Author: Matt Gilligan

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Things Romanticized by Society That Are Actually Toxic

There are so many things that are called romantic in books and movies and songs but, when you apply them to real life, are nothing but creepy and/or toxic.

Singer and songwriter Naya Ford took that truth head on during a TikTok video, asking her followers to weigh in on “something that people glamorize that’s actually just extremely toxic.”

@nayaaford

What’s something that glamorized but is ✨toxic✨ #NewYearNewMiO #WordsOfWisdom #toxic #withouttellingme #fyp

♬ original sound – Naya A Ford

She began with “I want a significant other who is rude and mean and not friendly to anybody” because that somehow means they won’t cheat, and her followers really piled on.

Below are 13 great answers!

13. That women can fix broken men.

“The idea that broken men can only be healed through the love and labor of a woman. This perpetuates the idea that men cannot find healing or support from anybody except for women — which means that they don’t seek it from their friends, they don’t seek therapy, they don’t have connections outside of their [female] partner to support them. This obviously puts a huge burden on women to care for men, heal them, rehabilitate them. That same energy is not given to women.

Also, if you want an example, I recommend looking at almost any movie targeted to teenage girls that is about a ‘bad boy’ (the pure, loving ‘good girl’ heals the wounds of the tortured ‘bad boy’ trope).”

12. Couples pranking each other on YouTube.

“YouTube couples who do pranks — they’re so obvious that they’re doing pranks, and they just get more and more extreme with…embarrassing each other on camera.”

11. Drinking wine.

“Wine culture.

Especially mom wine culture. “The reason mommy drinks.” “Mommy juice.”

And look I am guilty of it too. I used to make jokes about it until I realized I actually had a problem.

We’re grown women. It’s not cool to joke about drinking every day. It’s alcoholism.”

10. Heartbreak in general.

“The way that we romanticize getting our heart broken and then forgiving and getting back together with the person who broke our heart. That dumb notion of ‘you always hurt the one you love’…If somebody cheats on you, lies to you, manipulates you, that is called emotional abuse. And there’s this media depiction that all it takes is the right grand gesture and then everything is resolved — it will never happen again, and you should forgive them. I’m not saying redemption isn’t possible because every situation is different, but that’s not romantic — that’s called work.

And if I have to watch one more gosh darn movie where we sympathize with the person who did the abuse, and we look to the person who was abused asking them to forgive them to suit our romantic narrative. … It is not glamorous, it is not romantic; it is abuse, and we need to stop idolizing it.”

9. Being in a relationship.

“By no means am I saying that relationships are toxic, but what I am saying is that society and social media’s obsession with relationships — yeah, that’s not healthy at all. It’s as though everyone is more focused on the cute pictures, the matching outfits, and being able to say you have someone than actually accessing and considering ~who~ you have.

Daniel Sloss said it best…: It’s people out here trying to force things that shouldn’t be forced with one another because they would much rather have somebody than nothing at all. Like…there are really couples out here who don’t need to be together, should NOT be together, but they stay together because their cute couple pics go viral. And the obsession promotes the idea that being single is a flaw. It’s getting weird!”

8. Gender norms.

“Gender norms. Blue is for boys, pink is for girls. Girls show emotion, men do not. Women are feminine, men are masculine.”

7. Professional modeling.

“The modeling industry. I’m surprised to this day, it’s still glorified. It’s such a toxic industry, people get away with so [many] atrocious things in that industry because they have power and control over your work, your body, and so many other things that you renounced when you started your career as a model.

Like, they don’t prepare you to be objectified, s*xualized, and preyed on by predators. Played by people you trust, told that you’re not good enough, [and] expected to be of a standard that you will never attain. Jeopardizing your self-worth and mental health at their expense for them to make money off you. It’s such a problematic industry that we need to stop glamorizing it…

Please don’t…be something you’re not and let people (who don’t care about you) dictate what you should (or shouldn’t) be in this industry. If you start out, do you.”

6. Having children.

“Having kids. No wait. It’s not toxic in its entirety. There are aspect in it that are really toxic hear me out. Having children is glamorized and prioritize over very necessary pieces of actually raising children.

People are not addressing their past traumas, they not addressing their stability, mentally, physically, financially. All of these thing are taking a back seat to an idea bringing children to this world and having a baby shower, and having a gender reveal, Both the children and parents are forced in this reality that they can’t recreate their favorite TV show family.

The life is very real but having children are glamorized and the kids will group with not addressed traumas and repeat the cycle.”

5. A “morning routine.”

“Bloggers who have the perfect morning routines with their kids and they cut up all the little lunch into bento box with the love notes and a shaped apple with an octopus and their house is cleaned and they are dressed.

The moms are dressed their hairs are brushed, they have make up. Where are you going, where are you going and then their kids are in perfect outfits and then they go out of the door like that. No, it doesn’t work that way, that’s toxic, it’s a lie”

4. Dieting.

“Diet culture and the idea that your value and morality is tied to how much you weigh.”

