Dad Posts Public Letter Slamming ‘Karen’ Who Had His Kids’ Tree House Torn Down
The name "Karen" has become associated with a certain type of middle-aged white woman who has a negative opinion about, well, basically anything.
People online and IRL are quick to call someone a "Karen" if they're being a stickler for rules, or on the contrary, ignore the rules completely; if they are being subtly racist (especially to young people), or controlling certain areas and public places like parks and neighborhoods.
A Reddit Post Of A Dad Calling Out The "Karen" In His Neighborhood Went Viral
A Reddit user shared a stern letter written by a disappointed father who was publicly shaming a "Karen" in his neighborhood.
His note, pinned to a tree, begins with: "Dear Anonymous Passerby, Don't worry, you're safe now!"
A Complaint Was Filed With The Homeowners' Association
The white, 8"x10" typed letter hangs in a plastic binder sleeve. The next line reads: "Your act of casual cruelty was successful. The complaint you lodged with the HOA was heard."
The HOA is the homeowners' association, a committee or organization that makes and enforces rules for people living in neighborhoods, subdivisions, or condominium buildings.
The HOA Had The Man Take Down The Tree House He Built With His Kids
The letter continues: "They had me take down the small tree fort that I built on this location with my sons during the pandemic."
"No longer will its presence offend your walk past my house." It's clear that this letter is dripping with sarcasm—but it might be justified.
"Please Enjoy Your Stroll Free From The Sound Of My Children's Play And Laughter"
"Please enjoy your stroll free from the sound of my children's play and laughter. They are safely inside now, watching television I'm sure."
We have to appreciate that generational jab, pointing out how the removal of the tree fort has inadvertently led to the children doing the other thing bitter older people hate most: spending all their time on the computer or TV.
The Tree Fort Was In His Own Backyard
"Enjoy the unobstructed view of my backyard. I will try to keep it up to code, Best, Dave."
The man signed the note "Dave" to finish off his perfectly passive-aggressive message.
People Online Were Predictably Annoyed By The Anonymous Complaint But Loved Dave's Letter
People online were bothered by the idea that the tree house had to be removed, but they loved Dave's public note approach—you can read the full letter above.
One user joked "now they will report them for not getting a permit to place that note on the tree." Another user writes "Karens have so much free time. They also infest city councils, PTAs, volunteer groups, churches, YMCAs, business chambers..."
Join The HOA And Beat The System From The Inside
Some Redditors shared their own experiences with HOAs in their neighborhoods, highlighting how easy it is to actually make changes as a member.
Redditor eskimoexplosion said: "I started participating in my community's HOA with three of my neighbors after some weird architecture rules they tried to implement (they wanted us to all paint our fences dark brown for some reason). Come to find out, out of the hundred or so residences only about eight people show up to each meeting making up a good third of the votes."
Usually, A Handful Of People Are Responsible For Making Decisions For An Entire Neighborhood
Reddit user Beemerado said: "A buddy of mine had his condo flood and had to deal with the HOA to get it fixed. He started showing up to meetings and within a month they voted him in as treasurer."
As it turns out, most people don't want to put in the time or energy to be a part of the HOA, and as a result, a few people get to call the shots for the whole neighborhood.
People Suggested He Plead His Case To The HOA—Or Change The Rules
Redditor olcrazypete writes: "A lot of what is right and wrong about any small community organization [depends on] who decides to show up at the meetings. Show up at a few consecutive meetings and you're very liable to get a job."
Most people online suggested the man try to fight back against the HOA's ruling by going to a few meetings and explaining his perspective. Unfortunately, we have no clue whether Dave took their advice.
This Is Not The First Example Of Kids' Activities Being Targeted By Bitter Neighbors
Since the name "Karen" has gained such a negative spin lately, it's not surprising that the tree fort incident is not the first example of a "Karen" personality targetting children's activities.
In 2015, a Canadian family was told to remove a small ice rink in their front yard or face a $25,000 fine after a complaint was filed by a neighbor. The ice rink was dismantled and the kids will forever remember how a random neighbor ruined their winter.
An Elderly Man's Neighbor Blocked His Driveway With Cinder Blocks, So He Taught Him An Expensive Lesson
When one man moved onto a plot of land in Osceola, Florida, the neighborhood didn't think anything of it. However, it didn't take long for his actions to seriously affect the life of an elderly man named Oliver Lynch.
Lynch, along with fellow neighbors and community members were shocked by what he had done to his property. So, one neighbor decided to take matters into his own hands in order to protect himself and his property.
He Wouldn't Be Pushed Around
Oliver Lynch is a 79-year-old man and is a resident of Osceola, Florida. He had been living in the same neighborhood for around 25 years and was more than comfortable with his living situation.
Although he was a reasonable man with good morals, he wasn't the kind of person who was going to let anyone push him around for no reason. After all, everyone has a limit. And what was going to happen to him next would prove that he wasn't just any meek old man.
He Stands Up For Himself
Being a local resident and an elderly man, Lynch knew that he had to fight if he ever wanted things to go his way. He recognized that not everybody cares about the plight of an older man, so he has to make himself known in order for people to give him the respect that he deserves.
In an interview, he made his point clear when he stated that "I just hate being bullied." Not only does he hate it, but he'll also do something about it.
A New Neighbor
In the same interview, he proclaimed that "I have a little fight left in me, and I hate to see somebody bulldoze over me." These are respectable words from a man of the same age group of others who may go out of their way to avoid confrontation and try to keep the peace.
