4 ms·

Nothing is gained by being an asshole to an asshole. All you've done is provided him with documentable proof for how terrible and vindictive he thinks you are.

Nothing is gained by being an asshole to an asshole. All you've done is provided him with documentable proof for how terrible and vindictive he thinks you are. It doesn't matter if every other claim he's made about you was a lie.

setquk 7y ago
Sometimes it is not about personal gain but making sure that any unfair gains are worthless.
- sjwright 7y ago
  How does smearing marmite make the unfair gain worthless? It might make you feel smug for a few hours, but if your enemy is vindictive, it could be used against you. The best move is to avoid playing the game.
  - setquk 7y ago
    I just asked my other half how she was feeling about it after 16 years and she laughed so clearly petty justice has a lasting effect. I think the person in question would be in vastly larger amounts of trouble for even raising his head above the cesspool he floated in for a moment. It would be like a chase from the Benny Hill show with local housing enforcement, HMRC, the police and a trail of angry and abused tenants. The best move is making the game worthless so there are no winners. Shit on the board. It's a stalemate then.
heavenlyblue 7y ago
Can we stop with this Christian ethic? It's not always reasonable to present the other cheek. The guy knows perfectly well what he's doing. If not treated badly, the next story he's going to be telling his mates is "how smart he was at getting that deposit for free from one of his tenants". There are too many ways to get away with a crime.
- sjwright 7y ago
  I think you need to read my post again, I'm not talking about real ethics or so-called Christian ethics. I'm talking about doing what's in your selfish best interest. Put simply, don't do things that can be used against you by your enemy.
  - dvtrn 7y ago
    Maybe it's my hyper-legal American sentiments (pardon the joke at the expense of America's litigious culture, if that's not your particular breed of sardonic humor), but I'm in full agreement here and a little surprised at some of the comments waving this off as anything other than something that would result in justifiable legal-reprisal, if the landlord really wanted to mess with people. But again, that's probably (very most likely) just the result of me existing in a hyper-litigious culture where In pari delicto is very much a thing.
- n4r9 7y ago
  Right, but now he's telling his mates about how his absolute arsehole of a tenant spread marmite on his letterbox for no reason whatsoever. He still has a story, except this one just makes tenants look evil.
  - heavenlyblue 7y ago
    Yeah, but let’s be honest - if he does mention the deposit though - his mates will quickly understand why the marmite ended in his letterbox. So in the end we’re not giving any ideas to other people that their actions will have no repercussions.
ubercow13 7y ago
It probably felt good though!
- sjwright 7y ago
  If you prioritise the short term over the long term, then yes.
  - ubercow13 7y ago
    I think the sibling comment demonstrates that it is was long term benefit.
    - sjwright 7y ago
      Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways.
      - setquk 7y ago
        Unlikely. There was some intelligence behind it. He was aware the locks had been changed as I explained his in an SMS so I did what he asked explicitly. Secondly I could apologise for the mistake of leaving the wrong keys inside the property. As for the marmite, some kid did a prank! Ooops. Based on the police's previous attitude, would they likely come out for a bit of marmite in a letterbox. The put the keys through the letterbox thing was actually a masterpiece of idiocy on his part which I refrained from mentioning to him.
      - JadeNB 7y ago
        > Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways. Isn't every long-term benefit long-term only in hindsight?
  - stale2002 7y ago
    Well it seemed like there were zero long term consequences. So it worked out.
vraivroo 7y ago
That is not just "an asshole". That is criminal.

setquk 7y ago

Sometimes it is not about personal gain but making sure that any unfair gains are worthless.

sjwright 7y ago
How does smearing marmite make the unfair gain worthless? It might make you feel smug for a few hours, but if your enemy is vindictive, it could be used against you. The best move is to avoid playing the game.
- setquk 7y ago
  I just asked my other half how she was feeling about it after 16 years and she laughed so clearly petty justice has a lasting effect. I think the person in question would be in vastly larger amounts of trouble for even raising his head above the cesspool he floated in for a moment. It would be like a chase from the Benny Hill show with local housing enforcement, HMRC, the police and a trail of angry and abused tenants. The best move is making the game worthless so there are no winners. Shit on the board. It's a stalemate then.

heavenlyblue 7y ago

Can we stop with this Christian ethic? It's not always reasonable to present the other cheek. The guy knows perfectly well what he's doing. If not treated badly, the next story he's going to be telling his mates is "how smart he was at getting that deposit for free from one of his tenants". There are too many ways to get away with a crime.

sjwright 7y ago
I think you need to read my post again, I'm not talking about real ethics or so-called Christian ethics. I'm talking about doing what's in your selfish best interest. Put simply, don't do things that can be used against you by your enemy.
- dvtrn 7y ago
  Maybe it's my hyper-legal American sentiments (pardon the joke at the expense of America's litigious culture, if that's not your particular breed of sardonic humor), but I'm in full agreement here and a little surprised at some of the comments waving this off as anything other than something that would result in justifiable legal-reprisal, if the landlord really wanted to mess with people. But again, that's probably (very most likely) just the result of me existing in a hyper-litigious culture where In pari delicto is very much a thing.
n4r9 7y ago
Right, but now he's telling his mates about how his absolute arsehole of a tenant spread marmite on his letterbox for no reason whatsoever. He still has a story, except this one just makes tenants look evil.
- heavenlyblue 7y ago
  Yeah, but let’s be honest - if he does mention the deposit though - his mates will quickly understand why the marmite ended in his letterbox. So in the end we’re not giving any ideas to other people that their actions will have no repercussions.

ubercow13 7y ago

It probably felt good though!

sjwright 7y ago
If you prioritise the short term over the long term, then yes.
- ubercow13 7y ago
  I think the sibling comment demonstrates that it is was long term benefit.
  - sjwright 7y ago
    Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways.
    - setquk 7y ago
      Unlikely. There was some intelligence behind it. He was aware the locks had been changed as I explained his in an SMS so I did what he asked explicitly. Secondly I could apologise for the mistake of leaving the wrong keys inside the property. As for the marmite, some kid did a prank! Ooops. Based on the police's previous attitude, would they likely come out for a bit of marmite in a letterbox. The put the keys through the letterbox thing was actually a masterpiece of idiocy on his part which I refrained from mentioning to him.
    - JadeNB 7y ago
      > Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways. Isn't every long-term benefit long-term only in hindsight?
- stale2002 7y ago
  Well it seemed like there were zero long term consequences. So it worked out.

vraivroo 7y ago

That is not just "an asshole". That is criminal.