They say respect is earned, honesty is appreciated, trust is gained, and loyalty is returned. The following AskReddit users share their stories on how someone who they thought they had respected went and ruined that by acting completely inappropriate.
Source list available at the end.
I just watched my own mother steal candy from her 3-year-old nephew (whom she was babysitting) and eat it it in front of him while he was crying. She wasn’t trying to be playful with the kid. It’s not like there was any more candy where that came from. It was the only package that my sister sent with her kid for a snack. My mother took it away from him and ate it while the kid just watched and cried. When I asked what was wrong with her, she got mad and gave the kid a package of cat treats and laughed while the kid tried to eat one, which he would have if I hadn’t come to the rescue.
Needless to say, I’ll never let her babysit my kids.
hoikarnage
My aunt who is a really nice person was living with my 96-year-old grandfather. She used to show up with brand new things like a mini cooper, expensive fur, and shoes. Nobody said anything because she was taking care of the old man. Well, one day my mom went to his house, only to find a mess all over the apartment, and my grandfather sitting on a chair with poop everywhere. It was clear that it has been a while since she had last checked if he was clean or since she took him to the toilet. When she proceeded to clean him, he said that he did not remember the last time that he had taken a shower and that it felt good to feel the water on his body. Can you believe this? That was awful, but the worst came when my grandpa fell and went into a coma. That was the perfect time for my aunt to go on a trip with her friends to the beach. My grandpa died the day after. He would have been dying by himself if my father didn’t leave his work and get into a plane to see him for the last time. Since that day, that woman doesn’t mean anything anymore to me. She spent all of her money on expensive crap and left him alone when his time had come. I hope she dies alone.
Kandimix
I was at an AA meeting the other day, and the speaker spent almost the entire hour talking about how his life had completely changed and how much of a better person he was.
Fifteen minutes after the meeting, I saw him smash another car while pulling out, and then he just drove away.
Anonymous
My “friends” decided to tape me to a bed while I was asleep. They used almost an entire roll, and they went underneath the bed and everything. I couldn’t get out cause they also taped me down by my head and feet. They made me eat a cup of wet and dry dog food before they would untie me. Not even going to lie, I cried the entire time.
Butt_munch69
My mother isn’t at all computer-savvy, and wanted me to help her e-mail her brother in Korea pictures of her vacation to the beach.
I later found out that it wasn’t her brother she was e-mailing, but the man she was cheating on my dad with at the time.
youarethegirl
I had an amazing professor in college. Someone whose career path I wanted to emulate. Someone who told me I’d be very good in his field. I took all of his classes, earned honors grades, made huge efforts to be participatory, even went on semester break travel-for-credit trips with him. At the close of my senior year, I scheduled a meeting with him to find out what academic steps I would need to take in order to have a career like his. At the meeting, he came on to me. I rebuffed him, and he told me that I was neither smart nor dedicated enough to ever make it in his field, and that I should stop wasting his time. Not only did I lose all of the respect that I had for him as an educator, I lost so much confidence in myself that I never wound up pursuing those goals.
meggersaurus
When I was about 15-years-old, my friends and I planned on seeing the new Harry Potter movie the day it came out. My best friend at the time was collecting money so he could buy tickets for everyone. I obliged and gave him money for a ticket. Later that night, my parents took me to the theatre, and I was excited to see the movie with my friends!
When I got there, I called my friend to see where he was, but he didn’t answer. After about five calls, he picked up to inform me that he gave my ticket to someone else and then hung up. Confused, I kept calling back until someone else picked up his phone and started mocking me. Since the show was sold out, I had to call my parents back to take me home. How could anyone, especially my best friends, be so cruel?