3. Codependency in relationships.

“The idea that you guys need to be obsessed with each other when you’re in a relationship…Apparently we have to text each other every day — all day long — and if we don’t text back within a reasonable amount of time, or we don’t explain why we didn’t text back, then all of a sudden that means we’re not into you anymore. If you’re not texting each other, then you’re probably on FaceTime until your phone dies or on FaceTime until you fall asleep. And some people like to be on FaceTime while they’re asleep, which is kinda weird…

Basically dedicating all your time to your significant other — that’s kind of unhealthy. ‘Cause imagine you dedicated so much time and energy to a relationship that you had nothing else going on in your life. You’re gonna feel so broken if that relationship fails, because you got way too attached.”

2. Having a friend’s back.

“Vouching for your friends no matter what, even when they’ve done something bad.

Like, if my friend cheats on their partner, and they expect me to lie for them if their partner calls me and asks where they are, I’m not lying for you and your [bad] behavior.

If your partner knows me well enough to have my phone number and ask where you are, why would I want to participate in lying to them? Obviously there are worse things, but it’s a no for me.”

1. Beauty standards. Period.

“Any beauty standard.

It’s too much.”

Don’t be fooled, y’all – if it seems toxic, it probably is!

The post Things Romanticized by Society That Are Actually Toxic appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Woman Saved up Her Dog’s Excess Fluff to Have a Pair of Boots Made

We all love our pets and we like to honor them in different ways. Paintings, t-shirts, jewelry, etc. Heck, for Christmas last year, my sister got me a pair of socks with her dog Bea’s face on them because I’m the designated dogsitter for that wonderful pooch and, to be frank with you, Bea and I have fallen in love over the years.

And I wear those Bea socks everywhere!

But a dog owner named Soleil Pond might just take the cake when it comes to honoring her pet, a pooch named Nimbus.

Pond had been keeping all of Nimbus’ fluffy fur because she knew she wanted to use it to create something special as a tribute to her beloved pooch.

I mean, just look at that face! How could you not be in love with him?!?!

As the fur piled up, Pond thought more and more about what she might be able to create that would be unique…

And then it finally dawned on her!

Why not make a pair of boots to keep warm? So Pond gave all of Nimbus’ fur to a friend of hers who made her these beauties that Pond says will “tolerate temperatures as low as -40 degrees.”

Whoa! I think she might have started a hot new trend with these…

Photo Credit: Facebook

This is what living your best life looks like, people!

Have you done anything creative like this with your pets? If so, tell us about it in the comments.

And share some pics if you have ’em! Thanks fam!

The post This Woman Saved up Her Dog’s Excess Fluff to Have a Pair of Boots Made appeared first on UberFacts.

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Learn About the Landmine-Detecting Rat That Received a Medal for Bravery

Most of us think that rats are dirty, invasive rodents that creep around alleys and our trash cans, freaking us out. Which is true, but rats are also very intelligent animals and they supposedly make great pets.

My eyes were opened when I read the book Rats by Robert Sullivan and let me tell you, they are pretty impressive creatures. And here’s another reason to like these little fellas.

Meet Magawa, a rat that has been awarded a gold medal for exceptional bravery by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in the UK for detecting landmines.

Magawa now joins the ranks of dogs, horses, pigeons, and cats that have received the prestigious honor over the past 77 years that the organization has been giving out awards.

He was trained to detect landmines by an organization called APOPO and so far has been able to sniff out 39 landmines along with 28 other pieces of unexploded weaponry.

Because of his work, over 1.5 million square feet of land in Cambodia has been deemed safe for the local population. And Magawa even received a miniature medal to wear around his neck for his efforts!

Amy Dickin of the PDSA , said,

“Because of the impacts COVID has had on the UK—and wider world—our original presentation plans had to be completely re-worked.

Meaning Magawa actually brings two firsts to PDSA—the first rat honored with a PDSA Medal and our first-ever virtual presentation.

We’re thrilled to be shining the spotlight on his amazing work and can’t wait for everyone to see him in action!”

Check out this video about Magawa’s great work!

Have you seen any interesting animal stories lately?

If so, please share some links with us in the comments.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post Learn About the Landmine-Detecting Rat That Received a Medal for Bravery appeared first on UberFacts.

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Greyhound Lets Runaway Kids Return Home for Free

It’s hard to wrap your head around, but an estimated 2.8 million children run away from home in the United States every year. And it’s even more staggering that the majority of them are between 10 and 14-years-old.

But it’s a sad truth in this country.

So it’s good news that Greyhound works in coordination with the National Runaway Safeline to help kids get back home to safety.

The Home Free Program allows young people from the ages of 12 to 21 a free ride home to reunite with their parents or guardians.

All that young people need to do to qualify for the program is to call 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) to see if they are eligible for a free ticket home.

