[Danielle G.]

AIBU 02.08.2024​

AIBU, which stands for 'Am I Being Unreasonable', is the perfect platform for sharing your thoughts and opinions! So, for today's AIBU discussion, we have this story from Reddit/Prankuser2046:

Am I being unreasonable for punching my stepdaughter after she played a prank on me?

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'I (38M) married "Judd" (44F) a few years ago and I acquired a step daughter, "Abi"(14F) as a result. I dated Judd when Abi was 8, and married Judd when Abi was 10. I'd say our relationship is ok, she doesn't act bratty towards me and respects me enough as her mom's husband. However there is one glaring issue about her and that is her pranking nature.

Abi loves to pull pranks. Some examples are her hiding my car keys. Another one is when she hid in the fridge (something I still find very weird) to scare the first person who opened it.

One time, I arrived home and it seemed that I was the only one there. Only my shoes were at the doorstep and I even called out Judd's and Abi's names with no answer. This is somewhat normal as Judd sometimes works late and Abi stays at school for extracurriculars. So I screwed around with my dog ( a German shepherd and husky mix for anyone that will ask) for a bit and then I decided to relive my myself.

When I got to the bathroom I noticed that the window cabinet was open. I though nothing of it at first and unzipped my pants but then I saw a shadow behind the shower curtains. I though the worst and immediately punched the figure behind the curtains.

Well as everyone may have guessed it, it was Abi. She was making a prank video and I had not noticed that she propped her phone up on the bathroom cabinet with two cups.

I'm not gonna lie, I did not hold back. I punched her as hard as I could. Her nose looked broken and when I realised it, I flipped out and so did she. After maybe 5 minutes of freaking out, I drove her to urgent care and informed Judd of the situation. Her nose was indeed broken and would need about 6-12 weeks of recovery.

Abi won't talk to me and as for Judd, she thinks that my action may have been justified, but also thinks I should have approached with more caution which she has refused to elaborate on.

Do you think I was unreasonable?'

 

[Ezzy]

I agree to a point. If you think you are alone in the house, your first response would be, who the hell is this, is this an intruder about to rob, or kill me. Even if you do manage to push them off balance and get out of the bathroom first. You have no idea if this person is alone or has a weapon. Your first response is getting the advantage over an unknown potential armed adversary and raise the alarm. The other thing is, even if he had just pushed the unknown (Abi) he could have easily done more damage to Abi than a simple broken nose. Pushing Abi with the same "gusto" as punching could have potentially broken her neck. Imagine if she had fallen and hit her head on a tap or the shower floor, pushing could have killed her.?? I think it was a stupid thing to have done either way you look at this. However, perhaps now Abi will realize, that there are boundaries you do not cross, even if you think it is funny to play a joke like that on someone. As I have said, jokes are always funny until someone gets hurt.

Agree in part. We don't know the size of the shower recess or how close to the curtain she was standing. Was she a shadow behind the curtain evident by illuminated from the bathroom light which may have been turned on? Too many unknown factors to form a proper decision l believe. The fact still remains however that this was a silly stunt by Abi, who has by now learnt a very painful lesson.

 

[marni]

'How would she have gone,.....'.
She, his step daughter Abi was behind the curtain so she wouldn't be running anywhere. She set up the stunt with a phone camera taping the action. IF SHE WAS BEHIND THE CURTAIN SHE MAY BE ABLE TO HEAR THE STEP DAD BUT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE HIM.

Not being able to see but only hear she would have no idea what was about to happen, DON'T YOU THINK?

I STILL SAY HE COULD HAVE PUSHED THE PERSON BEHIND THE CURTAIN, KNOCKING THEM OFF THEIR FEET, WEAPON OR NO WEAPON, THUS GIVING THE STEP DAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO FOLLOW THROUGH. I would suggest the cry of pain from Abi, would in this case, have given a very clear indication of who was behind the curtain. WOULD YOU AGREE @ Kevin.A.?

Don’t agree. But this child should be taught not to prank. At the very least make sure she is pranked frequently where she doesn’t like the outcome

 

[Jest]

not one bit. this girl has been taught a vulnerable lesson. one not forgotten.

 

[Jest]

'How would she have gone,.....'.
She, his step daughter Abi was behind the curtain so she wouldn't be running anywhere. She set up the stunt with a phone camera taping the action. IF SHE WAS BEHIND THE CURTAIN SHE MAY BE ABLE TO HEAR THE STEP DAD BUT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE HIM.

Not being able to see but only hear she would have no idea what was about to happen, DON'T YOU THINK?

I STILL SAY HE COULD HAVE PUSHED THE PERSON BEHIND THE CURTAIN, KNOCKING THEM OFF THEIR FEET, WEAPON OR NO WEAPON, THUS GIVING THE STEP DAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO FOLLOW THROUGH. I would suggest the cry of pain from Abi, would in this case, have given a very clear indication of who was behind the curtain. WOULD YOU AGREE @ Kevin.A.?

we wont ever know so really why worry. she got what she deserved.

 

[Kevin. A.]

Agree in part. We don't know the size of the shower recess or how close to the curtain she was standing. Was she a shadow behind the curtain evident by illuminated from the bathroom light which may have been turned on? Too many unknown factors to form a proper decision l believe. The fact still remains however that this was a silly stunt by Abi, who has by now learnt a very painful lesson.

Cheers

 

[Ezzy]

Cheers

Cheers indeed.
If Abi had been punched as stated she would have been knocked off balance & could possibly have fallen backwards & head injuries could have occurred as previously stated.

 

[Jest]

Cheers indeed.
If Abi had been punched as stated she would have been knocked off balance & could possibly have fallen backwards & head injuries could have occurred as previously stated.

you used the word could twice which means maybe, if, i think, nothing positive.

 

[Ezzy]

you used the word could twice which means maybe, if, i think, nothing positive.

The only positive facts, as we know them, are what was stated in the main story & we have no way of knowing if the father related all the facts to us or if anything was deleted, do we? Anything thereafter are just possibilities of what could have happened if this or that happened. A preconception on our part which means nothing at all, does it?

 

[Ringdragon]

These pranks are always funny until it is them who are on the receiving end.

Kevin, I always quote this line. The difference between a Prank and a Joke is that with a Prank, one less person laughs. One person replied to me posting this once with, 'You must be a real joker at Parties. I replied with, Yes because I tell jokes instead of doing Pranks.