'AITA? 'I clapped back at my uncle for mocking my startup...'
"AITA? I clapped back at my uncle for mocking my startup...?'
I (25F) started an online marketplace about a year ago that only features sustainable, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced brands. It’s something I care deeply about and have spent my early 20s on. I built it from the ground up to give people a way to shop responsibly and support small businesses that actually give a crap about people and the planet.
Last weekend, I was at a family dinner and my uncle (50M) who's always been a little snide about anything he sees as “woke,” made a comment like, “So how’s your little hippie shop going? Still saving the world one bamboo toothbrush at a time?”
Everyone laughed. I tried to brush it off, but he kept going. Something about how I’m “just selling overpriced junk to virtue-signalers” and how “normal people don’t care about that stuff.”
I kinda lost it and said, “At least I’m not helping exploit child laborers because I can’t be bothered to shop responsibly.” That shut him up fast, but now my family thinks I was being “disrespectful” and “too intense,” especially since he's older than me and he's family.
My mom told me I embarrassed him and made everyone uncomfortable. But honestly? I don’t feel bad. I’m sick of people acting like trying to do the right thing is some kind of joke.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
ScarletNotThatOne said:
NTA. You didn't pick the fight. You just responded. If he wants to put you down for your values, well, you're gonna answer. Good for you.
Denuse99 said:
NTA. Respect goes both ways. What he was saying was not disrespectful. Ask your mom if it was her he was talking like that, would she just sit there and take it? And if she is your mom why is she not standing up for her child?
SeekersChoice said:
NTA - and my family I have some family members that are similar. And people kept telling me that I needed to turn the other cheek. Or they would tell me that's just the way they are. And for years I listened but one day they pushed me an inch too far and I said f that.
Turning the other cheek only means you get slapped twice. And I've taught my family now that that's just the way I am. If they push me I will push back harder (verbally not physically). If they start a fight I will finish it. And on top of that I will record it and I am not afraid to use that recording to help show everybody else what's going on.
Never start a fight but always finish it. Or else we're going to be rolling over for them until we're 60. Be polite, be calm, but don't be afraid to call them out. Stay in calm and politely sitting facts is one of the most infuriating things that you can do to most of these people.
Beneficial-Math-2300 said:
NTA, OP! I'm in my 60s, and I've been a progressive all my adult life. I've been hearing from aholes like your uncle for decades. What has worked for me has varied over the years, but basically, a combination of readily available facts mixed with a solid dose of Irish Catholic guilt tripping usually shuts them up. Well done.
MaxTwer00 said:
ESH. You both sound kinda insufferable.
ChristmasPresence said:
You’re definitely NTA, but I want some confirmation, you do own a phone or other mobile device, right? A tv maybe? Roughly half the worlds smartphones are made in China, and the workers are often children or otherwise underpaid adult laborers who are frequently exposed to harmful chemicals during assembly.
I’m not trying to say you’re an ah or anything like that OP, I’m happy to see that someone has started their own marketplace that’s both sustainable and ethical, it’s nothing but hard work and I think you should be proud of yourself and your accomplishments!
I just wanted to address any hypocrisy from you, I mean, most of us benefit from child labor in one way or another, everything from our phones to our tvs to our curtains are often made in sweatshops. Anyway, your uncle sounds like the kind of guy who makes Thanksgiving nigh-unbearable, reasonable crash out from you tbh, I would have said something similar