Dad Makes Vegetarian Son Deal With Rotting Meat After He Purposely Unplugs The Freezer So Their Meat Would Go Bad
People become vegetarians for many reasons. Some adopt this diet trying to be healthier or to avoid hormones used in animal foods while others do it for animal rights or environmental concerns. It’s everyone’s choice. So when Redditor u/temptemptemp772’s 15-year-old son told him and his wife that he’s making the shift, the dad was understanding; the family made quite a few changes to their everyday life to help the boy get by.
What u/temptemptemp772 couldn’t get behind, though, was his son sabotaging all the meat supply in the house — on a hot summer’s day, the 15-year-old went rogue and secretly unplugged the fridge that held the family’s livelihood during their financial hardship. The dad was furious. He punished the boy and made him clean up the rotting meat. However, this got him called an a**hole in return. And the word got to u/temptemptemp772’s head: ‘Was it too much?’ he kept wondering. To put these doubts to rest, the dad told the entire story on Reddit and asked other users whether or not he was being a jerk.
Image credits: nyatiman (not the actual photo)
Image credits: temptemptemp772
In our earlier article on misbehaving kids, writer, director, broadcaster, and founder of the parenting blog Honest Mum, Vicki Broadbent told Bored Panda that “discipline and doing as you say, embodying your values as a parent, teach children important life skills such as self-control, self-love, empathy, resilience, motivation, and working hard.”
Broadbent believes the ‘punishment’ should always fit the ‘crime’ but is against physical discipline, though. So are the academics. According to research, raising your kids with violence and harsh words only harms them and doesn’t work at all. The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) advises that parents and caregivers should not spank or hit children. Instead of teaching responsibility and self-control, spanking actually does the opposite: it often increases aggression and anger in children. A study of children born in 20 medium to large U.S. cities discovered that families who used physical punishment got caught in a negative cycle: the more children were spanked, the more they misbehaved later, which prompted more spankings in response. Spanking’s effects may also be felt beyond the parent-child relationship — it sends the message that causing someone pain is OK if you’re frustrated. Even with those you love.
Parents who yell at children and use words to cause them emotional pain or shame are also in the wrong. Harsh verbal discipline, even by moms and dads who are otherwise warm and loving, can lead to serious issues. Research shows that harsh verbal discipline, which becomes more common as children get older, may lead to more behavior problems and symptoms of depression in teens
When it comes to disciplining your child, Vicki thinks the most important thing is to put yourself in their shoes and try to be as understanding as possible. “Children are learning and growing and they can only learn from their mistakes. Try to educate and not berate,” she said.
People pardoned the father
Vegetarian here: The punishment is appropriate. Kid tried to force other people to becom involuntary vegetarians, and that's not how it works. You have to let other people make up their own minds and choose their own path, in every aspect of life. You can't force anyone to change, not even for the better, and he's old enough to learn that.
Beat me to it. I'm a vegetarian since I was a toddler (I don't know why I went that way, I just decided enough was enough before I was school age, and no regrets). But I would NEVER waste food. It's their choice, not mine. Jsut like they shouldn't shove meat down my throat.
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The boy's unforgivable waste of food did no good for the already dead deer and did nothing to further the vegetarian cause. You can't covert people to any cause by force he deserves any punishment imposed by his parents.
I agree, i'm not vegetarian and i eat all parts of animals and never waste meat out of respect for the poor dead animal, that was so wrong to deliberately spoil it. I even eat rabbit or horse if i have to and they are my pets, but i don't want my share in the trashbin and the animal dead for nothing so i eat it. What kind of human is he? Hope this punishment would cure him from his selfishness and that he would really respect animals after that.
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Not the asshole. That kid did the wrong thing and has to deal with the consequences for his actions. He has now completely wasted the animal making its death completely pointless. He has shown lack of respect for his parents choices to eat meat and has impacted them financially. I think that consequence was perfect for the boys actions.
Killing animals for food > killing animals for nothing. Is dad going to go vegetarian now? Nope, he's gonna go kill another fridge full of deer, and that blood is on the kid's hands. Note: I am ethically opposed to teenagers.
Lol, I'm opposed to them too, but because they tastes terrible because of all the hormones.
