

The bride reportedly did not offer her sister the option for a plus-one considering she is in the wedding and would be partaking in group events — such as wedding photos and bridal table placements — with a corresponding groomsman.

"I would have to walk down the aisle beside one of the groomsmen, stand beside him in some pictures, and sit at a table with him and the other bridesmaids and groomsmen," she wrote.

She added that she was upset, however, that her girlfriend had not been invited to the nuptials, and that she was not permitted to bring a guest.

The unnamed bridesmaid said that she approached her wedding-planning sister with her hurt feelings, and told her that she didn't understand why she couldn't bring her girlfriend to the celebrations.

"When I brought this to my sister's attention she said that the groomsmen (I'll call him John) is my date," she wrote. "She told me John is single so it made sense to 'pair us up' and have us be each other's dates."

The decision, she insisted, is not about cutting costs, as her family is reportedly paying upwards of $75,000 for the wedding. She added that other bridesmaids and groomsmen are permitted to bring plus-ones.

"I've been out for 15 years," she said. "I took a girl to my prom. My parents and sister have taken me to pride parades in the past. Everyone knows I'm gay and it's never been a problem but now I feel like it is."

Unhappy with the response she got from her sister, the bridesmaid took her gripes to her parents.

They told her, she said, that she was being "self-centered" and said that her sister "can do as she pleases" since it's her wedding.

"I feel like it's homophobia no matter what my sister and parents say," the baffled bridesmaid added.

The original post has been upvoted more than 12,000 times at the time of this reporting, overwhelmingly voting that the bridesmaid was not, in fact, the "a**hole."

What has been the response?

A majority of the comments are in support of the bridesmaid, agreeing that her sister is engaging in homophobic behavior.

One user wrote, "Even if, 'best' case, she's completely accepting of your girlfriend and she doesn't want her there because of the groom's family, she's still being homophobic by catering to them. She can be as homophobic as she wants while pretending she's not, but that doesn't mean you have to tolerate it."

Another added that the bridesmaid ought to destroy her dress and stand her ground in refusing to attend.

"When people show you who they are, believe them," the user wrote. "I'd cut up the bridesmaid dress and mail it to sister along with an RSVP card checked 'We regretfully cannot attend.'"

"If I'm dropping at least $75k on my child's wedding, the very least that child can do is not subject my other child to homophobia," another user said. "If the sister cares so much about potential homophobes on the in-laws' side, she should get them to pay for the wedding then."

Another user added that the bride was asking her sister to be "straight for a day."

"It is incredibly rude to your girlfriend and invalidates your relationship. Also the fact that you're gay, are open and proud about it, and shouldn't have to hide it just for your sister. It's homophobic," the user added.

Another user said that karma would soon catch up to the bride.

'"[W]hat I LOVE is that the bride is about to lose with every not-bigoted member of your family," the user cackled. "All their family is going to be asking, 'Hey, OP, where’s your girlfriend?' OR 'Hey, bride, where’s your sister?' She's created what she was trying to avoid. Impeccable karma. If you're reading this — don't go, OP. It won't be worth sitting at dinner and wondering which of the guests your sister values more than you."

One user even suggested that the bridesmaid cut off her family for the foreseeable future.

"If Op is willing to draw a neon line in the sand with her family (and willing to go this far) but does not want to feel bad about pulling out, she can always sit her family down or send them text and basically say: 'I will be at the wedding and be a good little bridesmaid for it. I will not pretend to be John's date but will do my duties for the wedding without fuss. However, I reserve the right to leave without notice if any homophobic remarks are used at or about me.'"

"'I will say, though, that after the wedding, my girlfriend and I will no longer be around,'" the commenter concluded. "We will not be coming to visit, for family events or for holidays any longer. I have been shown that I, and by extension, my partner have just been tolerated up until now. That being asked to play pretend straight is a slap in the face I never expected from my family, but it has been made clear where everyone stands. I will give in this one time."