That's fine, but are you going to politely inform me that you have this rule in your house or are you going to set off an alarm in my ear to "teach" me this lesson when I step foot in the door?

btw, I wear socks or slippers in my house. Not that you are invited; just sharing about my carpet since you shared about yours.

(I also think that wasn't a strong analogous situation, but you chose it so... )

 

Good way of thinking about it. I have friends of friends who would come over and put their shoes up on my couch. Some people just ain't raised right.

 

funny I saw this thread...I was out back smoking a cigarette and talking with my service manager today and he asked me, "you don't mind if I lean against your car do you? my legs are killing me?"...I was like ok, but you dent it, you buy it...I don't have a problem with leaning as long as it doesn't cause any dents or scratches...she sees more abuse at the track so leaning doesn't end up being so bad lol

 

That was just one example of how opinions or worth of an item can vary... You don't have to understand it, but you have to respect it. It's similar to anything that isn't yours. If it's not yours, don't mess with it. It reminds me of a time when my wife's niece sat on my PS3 years ago. The mom said that she didn't know what it was. I then proceeded to tell her it didn't matter what it was, she just needed to understand that it was not hers (and that mom would pay for it if it were broken and they were $500 still). The kid was plenty old enough to understand the concept, but mom and dad never taught it to them.

 

I agree 100% that people should respect other people's property. That stated you don't have to make an enemy when you point out somebody who is making a very human mistake.

Case in point: a couple of months ago I happened to be outside working on something on my car and witnessed a neighbor accidentally tap a motorcycle while parallel parking her SUV. She and her daughter (daughter -- I would guess maybe early 20s) got out, stood the bike back up and were surveying the damage. Not recognizing them as local (it's not an SUV I see often) I walked over and said I couldn't help but see what happened and offered to help. Now... that was NOT the reason I went over there. My reason for going over there was to also check the damage, get a good look at their license plate as well as their faces, and make sure they planned to leave a note for the owner of the bike. I approached it and presented it as wanting to help, but my intention was not to help THEM so much as to help the owner of the bike.

As we looked at the bike and talked, the daughter said, "Oh, it's not that bad. Maybe he won't even notice." I kind of smiled and said, "You have never owned a motorcycle, have you?" She admitted no and asked, a little defensively, why I cared. It was then that I explained that I live in this neighborhood and if someone were to hit my car on the street I would hope a helpful neighbor would come along and make sure things were handled properly. Motorcycle gas tanks are expensive to have fixed, and this was a very nice bike too. The mother stepped in and pointed out that she appreciated my concern and went to her SUV to write up a note immediately. She too at one time had been a victim of a hit and run once before and understood my reaction. And we shook hands and it was cool. I am not sure she would have left the note had she listened to her daughter. And now the daughter understands why it's important too and I didn't have to cuss her out or piss her off to accomplish it either.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I am walking down the street and I see the guy who owns the motorcycle and he's working on it. I walked over, introduced myself and mentioned about witnessing the damage. He said they did end up paying for it and it was a couple thousand in damage. Nice conversation about motorcycles and cars and such stuff. And it was nice to see that the repair work had been done so perfectly you would never know it had been knocked over pretty hard. And we would have shook hands, but his were dirty from working on the bike.

So in the end, we are all happy neighbors and looking out for each other whereas it could have turned out very differently.

 

Eh... Putting your kid on a car, one that probably looks exotic to someone who doesn't care about cars, isn't much of a mistake. I'd say it knocks common sense out the park (I know, common sense is anything but common).

Fine by him, he'll do it to someone that doesn't care for other peoples kids (ME) and likes to take care of his car and something worse will happen due to a parent who has bad judgment.


BTW, I would have walked out about the bike too... But I would have been an asshole and it wouldn't have mattered. I would have the plates and have been a witness. They would still pay.

 

And that way is soooo much better for everyone involved, I'm sure.

 

It's about the money.

 

I dislike people who keep their shoes on in my house!

 

So it's not about respect anymore? Ah. Good to know.