Pooka311
After my little brother (who was once my best friend) stole and pawned my MacBook with all of my music on it, pictures, and college papers, stole my entire DVD collection, stole my prescription pain medications that I needed for actual pain management, and attempted to steal my car, I still stayed up with him while he detoxed from drugs. I held him while he cried, swore, and screamed. He used the next morning. That’s when I finally lost all of my respect for him, more for my own sanity and well-being.
thelibrarianne
Mom mom stole $2,000 from me. It was all that I had saved up for myself for college, and she didn’t even own up to it. She dated my ex-stepdad in “secret” for six months without thinking my brother or I would find out. Last Thanksgiving, she left my grandma’s house to go stay at her friend’s because her sisters decided to confront her about her drinking problem, and she didn’t want to accept it, still doesn’t.
steez101
I thought this teacher that I worked with was just like me. I thought he cared about the kids and wanted them to excel. But the truth is that he used to judge them based on their appearances and make fun of them constantly. The first time he did it in front of me, I told him how classless I thought it was. I have no respect for him at all.
DIGGYRULES
When I was around 10-years-old, my father took me and my little 5-year-old brother on a very unusual trip to the mall. I had no idea why he wanted us to go, but what I did know was that my mother had gone to the mall a few minutes before us. So, we are riding on the express way when I see her car and I’m like, “Look dad, there is mom.” So we keep on following her up to the mall. She goes in and we just waited in the car. At this time, I was really confused because I though we were going with her, but no my dad wanted to wait for her around her car. We keep on looking and there she comes. I can clearly remember her exiting with this other guy all suited up holding her bags. By then, my father was already starting the car to take off. We got home before her and the rest is history. So yeah, I lost all of my respect for her for that and other things that she has done.
general_lilis
My best friend and I went to hang out with a girl that he was interested in. He ended up making fun of me and whatnot for the whole entire day in front of her. I guess it was to impress her. Feels bad….
Justmadeaccount4
My parents recently did something that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to understand. My grandmother is 86-years-old. Last year, she went to the grocery store alone and slipped and fell in an aisle. She had a stroke and has never been able to go home since. When it was clear that she needed to be in a nursing home, they made her a ward of the state so that she wouldn’t become their financial burden. This means that she is living in the grossest and most overcrowded nursing home in our town. For some people, this would be the only option. Nice nursing homes are expensive, and unless a person has quite a bit of disposable income, it’s usually the only thing you can do for your parents. This isn’t the case for my parents. While they aren’t millionaires, they do very well for themselves. Two months after my grandmother had her stroke, they put $150,000.00 of addition money onto their house. 150k would’ve bought grandma at least a few years in a decent place where she could have had her own room, maybe even a little apartment. But no, they stuck her in a place that smells like urine with a room the size of a closet that she has to share with another woman. My grandma has dementia, but she’s not that far gone yet. Every time that I see her, I feel horrible that she left her henhouse for milk and bread and never got to see it again, that my parents could spend that kind of money on their already large enough house when it’s just the two of them, and that I am too poor to do anything to help her. It really bothers me to see my parents in this light. I always thought they were very family- oriented. Needless to say, at least when it counts, they’re not.
Mommy_geek
I used to be really close with my cousin. Go to parties together, hang our every weekend, and talk about everything together, until we actually went to school together. I was not one of the popular people, so she acted like I didn’t exist to not get embarrassed. Heard her saying things like I wasn’t her real cousin, I was adopted, etc. That wouldn’t have been so bad, if she hadn’t spoken so negatively about me to everybody else in the family. I’m not sure exactly what she has said, but I lost contact with everyone else. When I do see them out of forced gatherings, they talk to me as if I am mentally challenged. If I mention anything about school, they act like I overcame obstacles.
I no longer see anyone because at the last gathering I punched out a male cousin who, in a very disgusting way, said “X told me that your homosexual. No wonder you can’t get a girlfriend, and no one in our family likes you.”
Needless to say respect was not the only thing that I lost.
Anonymous
While working at a daycare/preschool, one of the teacher gave a vegetarian-for-religious-reasons child non-vegetarian food many times because they thought it was funny.