As you can probably imagine, kids who run away from home can find themselves in all kinds of precarious and dangerous situations, so we want all young people who have a chance to go back to a safe environment to take advantage of this opportunity.

FYI, there are a couple of stipulations about the program. In order to get a free trip home, there must be a runaway report filed for a person.

Also, a ticket can only be used twice by the same young person.

Here is a link to Greyhound stations around the country.

Here’s that number one more time for kids to call: 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929).

Let’s hope a lot of young people take up the company on this offer.

Have you seen any good stories lately that you think we’d enjoy?

If so, please share them in the comments. Thanks!

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Is It Bad to Tell a Friend That You Don’t Care if She Likes How You Look?

I like to say that one of the best days of my life was the one when I truly stopped caring what other people think – and while that’s true, I do think that some people’s opinions matter.

If you trust someone and their thoughts on certain matters, then of course, you might care what they think about a certain topic. Everyone else, though, can suck it.

This woman is wondering whether or not she was wrong to tell a friend she didn’t care about her opinion on clothes, though, and the backstory is that her friend and roommate is super into the body positivity movement – to the point where she’s not afraid to police where her friends go to the doctor or buy their clothes.

I (24f) live with 2 other women Claire (23f), and Joan (24f).

Joan spent most of last week helping her boyfriend find and move into a new flat, so we haven’t seen much of her.

Joan is a bigger girl (a UK 22) and is very into the body positivity movement, in particular the health at any size movement but to a dangerous and quite toxic degree (ie she recently complained about discrimination to our GP practice after a nurse told her she couldn’t have the combined pill due to her weight).

One if her major bugbears is when brands only sell straight sizes (6 to 16/18) it is her opinion that if brands don’t sell a larger size range that they should be boycotted, and anyone who buys from them is approving of their size exclusivity.

While that roommate was out of town, OP and her other roommate bought cute sundresses from an “unapproved” retailer – someone who doesn’t sell plus sizes – and planned to wear them for an at-home tea that might lift their spirits.

Earlier this week to cheer ourselves up Claire and I each ordered a dress sundress from House of CB, living in Britain in March that may seem a bit hopeful but they are pretty and a girl can dream of summer!

They arrived Friday night, and Claire and I decided that on Sunday we’d have afternoon tea and wear them (it would also act as a distraction from the fact it was mother’s day and we couldn’t be with our mums). We text Joan to see if she wanted to join but she declined.

Then the third roommate came home, asked about the dresses, and then began shaming the other girls for supporting that retailer.

Joan came home during the tea, and all was fine at first she had a scone and chatted away until she asked about the dresses, we told her they were House of CB and she looked them up, then she said “why the f*ck are you guys supporting somewhere like this?”, we said “what?”, and she started ranting about the sizing (XXS to L+, UK 4/6, to 14/16).

OP told her in no uncertain terms that she didn’t care whether or not the roommate approved of her dress, and that the last thing anyone needed during a pandemic was more people trying to steal their joy.

Which… I definitely agree with.

I told her to calm down, and that the dresses are pretty, she told us that she was appalled at us wearing them, then started ranting.

I stopped her and said that her opinion on clothes sizing does not affect me and should not affect if Claire and I are trying to find some happiness in these times, that we should be allowed to shop wherever we want and that she needs to stop obsessing over it.

The roommate stormed off and declared she wasn’t speaking to the other girls unless they returned the dresses, leaving OP to wonder whether or not she was an a$shole for stating her opinion.

Joan then stormed off to her room, and is still refusing to speak to either of us.

Only texting us once to say “I’m only talking to you if you send those dresses back and apologise”.

Are we the a**holes here?

I know weight and clothing is a sensitive topic, and I know that she has a thing about it, but I don’t see why that should affect what Claire and I are allowed to buy and wear, however I am aware I was a few cocktails in so could have been a bit more sensitive about it myself.

I’m only really questioning it as her reaction is so extreme.

So, was the roommate’s reaction extreme?

Reddit, of course, is weighing in.

This person pointed out that you’re allowed to have your own moral guidelines when shopping, but to try to force them on other people is gross.

Image Credit: Reddit

There was plenty of (warranted) snark to be found.

Image Credit: Reddit

Pretty much everyone said they should keep the dresses (if they like them).

Image Credit: Reddit

It’s almost like she doesn’t want to have any friends.

Image Credit: Reddit

Everyone deserves to feel fabulous in their clothes, no matter the size!

Image Credit: Reddit

This could probably have been handled a bit more delicately, but in the end, she wasn’t wrong.

I hope the friend wises up and realizes that she won’t win anyone to her size by bossing people around – yeesh.

Drop your thoughts in the comments!

The post Is It Bad to Tell a Friend That You Don’t Care if She Likes How You Look? appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Pet Groomer Shared Videos About Things All Animal Owners Should Know About

We might think that we know our pets well and we know what’s best for them, but when professional groomers talk, we should all listen to what they have to say.

