It’s truly incredible to watch people try and rationalize some of their bad habits. Sure sometimes it’s innocent (I’m eating this donut because I actually went to the gym yesterday), but in these cases, it’s definitely not okay.
People from Reddit shared their stories of the worst ways that people have explained away their bad deeds. If it wasn’t for the horrible actions, some of these mental gymnastics would be impressive.
Source at the end of the article. Comments edited for clarity.
“I’m an adult, and I don’t have to tell people where I’m going”
Regarding turn signal usage.
zeuljii
My husband’s ex once told him that he didn’t deserve to get the money he loaned her paid back because, by asking her about it on the day he was expecting it, he was showing that he didn’t think she was going to pay it, and so to teach him a lesson she decided not to.
ayriana
I once called out a lady in a store for dropping trash as she walked.
She just said: “Why? Someone who works here will just pick up after me.”
She wasn’t wrong, but how can you have that level of entitlement in public?
rangemaster
One time I went out with a girl and when I asked her out next she said “Well we had such a great time on our first date that I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience. You set the bar so high on the first one that the second one would not live up to the expectation”.
Just say you aren’t interested, jeez.
Dharma_initiative1
My Mom is a conspiracy theorist with her own weird rationalizations:
I have the best kind of evidence, anecdotal evidence!
I realized that no one can really know anything so I just believe whatever I feel is true.
archetech
My mother constantly wouldn’t come home from nights of drinking and drugs and rationalized it by saying she was being responsible because she wasn’t drinking and driving to get home. Too bad she left her young daughter alone for days at a time and spoiler alert – she drinks and drives all the time anyways.
shecurve
I used to run an ice cream shop. One day I received a letter that went like this:
“Hello, I am a customer of your ice cream shop. On x date, my friend and I decided to get ice cream. We went to *insert rival ice cream shop here*, but there was no parking, so we came to your shop instead. After getting ice cream, I went back to my car. I backed into another car and had to pay damages to the driver. I am asking for you to reimburse me for those damages because I went to your ice cream shop instead of the rival shop.”
The shop owner and I laughed so hard we thought we were going to die. Imagine being so entitled that you think that the ice cream shop you went to before your (self-caused) accident is responsible.
SalemScout
My then girlfriend lived with a female friend and another random guy they were friends with in college for a short while. It was one of those “you may think you know someone, but then you move in with them and see how they really are.” situations.
He had many quirks about him and had numerous things that made my girlfriend and her roommate end up hating living with him. One of the things was he was very religious and they were not.
Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, he would go to church every Sunday, lead bible studies at his house, and play the part of this pious man of God. He would then bring home a new girl every other week, have tons of sex, then break up with them shortly after the fling.
Eventually my girlfriend’s roommate got drunk and exceptionally honest one night and called him out on it. His rationalization was that despite having had sex with numerous women, he was still a virgin and saving himself for his future wife. It was because he had no intention of marrying these girls that it didn’t count in the eyes of Jesus when he slept with them. I didn’t stop laughing for 10 minutes after my girlfriend told me this.
He’s married now to some girl he met at his church. I’m genuinely curious if she has any idea.
Therewillbesprinkles
My dad rationalized that spending X amount to rent a car for 5 hours was a good idea because it would “prove a point” to his wife that they need to buy a second car for him.
My dad hasn’t worked in 13 years. And regardless of what he tells you, it’s been by choice. So yea…
theghostwhorocks
“The cops have it out for me! Why else do they keep arresting me?”
“You got caught last week because you beat up a customer at your mechanic shop.”
“He started it! He wanted a fight.”
“You are already on probation.”
“Exactly! The judge has it out for me! Why else would she put me on probation.”
“Dude, this is the ninth time you’ve been on probation.”
“You’re just proving my point!”
austinmonster
“When the light turns green I should be able to go, no questions asked.”
A dude from High School that hit the person in front of them at a green light.
meltedlaundry
“Because it’s natural” Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’ll be better for you.