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I work a lot with Indigenous cultural teachings and we use a lot of animal products -- deerskin for drums, antlers for regalia/storytelling, etc. -- and much of it comes from hunters who want to waste nothing. I have had many vegan and vegetarian families happily participate because of the respect and sustainability involved. Throughout we emphasize that whenever you interact with these items you show respect for the spirit and sacrifice of the animal. What this misguided boy did not only harmed his family but also disrespected the deer.
I agree, and made him help me refill the freezer.
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Kid is 15, that's old enough to understand the consequences of his actions. The parent isn't making him interact with the meat - he did that himself by causing the mess. I probably wouldn't make him replace the freezer since even at 15 I wouldn't expect him to have predicted that might be an outcome, but he knew ruined rotting meat was going to be the result so he gets to clean that up and frankly I'd make him pay to replace the meat.
Restitution requires the young adult both clean out the freezer and pay for equivalent food. Even if the food purchased is the basis of vegetarian meals, it's not free and he made a choice to cost his family that money.
Ungrateful little punk. Unplug the Wi-Fi for a week. Hit these entitled kids where it hurts...electronics. Gosh, I sound like my Boomer parents the older I get. Lol. Actually, the father did the right thing. I would still make the consequences a little harsher though.
I think you're right in that it needs to be tougher, but let the punishment fit the crime. Mom and dad went out of their way to make eating easier for him and he obviously doesn't appreciate it. From now on he should cook his own meals.
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I too am a vegetarian, and I couldn’t care less about how other people eat. I’m not sure if the kid became vegetarian due to the negative impacts of the meat industry on the environment like I did, but if so, he just completely negated that by wasting the lives of several deer. In my opinion that’s morally wrong for a plethora of reasons.
Even with the vegetarian issue aside, you can't just mess with people's stuff and not expect there to be repercussions.
I'm vegetarian for over 45 years now, and I went veggie as a toddler. My dad took me hunting with him for meat for the rest of the family. I get it. They eat meat. i don't. They need food. I need food. Their choices, my choices. Waste is just wrong.
Vegetarian here: absolutely the right move. I'd have kicked him out. After making him clean. Disrespecting food is probably the worst crime you can commit in this economy. At least person dies somewhere every day because of lack of food. And beyond that, forcing your habits on others is just plain petty. One of the reasons why I hate PETA. you have a higher chance of converting someone if you just speak to them instead of standing in their way. My non Vegetarian friends do the same. Tell me how great meat is and how they'll take me to some great place with fantastic food that will blow me out of the water after being told that I don't want to. Don't shove your choices in other's faces. That being said, like one of the members pointed out here, he's young and is trying to do some good, albeit wrong way. Have a conversation with him after it's all said and done and try to get through to him. You can even lend him a hand at the end, to let him know that he'll have to clean up his mess no matter what, but you're not heartless enough to make him suffer through it alone, and that you want him to understand and respect other people's choices.
Son is just a bandwagon vegetarian. Only doing it to make waves, create problems, and feel superior to his superiors. Also for likes on line.
I have very little patience for bandwagon ANYTHING, especially when the person attempts to shove their beliefs down my throat.
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short analysis of this (and i'd like to preface this by saying dad is nta): We know that the modern meat industry is horrifying. They put animals into horrible conditions, raise them for the slaughter and it has a huge impact on the climate as well. At our core, humans are animals, so we're meant to hunt and eat as part of the ecosystem. This is basically the way Indigenous societies hunted, but is completely different from the modern meat industry, which breeds animals solely to kill them afterwards. The dad is causing less harm to the environment and is eating meat more ethically by hunting than by buying meat, because from what I have seen, he is not overhunting/trophy hunting and is only hunting what he can eat.
Just searched out for that point in the comments.Many hunters I use to know are even vegetarian except their own hunted meat. Thx for putting that on the table
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What's really sad about this kid's actions is just how supportive his parents were being. I've never gone veg, but I know my father's reaction would not be preparing 2 meatless meals a week and separating meat from the main meal other times. They were making sure he was still eating well and as a family and it seemed like he could've spoken to them at any time but instead resorted to those actions. Perhaps this is a cry for attention, but I hope he learns sooner than later his actions didn't do anything for the cause and money doesn't grow on trees.
Cry for attention? Not sure without more context. Bratty little s**t move? Hell to the yeah it was. Kid has a lot to learn about the cost of replacement food, and what cleaning up a putrid mess is like—-and that particular stink is unmistakable, unforgettable, and sticks to you for a while. Also, if the parents know any true vegetarians, maybe they can sit the kid down and give him a good lecture about how disrespectful it is to the animal to waste its meat.