A groomer in Canada named Vanessa De Prophetis has made several TikTok videos for pet owners highlighting things that she thinks they need to know about their pets.

This video she shared shows some behind-the-scenes realities of pet grooming and how it’s not all fun and games. And also how it isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination.

@girlwithedogs

Don’t forget to tip your groomer #petlife #foryou #fyp #viral #foryourpage #dogsoftiktok #petthings

♬ Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked – Cage The Elephant

One video she posted is full of tips about how to properly brush your pets, which every owner should know about.

And here’s another video from De Prophetis where she talks about some of the things that pet groomers might not be comfortable telling owners about their animals.

@girlwithedogs

Sadly this has happened more than once. And one time…there was worms in it.? #petlife #foryourpage #dogsoftiktok #viral #fyp #groomersoftiktok

♬ Splish Splash – Good Timers

In this video, she talks about how it can be hard for her to get her point across to pet owners when she talks about their health care needs.

@girlwithedogs

The struggle with skin allergies and ear infections is real. Don’t give up trying to find solutions❤ #dogsoftiktok #foryou #fyp #groomersoftiktok

♬ Iris – Natalie Taylor

De Prophetis also made it clear that groomers get attached to the pets they take care of just like their owners do.

@girlwithedogs

We also wonder, what did we do wrong? #groomer #foryourpage #groomersoftiktok #fyp #viral #foryou #petlife #dogsoftiktok

♬ Lean on Me – Bill Withers

And one of the most important videos that De Prophetis posted is directed towards people who want to have an “end of life” grooming for their pets and why that really isn’t a good idea. This is really good to know.

@girlwithedogs

We know your intentions are pure #foryourpage #groomersoftiktok #fyp #viral #dogsoftiktok #foryou #petlife #dogsoftiktok

♬ original sound – salem

Now we want to hear from you.

What do you think of this groomer’s videos? Did they give you any new perspective on your pets?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know. Thanks!

The post A Pet Groomer Shared Videos About Things All Animal Owners Should Know About appeared first on UberFacts.

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An Entitled Karen Tried to Force This Person Out of Guitar Lesson

Karens really never cease to amaze me.

They’re rude, they’re crude, they’re ignorant, and most of all…they’re ENTITLED.

And this story that someone shared on Reddit is a real beauty.

Let’s see what happened…

Guitar Karen DEMANDS my time slot because her son needs “something to do after school”.

“This happened a couple of days ago and I thought you guys would enjoy it. As a bit of backstory, I play the electric guitar. I take lessons from a teacher that is absolutely the best in the area at what he does. He’s been doing it for about 30 years now so he’s really, really good. Understandably, he’s also really, really booked up.

When COVID hit and everyone started doing online classes for school, he lost a bunch of students because they’d typically go to his class after school and since they weren’t in school or doing extracurricular activities, their parents I guess decided to yank them from guitar lessons too.

One of the things that makes my teacher awesome is that he tends to give scheduling priority to his older students (like me, 41) because they don’t give him the headache of having to manage every little thing between this and that thing for school. It kind of sucks for parents but he’s had enough of the headaches of rearranging everyone’s life because little Johnny has to play his leading role of being a rock in the school play.

Now this matters because now that kids are starting to go back into the classrooms where I live, parents are blowing up his phone trying to schedule their little darlings back into lessons, while us older folks have been dutifully attending (or doing online lessons) and paying the whole time. So if you’ve been doing that all this time and you’ve got the 3:30 slot and you like it, that’s where you stay.

This matters because of Guitar Karen. Guitar Karen’s son used to take lessons but she pulled him out for the last 9 months or so. In-school classes are starting up, and Guitar Karen wants as little to do with her kid as possible, so she has apparently enrolled him in every possible after school activity that exists. I know this because my teacher rolls his eyes as our lesson is about to begin because his phone is pinging like crazy.

I thought it might be an emergency or something so when he returned to the room, I said, your phone has been going crazy (he normally turns it off during our session) and he just mutters something and turns it off, talking about how this woman has signed her kid up for track, baseball, art, band and now guitar and in order to ensure he has something to do every single day of the week, he absolutely MUST have this 4:00 slot.

You can imagine where this is going. Guess who’s slot that is. Mine.

I’m super flexible with regard to the days of the week, just not the time of day (because I work until then). I told him as much but he’s like “no, I’m not moving you, don’t worry.” He turns off his phone and we continue on our lesson. Within like five minutes, his computer is going Ping! Ping! pingpingpingping! and he’s like “holy mother of f*ck.”and shuts the lid.

