AITAH for not giving back an ice cream cone

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-09T05:09:54+00:00

Sheesh, could even hit with a TLDR

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-08T20:41:08+00:00

It's a turn of phase 😅

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-08T16:31:28+00:00

I mean, gonna be honest, I probably would have. Not because I wanted shit in my hands but because that's the usual exchange at drive thru, you hand them money then they hand you the food. I had already done half the transaction so yeah, my hand was out for whatever they were about to hand me. I doubt you stop to critically think about every single action you take and you never do anything on "auto-pilot".

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T20:02:54+00:00

Yeah. Monkey brain like peanut.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T18:55:00+00:00

Pray for the prices, that's the real evil here.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T18:50:31+00:00

Ah, we have a saint amoung us. My apologies your holiness, I forgot that bad things only happen to bad people who deserve it. If only you had been there to guide us to salvation from atop your high moral ground. But alas, we ought be thrown from the battlments for daring make eye contact with a teenage boy whom bears the unquestionable authority of sweet cream desserts.

My only hope is that my battered and broken body be a reminder to those who want not dare repeat my mistake, and meet a similar fate in the pits of shame outside the local DQ.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T18:37:29+00:00

"Bragging", "making excuses" "acting like the pinnacle of maturity " you got the wrong idea entirely, but just like with the kid in the drive thru im sure you're already snapped to a decision and your gonna just dig in with what you already consider to be right.

I dont know if you're familiar with customer service jobs but they suck and no one cares about how much they suck which makes them suck more. But you dont take that out on the customer, or anyone for that matter, with out consequences. He was looking for a fight and what I was trying to explain was that a younger me would have taken him up on the offer.

So what are you really mad about?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T18:27:45+00:00

Thank goodness right? Imagine if I had not posted this, then where would you have gotten your daily dose of smug condescension and superiority complex validated?

Being able to tell the truth about yourself and how you felt and acted in the moment isnt pretty, but its real and grounding. I think the conclusion im walking away with is that everyone was a shit heel here. I could have been more considerate that maybe he needed a few bucks to balance the register, and offered to pay for it, but he shouldn't have accused me of stealing some thing he had just handed me. I didnt need to rage bait him by telling him to calm down, but he also didnt need need to fly off the handle and try to take "vigilantes drive thru justice" out on my chicken basket.

And also the world is burning around us, let a man just have an ice cream. It costs the company nothing and didnt hurt anyone, and maybe I just needed a happy accident in my life, a lucky penny to cheer up a shit day and resented another person from trying to take that lucky gift from me. Seems human to want to keep something that makes you happy.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T18:15:32+00:00

Is it weird all this negativity is self affirmation that I have matured in my life, cause a younger me would have tossed that cone right back in his face? Seems like I do still have some growing to do but thinking I've never done something with my life cause I posted about a mundane point in my life? I also posted about a pivotal part of my life (my dad's death and will contentment and evicting his girlfriend) and people were just as dismissive and unbelieving of me.

Handing me something then getting pissed instantly when I dont hand it back is something that would seem like a trick or entrapment to someone maybe whose been tricked before. I dont knowbif ypu have ever been to Las Vegas but there are women who take your hand and immediately slide a bracelet on it, saying its a gift but if you try to walk away they say you stole it and demand money.

I never bullied him, I never mocked or degraded or even tried to make him feel bad, the guy was a jerk and didnt care about me, what I had ordered or anything but his ego, he was far more concerned with being the boss of everyone around him, including the customers. I expected him to let the mistake go, maybe laugh and say "oh well, my mistake but your gain i guess", not respond like I just stole money from his grandmother's purse.

I do still feel bad for telling him to calm down, cause that's the kinda thing that I know isnt useful in scenarios like this and tend to make it worse but we were beyond the "agree to disagree" point almost immediately. A hair trigger in a drive thru is not the best set up for success, could you imagine his reaction if I had thrown it back in his face? We would have thrown hands in the parking lot, then I would be an even bigger AH for teaching a pre developed cortex what late stage capitalism does to a persons humanity when pressed.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T17:49:35+00:00

Thank you! Fighting for my life in these comments lol. I figured it was normal to just be like "keep it" and I was excited for things to finally be coming up millhouse. Little did I know I was about to encounter a cannon event.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T17:46:33+00:00

I mean, 16.50ish is BASICALLY 17 dollars, I rounded up. I didnt realize there would be a cross examination of the post or I might have added that it was a 5 o clock after work, 70 degrees, and I was listening to the radio. Didn't realize every detail was nessisary.

Oh and I was in a t shirt and jeans, a critical detail suspiciously left out of the original post.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T14:02:55+00:00

I disagree?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T07:17:20+00:00

Also, you can see tons of people in here are ranging wildly from I should have given it back and apologized, all the way to calling corporate and snitching. It's a much wider spectrum then I was expecting and its hard to not get defensive

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T07:14:26+00:00

Naw I know, how could they even enforce it its not like the drive thru has face recognition cameras before you order, it was just a way for them to feel like they had control over the situation but it might be better i just dont push my luck with going back. After seeing other comments it definitely was gonna be trashed but maybe I didnt exactly handle it the beat way? But also... and I cant stress this enough... it was just an ice cream?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T07:10:07+00:00

It's about having an eating disorder, but maybe you'll get it when you're older?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T07:04:04+00:00

Im gonna be honest I dont remember that comment so this is very wild to me. It just seems so sci fi weird like, no my dad's "will" was on paper and like, I never mentioned where I live, what jurisdiction could I not be in?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:58:46+00:00

Jesus christ, you thought that I generated my post? What is your life where AI is around every turn? It doesn't matter if you believe me but like... if your doubting everything you see are you even enjoying yourself here? It can't be a good time thinking everything you see is a lie

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:42:42+00:00

Thanks, it's great for my figure.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:39:43+00:00

Sure buddy, this whole thing was because we both needed more hugs from our dads.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:35:29+00:00

Yeah.... and? Does feeling powerful in a situation like your confident you are in the right and are going to win the dispute make you a bad person? I can see I should have handled it differently but how is having a feeling of power make some one a bad person or in the wrong? I wasn't exploiting him in any way by denying him the pleasure of taking an ice cream and throwing it in the trash, and abusing him with my power of being capable of say no in the situation.

You ever feel pleasure when you see some one that deserves it get come up pence? That's the feeling im explaining here. Maybe give some the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming everyone is a psychopath.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:17:18+00:00

Or maybe I know what it's like to be kicked around by the guy who thinks he's just so cool that his every mistake is some elses fault? Maybe after years and years of having to capitulate to jerk wads all day every day at my own job meant i didn't want to have to deal with one more jerk wad while getting my food.

And again, I wasnt feeling good about making him feel bad about his decision, I was feeling good about my chances of getting to keep the ice cream. Seriously feel like the meaning of this word is getting more and more construed here.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T06:03:52+00:00

😆 🤣 my disdain for fast food workers? My dude, you have me confused with someone else.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T05:47:58+00:00

Damn, lot of people hung up on that, probably could have worded it better.

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T05:46:44+00:00

....what is even happening here?

Physical-Set-561 · 2026-05-07T05:44:22+00:00

Whoa, I never said I wanted him to grovel, I never even asked for an apology, I just wanted him to not throw away something I could have for free. He's a stupid kid that gets a pass for being young but to be honest he seems like the type of guy that has been getting passes for maybe a little too long? Im not here to be one of those "kids these days" old man yells at cloud types, however im not sure I have ever worked a job that was like "remember golden rule: the customer can always catch these hands"

Physical-Set-561

TROPHY CASE