Load More Replies... i think not only should the kid have been responsible for cleaning up the mess, he also should be responsible for replacement value of the lost meat, and the loss of privileges to go with it.
Not excusing the kid's action, but you really should have a temperature monitor on a freezer that you only open once a week. My parents lost an entire chest freezer of stuff when it failed and no one noticed for a week or two. For a 'fridge/freezer you use daily, it's less of an issue since you'll notice before the food goes bad, but if you rarely use it, monitor it.
Why do some people who have made an ethical choice themselves betray their ethics in deciding to punish others for their different ethical choices? This vegetarian, the anti plastic straw person who tried to litter a pack of straws, PETA and their many crimes against animals... what even goes through these people's minds?
It's because there's a scarily high amount of stupid vegans who bring it all down for everyone.
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The son acted like a crusading anti-Choice, pro-Birth extremist who thinks they have the right to force their personal opinions into laws that would destroy the lives of the already-born. Assess the cost of replacing the meat and deduct it from his allowance. BTW, the parents were excellent role models who went out of their way to cooperate with the boys' wishes. (P.S. I rarely eat meat, detest zoos, and would never try to capture or kill a wild animal.)
THANK YOU. Extremists who inflict their values on others are a bad thing, no matter what their agenda is. Engage in actual discussion with others if you want to change minds.
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I'd make him sleep in the garage for a couple of days, before he has to clean out the freezer.
People have a right to think and believe as they like. They do not have the right to "force" others to think and believe the same. It is called respect.
He is just 15. You need to sit him down and talk to him. Understand his logic snd poke holes in it till he sees the light and realizes he wasted a animals life. Now another will have to die. He needs to understand choice and consent. He dose need decipline but more than that he needs your loving understanding of his lifestyle and how he should give you the same loving understanding.
NTA. The kid is, and he was given a just punishment. Can't force people to eat your way.
The father was right for punishing him like way... if U don't want to pay the price then don't do the crime/foolishness
Question for your son: do you know what a dictatorship is? Because you just pulled an extreme example of running one. Not only did this kid prove that he has no concept of anyone but himself he proved that he doesn't have an understanding of basic rights, necessity or economics. What a complete scumbag. I feel so bad for the parents.
Definitely not the asshole. I'd make the kid clean it out by hand, pay for the lost food, and then make the kid pay for any vegetarian food options out of his own pocket. If he cant afford a meat free meal, then he should be forced to eat that the parent fixes. Meat or not.
Absolutely not the AH. His actions were thoughtless and out of line. He impacted the family budget and totally rendered the killing of animals useless by making the meat not fit for consumption. Now if I had been forced to eat Venison my first 15 years I would be a vegetarian also. My father was a hunter too for many years and I found Venison always gamey and nasty. We had Elk more often and Quail and Dove. We always ate what he brought back but were pleased when he stopped hunting. That fact that the family had been considerate of his choices should have taught him to treat your choice the same. Cleaning out the rancid wasted meat is the logical consequence to his action. He should also have to scrub the freezer and refill it with meat from the store at his expense.
NTA. Kid is lucky to be alive after such a childish, cruel stunt. You caused this mess, you clean it up. AND pay market value for the food lost to the family.
There is a big difference between having a personal preference and then forcing it on others. You are NTA and well done for making him clean it up. If it was my son I would also be making him pay for the meat to be replaced.
Then, the deer died for nothing! If he had a problem with the rest of the family eating meat, he could have told them about it.
No the dad isn't the AH. The son is. And an imbecile. You don't need to be an adult to be logical. The animal is dead. By letting the meat rot, the animal basically died in vain. Hence imbecile.
Another reason it's good that I'm not a parent: I would have also made him butcher my next two kills.
Not only is it stupid by the sense that the kid achieves the opposite of what he tries to, but also it's not constructive that he did it in such a sneaky way. Even though he at least admitted to it, it's still very sneaky. Instead of addressing the instance, he could have addressed the pattern. Having parents that even cook a separate meal for his preference, I'm 100% sure he could discuss it in a straightforward and argumentative manner and they would at least listen to him.