Blissful silence for the remainder of our lesson. Until he opens the classroom door and there stands Guitar Karen: A kind of heavyset woman with her lips pursed like she’s gonna give you a kiss, and her brow looking like it has permanently stuck itself in the scowl position and a “Mama Bear” t-shirt on (I sh*t you not)

“YOU!” she yells at me. Now I’ve never seen this lady in my life but she’s got no mask on so my instinctive reaction is to social distance my *ss right the hell away from her but she just Godzilla stomps her way in, knocking over a music stand and sending papers everywhere. She turns and shouts at the teacher.

“WHY WON’T YOU GIVE MY SON THIS TIME SPOT. HE NEEDS IT. YOU NEED TO RESCHEDULE YOUR OTHER STUDENTS AND STOP SINGLING ME OUT BECAUSE MY SON HAS OTHER ACTIVITIES.”

The poor guy can’t get a word in edgewise. She’s standing in the doorway so I can’t leave.

She looks me up and down. Me, who is very much a t-shirt and jeans kind of lady and is wearing a shirt that says “I like heavy metal, coffee, cats, and maybe 3 people.” and is like I BET YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A JOB. YOU’RE PROBABLY SOME WASHED OUT COLLEGE DROP OUT. WHY’D YOU PICK THIS TIME SLOT ANYWAY. IS IT BECAUSE YOU KNEW SOMEONE LIKE ME MIGHT NEED IT? YOU NEED TO GIVE IT TO MY SON.

I also can’t say a d*mn word because this woman just won’t shut up.

Now let me reiterate that my teacher is the chillest guy on the planet. But he nearly died last year from sepsis on top of the whole COVID thing, so he’s REALLY understandably p*ssed when someone gets in your face and is stabbing your chest with their long-nailed finger and spraying insults without a mask on.

He gets between me and her and says YOU NEED TO BACK UP OR GET OUT. They take their confrontation out into the hallway. He tells me to go ahead and leave and he’ll handle her. I hear him tell this lady.

“Listen, loves_spain has been with me for years and I’d better never hear you insult her or any of my other students ever again. Your behavior is disgusting and you need to leave the premises now before I call security.” (We don’t have security in the building but she doesn’t need to know that — he was so fired up, I think HE could’ve landed her flat on her *ss in that moment).

She turns completely meek and is like “What about lessons for my son?” And at this point the teacher was like “absolutely not.” And she’s like “but he needs this!” and the teacher said “not my problem.” and acted as if he were dialing security on his phone. She scuttled out of there as I was leaving the parking lot. I wanted to give my teacher the biggest high-five.

He later told me he didn’t hear from her since then, but he thinks this isn’t the last encounter. I imagine she’s the type of person that will come down there every weekday at that time to berate whichever poor student has that spot because her son obviously NEEEEDS IT!!!

Here’s how folks on Reddit reacted after reading the story.

This person said that they think the guitar teacher was a hero in this scenario.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Another reader said that the guitar teacher should put the woman and her kids on blast for not following safety protocol.

Photo Credit: Reddit

This Reddit user said that this Karen might just be upset for actually having to spend time with her children…they might be right…

Photo Credit: Reddit

Finally, a person argued that Karen’s kid in this situation seems to be way over-indexed and it’s probably the mom here who is making her kids do too many activities.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Okay, now we want to hear from you.

Have you had to deal with any Karens and their crazy behavior lately?

If so, tell us your stories in the comments. Thanks a lot!

The post An Entitled Karen Tried to Force This Person Out of Guitar Lesson appeared first on UberFacts.

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An Entitled Karen Tried to Force This Person Out of Guitar Lesson

Karens really never cease to amaze me.

They’re rude, they’re crude, they’re ignorant, and most of all…they’re ENTITLED.

And this story that someone shared on Reddit is a real beauty.

Let’s see what happened…

Guitar Karen DEMANDS my time slot because her son needs “something to do after school”.

“This happened a couple of days ago and I thought you guys would enjoy it. As a bit of backstory, I play the electric guitar. I take lessons from a teacher that is absolutely the best in the area at what he does. He’s been doing it for about 30 years now so he’s really, really good. Understandably, he’s also really, really booked up.

When COVID hit and everyone started doing online classes for school, he lost a bunch of students because they’d typically go to his class after school and since they weren’t in school or doing extracurricular activities, their parents I guess decided to yank them from guitar lessons too.

One of the things that makes my teacher awesome is that he tends to give scheduling priority to his older students (like me, 41) because they don’t give him the headache of having to manage every little thing between this and that thing for school. It kind of sucks for parents but he’s had enough of the headaches of rearranging everyone’s life because little Johnny has to play his leading role of being a rock in the school play.

Now this matters because now that kids are starting to go back into the classrooms where I live, parents are blowing up his phone trying to schedule their little darlings back into lessons, while us older folks have been dutifully attending (or doing online lessons) and paying the whole time. So if you’ve been doing that all this time and you’ve got the 3:30 slot and you like it, that’s where you stay.