Anonymous
I used to work for an awesome company that would pay me to live in different US cities and remodel stores. I was always the youngest person on the travel crew, and more often than not, I was the only female as well. In 06, I was flown to Boston for work over the winter months. When I arrived at Logan airport, my boss, who was a middle-aged man that I looked up to at the time, was there waiting for me. He was a really cool guy, super motivating, and extremely charismatic. The type of boss all people wish they had.
When he took me to the hotel I’d be living in for the next few months, I was surprised to see that I was given a suite on the top floor, but thought nothing of it. After unpacking, I realized that the only thing I had forgotten were my undergarments. Since it was late, I didn’t have a way to get to the store. I had to ask my boss to drive me, which he gladly did. He said that he would walk around while I bought underwear etc. but at one point, I saw him watching me between the racks. Instead of being creeped out, I simply thought I was taking too much time in making my selection. I picked some garments and we left.
During the car ride back to the hotel, my boss told me he would be needing the extra key to my room because I was going to be getting a roommate. I told him I would be happy to give the key to the roommate once they arrived, but his reasoning was that the roommate would be coming in late and should be able to get into the room without waking me at that time. Therefore, the key was necessary. I reluctantly gave it to him.
A few hours later, after settling into my room, my boss texted me. He told me that the panties I had chosen were incredibly sexy and that he would love it if I modelled them for him. I replied with, “Mr._____, I don’t think the company would approve… nor would your wife or newborn child.” I expected that to end his texts abruptly, but he was persistent by telling me that his wife and child were not my concern, the company didn’t have to know, and that I would understand what a great opportunity this was later. He told me that when I grew up (I was 18), I would understand.
At that point, I called the downstairs desk, cancelled my room keys, had new ones made, and asked that someone monitor my hall every few hours. They obliged once I explained the situation. I also texted my boss that if he didn’t fly back to HQ in the morning that I would. And when I did, I would tell them everything. He left the next day.
I now realize I should have reported him for sexual harassment, but I was young(er) and didn’t want any conflict. He was supposed to be a figure that I could trust, and he made it very clear that he was not to be trusted.
LinesOnMaps
An in-law of mine just lost all of my respect. My family has gone emotionally, physically, and monetarily way above and beyond for this person. They just sent my spouse a very nasty email and reading it changed my opinion completely. Previously, I’d thought the individual to be rather weak, but a generally loving and nice person. Now I realize that they’re cruel and petty, not loving in the least. It’s a painful wake-up call.
Sporkalork
One of my best friends in college was driving, and we drove by a teenage couple holding hands, white girl and black guy.
He made some remark about how he should get bonus points for hitting them since he’d be doing society a favor because he is against bi-racial couples. The third guy in our car (who was white) had an Asian girlfriend.
kukukele
I worked at a veterinary clinic in my teens, and the vet there was supposedly very prestigious and had even served on the board of veterinary medicine previously.
So one day, I was helping hold this itty bitty dog (like say maltese/yorkie size) for taking blood or something, and those guys with their tiny brains never hold still, they just fight you all the way, and as usual, we were struggling with it and doing the best we could to hold him still.
So after a couple of failed attempts to get the blood drawn, he just out of nowhere like backhands this dog hard enough to knock him across the metal table thing that he was on. Myself and the other girl holding the dog were just in shock.
I actually ended up giving my two week notice shortly after. Completely lost respect is putting it mildly.
Anonymous
A buddy of mine will throw pretty much any and all of his trash out of his window while driving. He doesn’t even think twice about it.
vpshockwave
I was on a date with a devastatingly handsome man. The prettiest man I’ve ever been on a date with. Turns out he was also the biggest homophobe ever. He was a dancer so constantly felt the need to defend his sexuality at all costs. I didn’t think that it would be an issue given the fact that he was on a date with a woman. There was no second date.
ZebraBalls
My former youth pastor got arrested for child porn.
MuppetManiac