My wife is a veggie and we live in harmony and respect with our differing views. She faces prejudice and comments from people who cant understand her life choices. This boy has merely confirmed the views of many that vegetarians want to force their opinions on to others. For me his actions are for attention and he possibly has a Morality Superiority Disorder
I'm veggie. All the son has done is made the death of an animal irrelevant. The meat would have fed a family but now it's wasted food and a wasted life. Nobody is telling the son that he can't be a vegetarian, and the son should being returning the curtesy of not telling his parents that they can't eat meat.
I'd not only make him dispose of the meat and clean the freezer, but also do chores for an hourly wage until he paid for the equivalent value. (I'm not a vegetarian, but do use every part of the meat I buy. The flesh is cooked and eaten, while the skin, bones, and scraps are used to make stock. Not a single piece is thrown away.)
I'm glad to see the "NTA" responses from so many vegetarians here. My stepfather was a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. I remember we'd order pizza, and instead of getting it half pepperoni, he'd pick the pepperoni off his share and throw it in the trash. I always thought that was terribly hypocritical. As an adult I eat meat, but in our house we never waste meat. Anything we don't eat at a meal gets reheated as leftovers, made into casseroles and stir fry... even the bones are used for soup stock or fed to our dogs. Throwing it away is disrespectful to the animal.
It was stupid, wasteful and punishment is deserved. What was he thinking?
Definitely not. He has the right to choose how he lives his life, but he doesn't have the right to force his lifestyle onto others.
Cleaning the freezer is just the start, he should work to pay for the lost meat too.
NTA. Kid should meat (ha!) my family's friends. They are vegetarian and have wanted to be, but before this year money was tight and they HAD to hunt, once they got enough money they became vegetarian. It's a f*****g choice, you 15 y.o. dickwad.
Obviously not the AH, but I think the father already knew that. This sounds more like karma farming.
By catering to the child they created this monster. Fifteen is kind of late to learn basic lessons of honesty, empathy, unselfishness, and the meaning of family. They're stuck with this for three more years, sadly, but I wouldn't hold out any hope for him. Just make sure to eat as much animal protein as possible in his presence, and cook it in the stinkiest way possible.Oh, and let him know you're using his college fund to make your yearly budget whole.
Heck i would made him go one step further and hunt and clean a deer himself, to learn a lesson in what providing really means. As well as understanding that you kill for food and food alone, not to have it die in vain.
I hope you don't ever have kids if you would kick them out over something temporary like this. Yeah the kid was an asshole, but it's an experience he can learn from. What you're suggesting would only teach him that meat eaters are cruel & his parents don't love him.
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Um... his son is a KID and you are just being rude and discriminatory.
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It depends on what state you are in (if he's in the USA). Some states say 3, others 5, and it looks like some don't care how many. From super quick research online (I don't know much about this and I can and will openly admit that) it also looks like if you hunt on your own land you don't need a hunting license or tags. Deer are overpopulated in many areas and are considered a nuisance bc they destroy yards and make driving dangerous. Hope that helps. :)
Load More Replies... why should we not allow people to create their own decisions about their diet?
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No he absolutely has to clean it up, he's 15 so mature enough to have a conversation about how he feels rather than destroying something his father has worked hard for in a bid to save money for the family and then expecting someone else to clean up after him. He was counting on that meat rotting and stinking up the place to rub in what he had done. If you are 12 and under I wouldn't make them clean it up but this isn't a young child, he's a teenager. He needs to learn consequences for his actions and that he cannot dictate how other people live their lives, especially when those people are PAYING for his.
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Vegetarian here: The punishment is appropriate. Kid tried to force other people to becom involuntary vegetarians, and that's not how it works. You have to let other people make up their own minds and choose their own path, in every aspect of life. You can't force anyone to change, not even for the better, and he's old enough to learn that.
Beat me to it. I'm a vegetarian since I was a toddler (I don't know why I went that way, I just decided enough was enough before I was school age, and no regrets). But I would NEVER waste food. It's their choice, not mine. Jsut like they shouldn't shove meat down my throat.
Load More Replies... The boy's unforgivable waste of food did no good for the already dead deer and did nothing to further the vegetarian cause. You can't covert people to any cause by force he deserves any punishment imposed by his parents.
I agree, i'm not vegetarian and i eat all parts of animals and never waste meat out of respect for the poor dead animal, that was so wrong to deliberately spoil it. I even eat rabbit or horse if i have to and they are my pets, but i don't want my share in the trashbin and the animal dead for nothing so i eat it. What kind of human is he? Hope this punishment would cure him from his selfishness and that he would really respect animals after that.
