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The original was posted on /r/amitheasshole by /u/Mentally_breaking_07 on 2024-01-23 13:09:43+00:00.
Growing up in a family of four with my (41) F mom, (42) M dad, two younger siblings and I (20) F. life gets tricky, especially dealing with my (8) M brother. Right from the time he could talk, my mom started giving him whatever he wanted whenever he threw a tantrum. I put up with it at first, hoping the tantrums would stop, but things just got worse over time.
No matter how much I tried to tell my parents, especially my mom, to stop babying him, it felt like they weren't listening. I even suggested she let him learn to eat with a spoon on his own when he was 4, but now, at 8, he still makes a huge mess when he eats – standing up, watching TV, and leaving rice all over the place. My mom complains, but nothing really changes.
In 2019, my mom had another baby, my youngest brother, who's now 4. I tried my best to make sure he didn't end up like his older brother – While I wasn't perfect at teaching, my youngest sibling is way more disciplined. He knows how to eat nicely, say sorry when he messes up, and take care of himself, unlike his older brother who still needs a lot of help.
Now, let me tell you about this recent incident. My (8) M brother was building a pillow fort, taking up all the pillows, and I was cool with that – he's still a kid. But my youngest brother just wanted one pillow to lay on while watching something on my phone. I knocked on my bedroom door to grab something, and my brother got mad, saying, "I’m not letting you in because I’m punishing you."
Before all that happened, earlier I tried to explain that our youngest brother just wanted to play, but he wouldn't listen. He kept shouting, so I took our youngest brother out of the room. Later, I asked my brother to open the door, promising to take only one pillow. Instead, he threw a huge tantrum, yelling that I was "destroying it." I promised to find another way to get the pillow without ruining his fort, but he kept shouting.
Then, my mom showed up without even asking what happened, she started yelling at me to stop. So, I just focused on feeding my youngest brother his dinner that they brought. But instead of figuring out what went down, my mom told me to apologize. I found it ridiculous, and I laughed silently, wondering why I should say sorry when I didn't do anything wrong.
My mom got even more upset, shouting, "Just say you're sorry! How hard is that? Be reasonable." Feeling the pressure, I said sorry in a sarcastic way. She wasn't buying it and insisted on a real apology. I resisted at first but eventually gave in to avoid making things worse.
But my mother still went on saying that I am an asshole. So am I?