A man helps move boxes. A woman is surprised.
A person's siblings can be a tough crowd. Especially when you're dating their brother or sister. What seems like being "protective" to them might come off as dismissive, demeaning, or downright rude to you. And once you're on their bad side, for whatever reason, it can be hard to prove them wrong.
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That said, sometimes the sweetest revenge really is the kind that's patient and pure. That was the case for a guy who simply couldn't seem to earn any respect from his girlfriend's sister.
On the subreddit r/pettyrevenge, a Redditor wrote, "My girlfriend’s sister never liked me. Every time we were around family, she’d say stuff like, 'You’re just her boyfriend, not family,' or 'Don’t get too comfortable.' I let it slide for over a year because I didn’t want to start drama. A few months ago, she needed help moving apartments. Nobody else was free, and she asked me. I said sure, showed up early, loaded the truck, even brought her a coffee. She was kinda shocked. When we finished, she just looked at me and said, 'I didn’t think you’d actually show.' I just smiled and said, 'Yeah, I’m just the boyfriend of your sister, remember?' She stared at me for a second and acted like [she felt] guilty.
She’s been way more respectful since."
A man helps move boxes. www.flickr.com
In just two days, this received over 77,000 upvotes and thousands of comments on Reddit—the consensus being that people actually want nice people to remain, well—nice people. Commenters seemed impressed that he stuck to his guns and didn't resort to her childish and frankly bullying behavior.
The top comment relays, "This is my favorite form of petty revenge. Petty because you can’t help but twist the dagger showing she has been being an a-hole to you, but also still sticking to your morals and being a good dude and helping out."
After a few quote the film Dark Knight Rises (something about a slow knife turning), one person points out that in actuality, this isn't really petty at all. In fact, it's downright inspiring. "I don't even think it's petty, he's constructively helping her see her douchey ways."
Since this is Reddit, even that comment gets some pushback. "It was a little petty, because he could have said nothing and done the same thing, and just let her silently respect that he showed up for her, but def constructive, non-aggressive petty at that."
Pushing back even further on the whole concept of petty: "Do people not know what 'petty' means... 'cause it's not being petty. The man made a point. That's what that's called. And it isn't even in the 'revenge' category ffs—it’s called 'earning trust.'"
Dwight admits "well played" on season 5 of The Office.Giphy, NBC, Peacock
Whether technically "petty" or not, many Redditors agree that this man remained a perfect gentleman by doing his best to ignore her petty comments and still managing to come through when she was in a time of need. It was a slow play and seems like it truly worked out. "It’s honestly genius. He made her reflect on herself and feel way worse than she ever would have if he tried arguing with her about it or saying it hurt his feelings. He just proved her wrong with actions and left her to realize she was the jerk."
In the end, it's staying ethically true to one's self and hoping to bring the other person around by just… ya know… being nice. As this commenter put it, "Yep. Be the better person. For you, not for them."
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“What makes us Jonesers also makes us uniquely positioned to bring about a new era in international affairs."
It's nice to finally belong. 
Ten points to Gen Jones.
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