Load More Replies... Not the asshole. That kid did the wrong thing and has to deal with the consequences for his actions. He has now completely wasted the animal making its death completely pointless. He has shown lack of respect for his parents choices to eat meat and has impacted them financially. I think that consequence was perfect for the boys actions.
Killing animals for food > killing animals for nothing. Is dad going to go vegetarian now? Nope, he's gonna go kill another fridge full of deer, and that blood is on the kid's hands. Note: I am ethically opposed to teenagers.
Lol, I'm opposed to them too, but because they tastes terrible because of all the hormones.
Load More Replies... I work a lot with Indigenous cultural teachings and we use a lot of animal products -- deerskin for drums, antlers for regalia/storytelling, etc. -- and much of it comes from hunters who want to waste nothing. I have had many vegan and vegetarian families happily participate because of the respect and sustainability involved. Throughout we emphasize that whenever you interact with these items you show respect for the spirit and sacrifice of the animal. What this misguided boy did not only harmed his family but also disrespected the deer.
I agree, and made him help me refill the freezer.
Load More Replies... Kid is 15, that's old enough to understand the consequences of his actions. The parent isn't making him interact with the meat - he did that himself by causing the mess. I probably wouldn't make him replace the freezer since even at 15 I wouldn't expect him to have predicted that might be an outcome, but he knew ruined rotting meat was going to be the result so he gets to clean that up and frankly I'd make him pay to replace the meat.
Restitution requires the young adult both clean out the freezer and pay for equivalent food. Even if the food purchased is the basis of vegetarian meals, it's not free and he made a choice to cost his family that money.
Ungrateful little punk. Unplug the Wi-Fi for a week. Hit these entitled kids where it hurts...electronics. Gosh, I sound like my Boomer parents the older I get. Lol. Actually, the father did the right thing. I would still make the consequences a little harsher though.
I think you're right in that it needs to be tougher, but let the punishment fit the crime. Mom and dad went out of their way to make eating easier for him and he obviously doesn't appreciate it. From now on he should cook his own meals.
Load More Replies... I too am a vegetarian, and I couldn’t care less about how other people eat. I’m not sure if the kid became vegetarian due to the negative impacts of the meat industry on the environment like I did, but if so, he just completely negated that by wasting the lives of several deer. In my opinion that’s morally wrong for a plethora of reasons.
Even with the vegetarian issue aside, you can't just mess with people's stuff and not expect there to be repercussions.
I'm vegetarian for over 45 years now, and I went veggie as a toddler. My dad took me hunting with him for meat for the rest of the family. I get it. They eat meat. i don't. They need food. I need food. Their choices, my choices. Waste is just wrong.
Vegetarian here: absolutely the right move. I'd have kicked him out. After making him clean. Disrespecting food is probably the worst crime you can commit in this economy. At least person dies somewhere every day because of lack of food. And beyond that, forcing your habits on others is just plain petty. One of the reasons why I hate PETA. you have a higher chance of converting someone if you just speak to them instead of standing in their way. My non Vegetarian friends do the same. Tell me how great meat is and how they'll take me to some great place with fantastic food that will blow me out of the water after being told that I don't want to. Don't shove your choices in other's faces. That being said, like one of the members pointed out here, he's young and is trying to do some good, albeit wrong way. Have a conversation with him after it's all said and done and try to get through to him. You can even lend him a hand at the end, to let him know that he'll have to clean up his mess no matter what, but you're not heartless enough to make him suffer through it alone, and that you want him to understand and respect other people's choices.
Son is just a bandwagon vegetarian. Only doing it to make waves, create problems, and feel superior to his superiors. Also for likes on line.
I have very little patience for bandwagon ANYTHING, especially when the person attempts to shove their beliefs down my throat.
Load More Replies... short analysis of this (and i'd like to preface this by saying dad is nta): We know that the modern meat industry is horrifying. They put animals into horrible conditions, raise them for the slaughter and it has a huge impact on the climate as well. At our core, humans are animals, so we're meant to hunt and eat as part of the ecosystem. This is basically the way Indigenous societies hunted, but is completely different from the modern meat industry, which breeds animals solely to kill them afterwards. The dad is causing less harm to the environment and is eating meat more ethically by hunting than by buying meat, because from what I have seen, he is not overhunting/trophy hunting and is only hunting what he can eat.
