Every morning, Jack leads his children in a few chants of, "Death to the Harrisons!" They also chant about the Weinsteins, but never about anyone else on the block. All of the hate is directed at you and the Weinsteins.
A few years ago, Jack deliberately poisoned one of your dogs. The dog wasn't in his yard or bothering him, he just poisoned it. Jack wears unique shoes. From time to time, you find his shoeprints in your front yard next to irrigation heads that have been mangled and sometimes flowers that have been hacked to bits.
Whenever possible, Jack complains about you and your family to the neighborhood council. You know he pays the kids of another family down the street to tip over your garbage on trash pickup day.
Sometimes, when you or your wife are driving down the street, Jack's kids get on their bikes and ride as fast as they can at your car, getting in the way, looking like they're going to ram you and then riding off. They don't speak to you or respond to your warnings when you try to talk to them.
Your father, who used to live with you, but has since moved out, did everything he could to help Jack and his family. When Jack's kids were arrested for assaulting your kids, your dad intervened with the police and got them released. Your dad even gave Jack a few thousand dollars, no strings attached. While your dad was in the house, it was impossible to even speak a bad word about Jack and his brood without strong denunciations from your dad.
None of your dad's efforts ever made a change in anything. The morning chants of "Death to the Harrisons" continued as usual and the attacks in the garden and upon your children went on apace. Now that dad is out of the house, you've decided to get tough with Jack and his clan.
Currently, some of Jack's kids are reporting him to Child Protective Services for abuse and have plenty of strong evidence against Jack. You've decided to offer the poor things what support you can. Dad and his friends are very angry about this and won't stop talking about how unreasonable and rash you are. It makes you wonder if the whole world has gone mad.
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| Some of Jack's kids have had enough of Jack. Your dad's friends are saying you are wrong to get involved and none of this has anything to do with you. Meanwhile, Jack and the rest of his kids still chant, "Death to the Harrisons!" every morning. |
3 comments:
Well, maybe. But personally, and based on the way I've seen actual hostile, unpleasant neighbors behave: if they get into a family fight, the neighbors are well advised to stay the heck out of it. Particularly any neighbors they have been feuding with. Getting involved in any way is a good way to end up punched/clubbed/stabbed/shot, while accomplishing nothing useful. Just because they are mad at each other, doesn't mean that they can't take a few seconds to momentarily gang up on an old enemy who unwisely steps within range.
I've been on the fringes of "it's a family fight, stay out of it" that result in the kids who complained turning up dead.
A couple of my cousins' bio-families, they got out because someone did get involved.
Sure, domestic cases are dangerous. So is living down the road from a known psycho who can and will use violence, both against you and against his own.
This Jack and his family, must be some of them refugees from that non country Palestine.
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