this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2025
160 points (90.4% liked)

Ask Lemmy

35560 readers
2074 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

For my birthday, my spouse got me a nicer newer expensive version of a thing I already have. The one I have is older and dented but works just fine. I use it weekly. I never complain about it. I've never asked for a newer one. The one I have was given to me by my mother in law, whom I adore. It's sentimental.

I don't like new things. When they got me a 3d printer, it was the cheapest one and it was a kit and I had to build myself. I loved it. It's perfect for me. I regularly buy things used or get things from Buy Nothing groups. I much prefer to repair old things in many ways. My car has over 100k miles. The one before did too. I don't like new things.

We got into a huge argument because I want to return it. They are so upset with me that they left the house to calm down. Why am I the bad person? Why are they mad at me? I have a very clear tendency for old broken used things. Why am I obligated to like this new thing?

We literally established a rule early in our marriage. I'm not allowed to gift nerdy t shirts. They don't like them. I love them. I thought they would like them but they do not. So they asked me to stop. This feels the same. I do not like new things. Why am I the bad guy for wanting to return the newer version of the thing I already have?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] Jarix@lemmy.world -1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I responded to your comment correctly. You said to apologize even if they didn't blow their lid as an olive branch.

What exactly is the apology worth if you don't actually believe you did anything wrong? That's manipulative. You are giving a false impression of contrition.

And people pick up on disingenuous behavior often enough that you shouldn't do it.

I'm not the best at explaining myself, especially in text only, so I'm sorry if I'm not being clear, I don't know how else to explain the dishonesty it makes me feel thinking about that it.

It's like a corporation making a public apology. If you don't actually feel bad then it's an empty gesture with only an ulterior motives behind it. That rubs me entirely the wrong way.

In not claiming to be the world's best communicator or even a member of that League, but it's clear as day to me how much of a problem lieing is because people refuse to see it as a problem

[โ€“] _NetNomad@fedia.io 2 points 12 hours ago

i agree with you that insincere apologies are wrong. OP structured their post looking to understand their wife's POV, rather than to get a bunch of strangers to agree with them like on an AITA post. if that were the case i definitely wouldn't suggest apologizing. OP acknowledges that they hurt their wife, even if they didn't mean to, much like their wife hurt them, even if they didn't mean to. i just think sitting down and actually expressing that, saying "hey, i wouldn't have said that or said it the way i said it if i knew it would upset you, i'm sorry" establishes empathy and good faith, and often times doing that is enough to get the other person to do the same thing. if OP didn't seem sorry i wouldn't have suggested apologizing

i think my wording was the problem here in hindsight. "i'd apologize for the way you reacted whether or not you actually blew your lid" does sound like i'm saying to apologize for being angry even if you weren't angry. what i was trying to say was that apologizing for hurting them, even if their reaction seemed way out of proportion to what OP said or how OP said it, would be a good first step to reconciliation