Just searched out for that point in the comments.Many hunters I use to know are even vegetarian except their own hunted meat. Thx for putting that on the table
Load More Replies... What's really sad about this kid's actions is just how supportive his parents were being. I've never gone veg, but I know my father's reaction would not be preparing 2 meatless meals a week and separating meat from the main meal other times. They were making sure he was still eating well and as a family and it seemed like he could've spoken to them at any time but instead resorted to those actions. Perhaps this is a cry for attention, but I hope he learns sooner than later his actions didn't do anything for the cause and money doesn't grow on trees.
Cry for attention? Not sure without more context. Bratty little s**t move? Hell to the yeah it was. Kid has a lot to learn about the cost of replacement food, and what cleaning up a putrid mess is like—-and that particular stink is unmistakable, unforgettable, and sticks to you for a while. Also, if the parents know any true vegetarians, maybe they can sit the kid down and give him a good lecture about how disrespectful it is to the animal to waste its meat.
Load More Replies... i think not only should the kid have been responsible for cleaning up the mess, he also should be responsible for replacement value of the lost meat, and the loss of privileges to go with it.
Not excusing the kid's action, but you really should have a temperature monitor on a freezer that you only open once a week. My parents lost an entire chest freezer of stuff when it failed and no one noticed for a week or two. For a 'fridge/freezer you use daily, it's less of an issue since you'll notice before the food goes bad, but if you rarely use it, monitor it.
Why do some people who have made an ethical choice themselves betray their ethics in deciding to punish others for their different ethical choices? This vegetarian, the anti plastic straw person who tried to litter a pack of straws, PETA and their many crimes against animals... what even goes through these people's minds?
It's because there's a scarily high amount of stupid vegans who bring it all down for everyone.
Load More Replies... The son acted like a crusading anti-Choice, pro-Birth extremist who thinks they have the right to force their personal opinions into laws that would destroy the lives of the already-born. Assess the cost of replacing the meat and deduct it from his allowance. BTW, the parents were excellent role models who went out of their way to cooperate with the boys' wishes. (P.S. I rarely eat meat, detest zoos, and would never try to capture or kill a wild animal.)
THANK YOU. Extremists who inflict their values on others are a bad thing, no matter what their agenda is. Engage in actual discussion with others if you want to change minds.
Load More Replies... I'd make him sleep in the garage for a couple of days, before he has to clean out the freezer.
People have a right to think and believe as they like. They do not have the right to "force" others to think and believe the same. It is called respect.
He is just 15. You need to sit him down and talk to him. Understand his logic snd poke holes in it till he sees the light and realizes he wasted a animals life. Now another will have to die. He needs to understand choice and consent. He dose need decipline but more than that he needs your loving understanding of his lifestyle and how he should give you the same loving understanding.
NTA. The kid is, and he was given a just punishment. Can't force people to eat your way.
The father was right for punishing him like way... if U don't want to pay the price then don't do the crime/foolishness
Question for your son: do you know what a dictatorship is? Because you just pulled an extreme example of running one. Not only did this kid prove that he has no concept of anyone but himself he proved that he doesn't have an understanding of basic rights, necessity or economics. What a complete scumbag. I feel so bad for the parents.
Definitely not the asshole. I'd make the kid clean it out by hand, pay for the lost food, and then make the kid pay for any vegetarian food options out of his own pocket. If he cant afford a meat free meal, then he should be forced to eat that the parent fixes. Meat or not.
Absolutely not the AH. His actions were thoughtless and out of line. He impacted the family budget and totally rendered the killing of animals useless by making the meat not fit for consumption. Now if I had been forced to eat Venison my first 15 years I would be a vegetarian also. My father was a hunter too for many years and I found Venison always gamey and nasty. We had Elk more often and Quail and Dove. We always ate what he brought back but were pleased when he stopped hunting. That fact that the family had been considerate of his choices should have taught him to treat your choice the same. Cleaning out the rancid wasted meat is the logical consequence to his action. He should also have to scrub the freezer and refill it with meat from the store at his expense.
NTA. Kid is lucky to be alive after such a childish, cruel stunt. You caused this mess, you clean it up. AND pay market value for the food lost to the family.
There is a big difference between having a personal preference and then forcing it on others. You are NTA and well done for making him clean it up. If it was my son I would also be making him pay for the meat to be replaced.