BuyingGirlfriend
Lawyer here. One of my legal aid clients on a child-welfare case said he missed all his appointments and court appearances because the child-protection agency wouldn’t buy him an iPad.
I offered to take him to Dollarama and buy him a date book. Not good enough.
JournalofFailure
“I can’t use a Babybjrn because my mom said it’s for lesbians.” -My aunt on why she can’t use a baby carrier.
Ewstefania
Playing devil’s advocate with a stoner in college. I mentioned studies showing that heavy use before 25 can negatively affect brain development. His response? “Well, I feel smarter since I started doing pot, so I think I’m smarter.” I was genuinely speechless, it was such a surreal response.
longhairedtrucker
“Organic foods can feed the world. People who live in areas where there are poor soils should move to a place with better soil.”
This was an argument against GMO crops that grow where others don’t, and we were specifically talking about places in Africa.
TrustInHenry
Ex girlfriend’s best friend is a diabetic, when she got pregnant she didn’t quit smoking because “Diabetic babies are huge, so I want to keep her weight down by smoking.”
therealjoeycora
“A regular guy can’t just start a band these days because all the good band names are taken”
minnieturtle
One of my old high school buddies explained to me that he wanted to become a cop so he can go undercover and do drugs
He was dead serious. His first semester in college his GPA was a .3
Widdler808
My food hoarding dad a couple of years ago.
“Dad, you have what looks like a hundred boxes of mac and cheese here that you never eat. Why don’t you just donate these or something?”
“I keep those so when I’m at the store and I see them, I know that I already have them at home so I don’t need them.”
…Oh no.
minimalcollin
“If I don’t go to the doctor and get diagnosed with cancer, then I don’t have to worry about having cancer.” – Mom
eggsaviour
“I started smoking crack so I could stop taking pills.”
My mother, when I was in my mid teens.
Saesama
Rationalizing alcohol poisoning and blackouts because: “It’s college, what else can you do?”
orangeshorts44
A teacher trainer came to my school to talk to my teachers about respecting students’ controversial opinions. She suggested that my teachers be open to teaching Creationism to respect students’ beliefs.
My teacher told her that it was teachers’ jobs to teach the truth regardless of students’ personal opinions. The teacher trainer’s response? “But truth is so subjective.”
sharkysnuggles
I used to work at an airport. With the realization that after years of working around planes and large machinery, my hearing is starting to get worse, I would always wear hearing protection. One of my supervisors said he didn’t bother, because after a while you get immune to it.
FluffonStuff
“By the time the cops realize I’m going 90, I’ll be too far past them to get pulled over!” This was on back roads with loads of houses, where children regularly played in the street. The guy has since gotten a handful of reckless driving tickets.
MagicNein
I had one friend in school who would always rationalize things that she did, often blaming others, even if she was at fault. Like this one time, she threw one of my other friends purses, breaking nearly everything inside. She responded to our yelling with Well you shouldnt have let me near it.
mmay-55
“My daughter had her turn signal on and looked before she changed lanes. Ergo, she changed lanes safely!”
The fact that she hit someone in the process of changing lanes means it wasn’t safe. I outright stated this and the moron still thinks we owe for his damages.
Allstate might have you in good hands, but you’re about to catch my fists.
lordatomosk
My boyfriend thinks it makes sense that he shouldn’t have to try to pay me back the nearly $7,000 that I paid to save his cat. His rationalization: he shouldnt have to diminish his own quality of life because I chose to spend all of my money.
I was 24 at the time. I gave him all my savings and credit, because he had nothing. But we both love her a lot and made the decision to save her together. The worst part about it was that I had to give up my truck because I couldn’t afford it, while he not only kept his car, but crashed it and then went and financed a new one for $11,000. Yeah, Im getting out of this relationship ASAP.
confinedkitty
I had a friend who literally used to litter all over the place. He would let stuff accumulate in his car, and than on some strip of road he would just start throwing all the trash out the windows. His thinking behind this was that, “It gives convicts a job (prisoners who pick up trash on the road).” I don’t miss this person.
Goosebump007