This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Jason Tsoi. Find him on Instagram at @jason.tsoi. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
While scrolling through TikTok, you may have come across video game clips accompanied with a monotone narrator telling a story. Many of these stories come from the Reddit community, r/AmITheAsshole. Ranked No. 4 in Stories & Confessions, this subreddit is a popular community on the platform, garnering over 21.8 million users. The community centers around users sharing stories of wrongdoings and seeking feedback from people. Some of these confessional stories range from crazy to downright diabolical.
When a user shares their confession, users respond with feedback through a voting system. The subreddit has four main voting options: YTA (“You’re The Asshole”), NTA (“Not The Asshole”), ESH (“Everyone Sucks Here”) and NAH (“No Assholes Here”). The most upvoted responses are typically the consensus of the post. So now that you know how the subreddit works, here are the top five best AITA stories.
5. “AITA for switching to regular milk to prove my lactose intolerant roommate keeps stealing from me?”
Most of us have been in a predicament where we find our household members stealing or using items without permission. To stop this from occurring, we typically confront the suspected thieves to stop them from stealing again. But u/gottmilk_ took things to another level to find out if their suspicions were true. Living with two roommates, the original poster set up the story by explaining how they split living expenses together, except for groceries. However, one roommate, referred to as “R,” had been using the original poster’s almond milk. Since “R” is lactose intolerant, the original poster made an effort to catch their roommate by putting regular dairy milk in an empty almond milk container. The plan was a success, as “R” used the milk and experienced digestive problems the next day, upsetting the roommate.
With over a thousand responses, Reddit users mostly agreed that the original poster is NTA. Many users applauded the original poster’s creative methods of catching their roommate and teaching them a lesson to stop stealing. But a couple of users criticized the original poster for going too far by causing the roommate to have digestive issues.
4. “AITA For suing my girlfriend after she had my 1967 impala project taken to the scrapyard?”
This next story comes from u/Jimothyisyouruncle, who bought a 1967 Chevrolet Impala in an effort to restore it. With a garage filled with car parts, the original poster’s girlfriend resented the old car, wanting space to park her own car. After attending a business trip, the original poster came home to discover their girlfriend sent the car and parts to a scrapyard without notice. Putting years and a ton of money into restoring the car, the original poster reacted with rage, kicking their girlfriend out of the house and contacting a lawyer. In response, the girlfriend’s family and friends criticized the original poster for their actions and advised them to move forward.
In the comments of the post, Reddit users decided that the original poster was NTA. Many responses sympathized with the original poster, stating that the girlfriend was in the wrong for removing the car and not respecting property. Some users also advised the original poster to bring the girlfriend to court to pay for the costs that went into the car. However, this story has a happy ending as the original poster revealed that they found the car in a junkyard.
3. “AITA for telling my extended family how many men (roughly) my sister has slept with after she outed our youngest brother as a virgin?”
If you have a sibling, you probably experienced your fair share of mild altercations from time to time. However, sibling fights can go too far, as u/Thunderbear998 experienced firsthand. During a family dinner, the original poster’s older sister and younger brother had a disagreement. The disagreement escalated as the older sister turned to personal insults, exposing the younger brother as a virgin. This caused the original poster to intervene, revealing how many men she slept with in college. The older sister’s husband was unaware of her past, which caused him to storm out of the party. As a result, the family blamed the original poster for their marital problems.
To answer the original poster’s question, Reddit users concluded that ESH. Users noted that, while the older sister was wrong for personally insulting her younger brother, the original poster was also at fault for getting personal as well.
2. “AITA for wanting to go to the funeral of a girl that I helped get addicted to drugs?”
Based on the title alone, there’s a lot to process with this story. In their post, u/sgdneyrother explained their time using heroin before becoming clean. While using drugs, the original poster had formed an intimate relationship with Marcy. While they were together, the original poster introduced Marcy to the drug, causing her to become addicted. A week before the post, the original poster found out Marcy had overdosed. Feeling guilty for Marcy’s death, the original poster considered attending her funeral but worried their presence would be unwanted.
Responding to the original poster, Reddit users came to the consensus: YTA. Since the original poster exposed Marcy to the drug, users agreed the original poster should not go to the funeral. Instead, users recommended for the original poster to let her family mourn and to find alternative ways to show respect. Since the original poster is directly responsible for Marcy’s death, Reddit users believed that the original poster showing up would only bring pain to her family.
1. “AITA for despising my mentally handicap sister?”
The title of this confession is disturbing without context, but there’s a deep story behind u/Renegadesrule33’s resentment towards their sister. Growing up, the original poster was expected to look after their sister, who is autistic and requires constant care, at the expense of their own needs and opportunities. While discussing college, the original poster reached a breaking point when their father suggested they pursue a high-paying career to support their sister after their parents are gone. This caused the original poster to have an emotional breakdown.
In response, Reddit users came to the conclusion that the original poster is NTA in this situation. Some users validated the original poster’s feelings, suggesting they attend college far from home and to set boundaries about caring for their sister.
Which AITA story shocked you the most? How would you handle these situations? What do you think are the best AITA stories? Let us know in the comments.
Leave a Reply