Then, the deer died for nothing! If he had a problem with the rest of the family eating meat, he could have told them about it.
No the dad isn't the AH. The son is. And an imbecile. You don't need to be an adult to be logical. The animal is dead. By letting the meat rot, the animal basically died in vain. Hence imbecile.
Another reason it's good that I'm not a parent: I would have also made him butcher my next two kills.
Not only is it stupid by the sense that the kid achieves the opposite of what he tries to, but also it's not constructive that he did it in such a sneaky way. Even though he at least admitted to it, it's still very sneaky. Instead of addressing the instance, he could have addressed the pattern. Having parents that even cook a separate meal for his preference, I'm 100% sure he could discuss it in a straightforward and argumentative manner and they would at least listen to him.
My wife is a veggie and we live in harmony and respect with our differing views. She faces prejudice and comments from people who cant understand her life choices. This boy has merely confirmed the views of many that vegetarians want to force their opinions on to others. For me his actions are for attention and he possibly has a Morality Superiority Disorder
I'm veggie. All the son has done is made the death of an animal irrelevant. The meat would have fed a family but now it's wasted food and a wasted life. Nobody is telling the son that he can't be a vegetarian, and the son should being returning the curtesy of not telling his parents that they can't eat meat.
I'd not only make him dispose of the meat and clean the freezer, but also do chores for an hourly wage until he paid for the equivalent value. (I'm not a vegetarian, but do use every part of the meat I buy. The flesh is cooked and eaten, while the skin, bones, and scraps are used to make stock. Not a single piece is thrown away.)
I'm glad to see the "NTA" responses from so many vegetarians here. My stepfather was a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. I remember we'd order pizza, and instead of getting it half pepperoni, he'd pick the pepperoni off his share and throw it in the trash. I always thought that was terribly hypocritical. As an adult I eat meat, but in our house we never waste meat. Anything we don't eat at a meal gets reheated as leftovers, made into casseroles and stir fry... even the bones are used for soup stock or fed to our dogs. Throwing it away is disrespectful to the animal.
It was stupid, wasteful and punishment is deserved. What was he thinking?
Definitely not. He has the right to choose how he lives his life, but he doesn't have the right to force his lifestyle onto others.
Cleaning the freezer is just the start, he should work to pay for the lost meat too.
NTA. Kid should meat (ha!) my family's friends. They are vegetarian and have wanted to be, but before this year money was tight and they HAD to hunt, once they got enough money they became vegetarian. It's a f*****g choice, you 15 y.o. dickwad.
Obviously not the AH, but I think the father already knew that. This sounds more like karma farming.
By catering to the child they created this monster. Fifteen is kind of late to learn basic lessons of honesty, empathy, unselfishness, and the meaning of family. They're stuck with this for three more years, sadly, but I wouldn't hold out any hope for him. Just make sure to eat as much animal protein as possible in his presence, and cook it in the stinkiest way possible.Oh, and let him know you're using his college fund to make your yearly budget whole.
Heck i would made him go one step further and hunt and clean a deer himself, to learn a lesson in what providing really means. As well as understanding that you kill for food and food alone, not to have it die in vain.
I hope you don't ever have kids if you would kick them out over something temporary like this. Yeah the kid was an asshole, but it's an experience he can learn from. What you're suggesting would only teach him that meat eaters are cruel & his parents don't love him.
Load More Replies... Um... his son is a KID and you are just being rude and discriminatory.
Load More Replies... It depends on what state you are in (if he's in the USA). Some states say 3, others 5, and it looks like some don't care how many. From super quick research online (I don't know much about this and I can and will openly admit that) it also looks like if you hunt on your own land you don't need a hunting license or tags. Deer are overpopulated in many areas and are considered a nuisance bc they destroy yards and make driving dangerous. Hope that helps. :)
Load More Replies... why should we not allow people to create their own decisions about their diet?
Load More Replies... No he absolutely has to clean it up, he's 15 so mature enough to have a conversation about how he feels rather than destroying something his father has worked hard for in a bid to save money for the family and then expecting someone else to clean up after him. He was counting on that meat rotting and stinking up the place to rub in what he had done. If you are 12 and under I wouldn't make them clean it up but this isn't a young child, he's a teenager. He needs to learn consequences for his actions and that he cannot dictate how other people live their lives, especially when those people are PAYING for his.
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