This matters because of Guitar Karen. Guitar Karen’s son used to take lessons but she pulled him out for the last 9 months or so. In-school classes are starting up, and Guitar Karen wants as little to do with her kid as possible, so she has apparently enrolled him in every possible after school activity that exists. I know this because my teacher rolls his eyes as our lesson is about to begin because his phone is pinging like crazy.

I thought it might be an emergency or something so when he returned to the room, I said, your phone has been going crazy (he normally turns it off during our session) and he just mutters something and turns it off, talking about how this woman has signed her kid up for track, baseball, art, band and now guitar and in order to ensure he has something to do every single day of the week, he absolutely MUST have this 4:00 slot.

You can imagine where this is going. Guess who’s slot that is. Mine.

I’m super flexible with regard to the days of the week, just not the time of day (because I work until then). I told him as much but he’s like “no, I’m not moving you, don’t worry.” He turns off his phone and we continue on our lesson. Within like five minutes, his computer is going Ping! Ping! pingpingpingping! and he’s like “holy mother of f*ck.”and shuts the lid.

Blissful silence for the remainder of our lesson. Until he opens the classroom door and there stands Guitar Karen: A kind of heavyset woman with her lips pursed like she’s gonna give you a kiss, and her brow looking like it has permanently stuck itself in the scowl position and a “Mama Bear” t-shirt on (I sh*t you not)

“YOU!” she yells at me. Now I’ve never seen this lady in my life but she’s got no mask on so my instinctive reaction is to social distance my *ss right the hell away from her but she just Godzilla stomps her way in, knocking over a music stand and sending papers everywhere. She turns and shouts at the teacher.

“WHY WON’T YOU GIVE MY SON THIS TIME SPOT. HE NEEDS IT. YOU NEED TO RESCHEDULE YOUR OTHER STUDENTS AND STOP SINGLING ME OUT BECAUSE MY SON HAS OTHER ACTIVITIES.”

The poor guy can’t get a word in edgewise. She’s standing in the doorway so I can’t leave.

She looks me up and down. Me, who is very much a t-shirt and jeans kind of lady and is wearing a shirt that says “I like heavy metal, coffee, cats, and maybe 3 people.” and is like I BET YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A JOB. YOU’RE PROBABLY SOME WASHED OUT COLLEGE DROP OUT. WHY’D YOU PICK THIS TIME SLOT ANYWAY. IS IT BECAUSE YOU KNEW SOMEONE LIKE ME MIGHT NEED IT? YOU NEED TO GIVE IT TO MY SON.

I also can’t say a d*mn word because this woman just won’t shut up.

Now let me reiterate that my teacher is the chillest guy on the planet. But he nearly died last year from sepsis on top of the whole COVID thing, so he’s REALLY understandably p*ssed when someone gets in your face and is stabbing your chest with their long-nailed finger and spraying insults without a mask on.

He gets between me and her and says YOU NEED TO BACK UP OR GET OUT. They take their confrontation out into the hallway. He tells me to go ahead and leave and he’ll handle her. I hear him tell this lady.

“Listen, loves_spain has been with me for years and I’d better never hear you insult her or any of my other students ever again. Your behavior is disgusting and you need to leave the premises now before I call security.” (We don’t have security in the building but she doesn’t need to know that — he was so fired up, I think HE could’ve landed her flat on her *ss in that moment).

She turns completely meek and is like “What about lessons for my son?” And at this point the teacher was like “absolutely not.” And she’s like “but he needs this!” and the teacher said “not my problem.” and acted as if he were dialing security on his phone. She scuttled out of there as I was leaving the parking lot. I wanted to give my teacher the biggest high-five.

He later told me he didn’t hear from her since then, but he thinks this isn’t the last encounter. I imagine she’s the type of person that will come down there every weekday at that time to berate whichever poor student has that spot because her son obviously NEEEEDS IT!!!

Here’s how folks on Reddit reacted after reading the story.

This person said that they think the guitar teacher was a hero in this scenario.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Another reader said that the guitar teacher should put the woman and her kids on blast for not following safety protocol.

Photo Credit: Reddit

This Reddit user said that this Karen might just be upset for actually having to spend time with her children…they might be right…

Photo Credit: Reddit

Finally, a person argued that Karen’s kid in this situation seems to be way over-indexed and it’s probably the mom here who is making her kids do too many activities.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Okay, now we want to hear from you.

Have you had to deal with any Karens and their crazy behavior lately?

If so, tell us your stories in the comments. Thanks a lot!

The post An Entitled Karen Tried to Force This Person Out of Guitar Lesson appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Who Regret Having Children Share Their Feelings

I’ve sometimes wondered if there are moms and dads out there who regret having children.

Well, now I have my answer: yes, some of them do feel that way.

Which is kind of surprising, but I guess there are bound to be some moms and dads out there that aren’t exactly thrilled with having kids…

People who regret having kids opened up on AskReddit. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. It is what it is…

“I have two kids and they’re an endless series of PTSD triggers.

If I had known the extent and nature of my mental health situation I would have never had children.

I love my kids, but it is what it is.”

2. But…

“I love my kid more than anything, she’s the light of my life and my delight, but:

(1) Life is just easier when you don’t have a kid. You have more freedom, more options, fewer responsibilities, and so much time. You can take risks, jump on opportunities, do stuff, that just is so much more difficult if you have parental responsibilities.

I’m not talking about partying or living irresponsibly. I mean things like being able to take a job doing humanitarian work in Africa without having to worry about the safety of your family.

(2) In the world as it is, with so much uncertainty and such a bleak outlook, I worry about her future.

I am very much aware of the downsides and I think people who choose not to have children are probably making a wise choice in current circumstances.”

3. Regretting motherhood.

“I don’t regret my daughter; she’s a smart, healthy and beautiful little girl, we could not be more blessed with her.

What I regret is motherhood. I’m not an eager mother, I don’t enjoy the mundane grind of school pickups, park visits, watching Frozen 6,000 times, drawing stick figures, etc. I get no joy from it.

I’m a good mom, I’m attentive and ever present, I do ALL the things and am extremely responsible, but I’m running on a constant state of “over it” and that poor little girl deserves so much better.”

4. Single dad.

“I caved when my wife got baby fever entirely too soon after our first.

My oldest son had just been diagnosed with autism and I just kind of thought that everyone with very young children were miserable until they were 4 or 5 years old. I repeatedly told her that not at all ready to have another child but gave in. We weren’t doing well financially or personally but I just wanted to make her happy.

She asked for a divorce soon after our youngest turned 1. It’s becoming more and more obvious just how self-centered and selfish my ex-wife has always been.

I’m trying not to be bitter but I hate a lot of being a single dad of two young children without any help. I eat what I’d like to say often because I realize it wouldn’t be productive. I grew up with parents who had a terrible divorce and I’m trying to make sure my kids don’t live the same fate.

I’m lonely and terribly depressed, it feels like my life consists entirely of working and being a dad. It feels like no one will ever love me again and everything about dating sucks.

I don’t blame my children. I love them more than they might ever know. My life would be infinitely easier without kids but I hope they’ll never know how I feel.”

5. Passing it on.

“I regret what I unknowingly passed on to them.

If I would’ve have known the severity of the mental illness that exists in my bloodline, I would’ve never have had kids. Being moderately mentally ill myself (Depression/Anxiety), I never thought that mine was severe enough to go on to affect my children in different ways/severities, that it did.

However, I found out 10 years into a fight between life and death with my then 15 year old son, mental illness is sadly very real in the family and my family kept it from me. They sat silent while my son suffered since 5 years old with voices, suicidal attempts, cutting (all before he turned 9!).

I feel guilty everyday I brought children into world never really knowing they would go on to suffer from mild symptoms to very severe. My son could’ve been helped many years before he finally was had I known earlier, but thanks to my family, I almost lost him 4 times before his 16th birthday.”

6. Heartbreaking.

“My son has autism and I sometimes regret having him.

I still love him to death but when I see that he’s not like other kids and doesn’t really socially interact, it breaks my heart. I worry for his future and what would happen when my husband and I die.

Will he be independent and takes care of himself? I worry a lot.”

7. The wrong partner.

“When I had my kids I was stable and when I got my divorce, my ex wife never wanted to work still and still does not work.

To this day I send all my money to them (while still paying my bills and surviving of course) just so they can eat, go to school with everything they need, and be able to have a good child hood.

I just wish I waited to have them with a better woman.”

8. Not equipped.

“Because they deserve more than I can give them.

Financially, emotionally, and mentally I am just not equipped to have children. Most days, my kids are more functional than I am. My kids are 21, 14, and 11. I’ve been a single parent for most of their lives.

I love them and they are my motivation to better myself. But it’s hard when you live in the USA and have to choose between rent/food and buying medication.”

9. Burned out.

“Having kids makes me very tired, exhausted.

All the time running around, shouting, doing stuff they’re not supposed to do, making loud noises on tv’s or other devices. “Daddy I wanna do this, daddy I wanna do that, daddy I wanna buy this, cry cry cry I fell off the couch after you told me hundred times not to jump off couches, no daddy I don’t want to take a bath I will physically resist, daddy are you tired man f*ck that I wanna play football.”

Almost every time my daughter is with me I get a burn out, I lose the feeling in my legs and it takes a lot of effort to rise up from my couch or bed.”

10. Jeez…

“I was lied to about birth control and forced to be a parent against my will.

It ruined my life, the kid’s life, and the life of the other person.

This should not happen to anyone.”

11. Good advice.

“Due to how hard parenting is, I’m almost certain I will never do this again. So… my son will be an only child. This also brings me guilt because I’d like to give him someone to grow up with.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BABY WITH SOMEONE YOU REALLY, TRULY LOVE. Do not have a baby with a fling, do not have a baby with someone who you’re infatuated with… trust me, it all fades once you’re stuck with them, for life.

Don’t have a baby with someone who can’t put down a f*cking video game, don’t have a baby with a pothead who will sleep because he’s stoned, while you slave through the sleep deprivation all by yourself.

If you’re on the fence about having a baby, don’t. If you aren’t ready to give up your freedom and sacrifice your life to raise another one, don’t have baby. People take being a mother/father too lightly.

You will never be the same. Your life will be changed forever and will not be just yours anymore. Think hard before you commit… because once you’re in, you can never, ever get out.”

How about you?

Do you regret having children?

Or maybe you regret NOT having children?

Tell us your stories in the comments!

The post People Who Regret Having Children Share Their Feelings appeared first on UberFacts.

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Karma Got These Four Young People Who Weren’t Behaving at a Restaurant

Some kids just don’t learn from their parents (or others) how to behave when they go out to eat in a public place.

And four young kids who didn’t like where they were seated got a bit of a lesson about courtesy at an establishment.

Let’s see what happened.

Sweet poetic karma for 4 whiny pre-teens who didn’t like their table.

“About a year ago I remember the restaurant I used to work in, a notable sports bar was playing a VERY important football match.

Arguably the most important of the season.

2 months prior to the match we were getting calls for reservations and by the final week we had every table booked. Now something you should know about our restaurant is that it is set up quite oddly. Some tables have a better view of our TVs whereas others don’t. That’s compensated somewhat by the availability of two pull down projector screens.

Anyway, this particular story relates to such a table. If you imagine walking into this restaurant, the table is facing horizontally to the nearest TV. So, without the projector screen there would be two guests with their backs to the action.

Then arrives the guests, everything seems to be going fine. They arrive early, and I take them to their table. The lead of the group, let’s call him Chad obviously isn’t that much impressed.

Chad: How the f*ck are we supposed to watch the TV?

Frankly I’m a little bit taken aback by his language, but given its game day and its understandably frustrating (from his point of view he probably isn’t aware of the projector screen).

Me: Well, we do-

That’s when he interrupts.

Chad: Can we sit over there?

He’s pointing to a 8 seater booth. I know why – it’s because it has arguably the best view of our biggest TV. Nevertheless, his is a 4 man booking and that 8 seater is obviously already booked.

Me: That table is booked, as is every other-

And again with another interruption.

Chad: Well f*cking put someone else here. We want to sit there.

Baring in mind his 3 other mates are silent throughout. In retrospect they are all arguably so much more polite than this bag of pus.

Me: Well that wouldn’t be fair, now would it? Now if you let me explain-

Chad: No f*ck this and f*ck you. I’ll take my money elsewhere. Cancel my booking.

I very nearly laughed at that last bit, because I know why he made such a big deal about the larger table now. I would later find out that this particular cretin is stinking rich. He has daddy’s money. But oh well, one booking cancelled. No sweat. The 3 boys leave led by the walking testicle. That’s when the next group of customers really turns the situation well around.

Customer: I’m sorry, I couldn’t help overhear that they cancelled their booking? We haven’t booked, and we’re 4 persons. Can we have their table instead?

This is exactly why one cancelled booking for me on a busy day like this is no sweat. One persons trash is another’s treasure – so to speak. I happily sit the 4 men down, and the guys actually cheer when I bring the projector down.

That’s when it happens.

Testicle McDoucheface rounds the corner and spots the projector. He re-enters the queue for tables and waits his turn. By the time he’s up front, I can barely hide my grin.

Chad: So…we changed our mind (meaning he changed his mind and now wants the table now he realizes that nowhere else in the city has vacancy).

Me: I’m afraid your tables already been given away.

Chad: But we reserved!

Me: Yeah, and you also communicated to me just now that you wish to cancel. I’m afraid your table was already given away.

Chad: You know, that’s a really bad business practice. You should honor your commitments to reservations.

Me: Aslong as the reserving party wishes to remain. Which you did not communicate to me at all.

I then leave the host stand and tend to that table. All the while Chad is given me a look that I can only describe as ‘I f*cked up, but internally I’m gonna make sure this is all your fault’.

Sweet, sweet karma.”

Let’s see how folks reacted to this story on Reddit.

This person said that this was sweet, sweet revenge. And also, to Hell with Chad!

Photo Credit: Reddit

Another reader said that the night was probably a good one after the ringleader of the group took off.

Photo Credit: Reddit

And here’s an obvious take on the story.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Finally, this reader was totally on board with this story and it left them feeling A-OK!

Photo Credit: Reddit

We want to hear from more folks in the service industry!

Tell us about your worst customers in the comments.

Please and thank you!

The post Karma Got These Four Young People Who Weren’t Behaving at a Restaurant appeared first on UberFacts.