One day, Lynch discovered that a new neighbor was using an empty plot of land to build a new home.
The Day When Everything Changed
While everything seemed fine at first, Lynch began to sense trouble when he came home one day. On this day, Lynch discovered that there was a long row of cinder blocks lined up in the middle of his driveway.
While Lynch wasn't overly concerned at first, things changed when his new neighbor claimed that Lynch's driveway was a piece of land that he now owned. As far as Lynch was concerned, that was his driveway, and he wanted it back.
It Got Even Worse
Unfortunately, the situation was even worse than Lynch originally thought. His new neighbor had gone so far as to actually cement the cinder blocks onto the driveway so that Lynch couldn't move them even if he wanted to.
This would also cause damage to Lynch's driveway if he tried to forcefully remove them. With no way to move the cinder blocks himself, Lynch knew that he would have to take more drastic measures in order to solve the problem in front of him.
He Was Wondering What Was Going On
Lynch had seen a lot in his time, but he was completely baffled by the entire situation that he was now involved in. It just seemed so strange that this was happening in his neighborhood, especially to him.
Not only was he surprised, but now he was also starting to get angry by his neighbor's passive-aggressiveness. "What's he going to do with these extra few yards of concrete?" Oliver recalled asking himself in disbelief.
Trying To Find Proof
With the cinder blocks cemented onto his driveway, it was clear that there was no immediate way for Lynch to resolve the situation that he was in.
In order to regain his land, Lynch had to find proof that the land his neighbor was trying to take was rightfully his. Finally, he found records that showed that he was entitled to two 12-foot driveways.
Questioning His Character
On top of all of that, Lynch also believed that his neighbor was acting increasingly hypocritically. He claimed that "he was a minister or something like that, [A] God-fearing man. But I don't think that's very Christian-like."
He couldn't believe that someone who works for the church would be so unchristianlike, especially to their very own neighbor. Lynch thought that somebody that somebody that considered themselves to be a man of God would be a little more reasonable than they turned out to be.
Running Out Of Options
With the situation getting worse, Lynch felt that he was running out of options with what to do about his neighbor. So, Lynch approached the county once again in hopes that an official would give him the help that he needed.
However, deep down, he knew that whatever was going to happen, it wasn't going to be easy to approach his neighbor about the bricks on his driveway.
Calling The Media
Now completely desperate, Lynch even went so far as to get in touch with the local media. Luckily, for Lynch, the media decided that they would do a story on the ongoing fight between Lynch and his neighbor.
In order to help Lynch, they even tried to get in touch with the neighbor. Unfortunately, they didn't have any success, as the neighbor wasn't responding to any of their calls or messages.
Breaking The Story
As you can imagine, when the story broke, Lynch's neighbor came out looking like a pretty bad person after his actions against Lynch were revealed to the public. Most of the public felt bad for Lynch and spoke out against the neighbor for being unjust.
Much like Lynch, the public was also confused by the neighbor's schemes when he was supposedly a religious person. This must have all been very embarrassing for the neighbor.
Being A Terrible Neighbor
While everyone was in agreement that what the neighbor was doing was unfair and rude, others were concerned about the impression the neighbor was making on the entire neighborhood.
They couldn't understand why somebody would want to do such a terrible thing when most people would want to integrate into the neighborhood and become friendly with the people around them. And still, nobody could answer why the neighbor would do something like this in the first place.
Calling The Media... Again
Even though Lynch had the majority of the public on his side for obvious reasons, the neighbor wouldn't budge. They were being increasingly stubborn about their property and wouldn't listen to the complaints of the elderly man or even the pleading of locals.
Believing that he was running out of options, he decided that he was going to have to call the local WFTV station once again.
Making Progress
It was during this time, however, that Lynch finally began making progress. Although it took what felt like forever for the two neighbors to talk and sort things out, eventually, Lynch got through to his neighbor.
Now, things were going to get interesting. Not just Lynch, but the whole public had been waiting to hear from the neighbor. Now it was their chance to hear the neighbor's side of the story.
Things Were Looking Up!
In order to prove his point, Lynch presented the issue to his neighbor, along with the records that proved that the property was indeed his. Believe it or not, his plan worked, and everything was on course to being solved!
After some discussion, the neighbor finally agreed to remove the cinder blocks from Lynch's driveway. It was a long time coming but it shows that a little bit of persistence goes a long way.
One Big Misunderstanding
After some time, Lynch revealed to the public that the new neighbor eventually admitted that he didn't intend to create such a scene. He actually felt bad about everything that had happened and knew that his stunt had hurt his status in the community.
Apparently, after all the trouble Lynch had gone through, the whole incident was no more than just one big misunderstanding. We just hope that this neighbor doesn't have any more misunderstandings with anyone else.
Making Peace
After Lynch made peace with his new neighbor, all of the people who were siding with him were happily relieved when they heard the news. It was nice to hear that this elderly man had won the fight that he had been struggling with.
Even though the neighbor was definitely in the wrong, people could rest easy knowing that the two neighbors might be able to put their animosity aside and maybe even become friends.
A Hopeful Future
While it would have been easier for Lynch to hold a grudge against the neighbor that caused him so much grief, the two becoming friends was much more preferable. It appears that the two will be living next to each other for the foreseeable future, and being friends with your neighbor is a lot better than being enemies.
However, Lynch's story shows that sometimes a little persistence, communication, and help from the community is all you need to solve a problem.
Lessons Learned
While today, we may not know the exact relationship between Lynch and his neighbor, there are multiple things that we can learn from the story. One of the main takeaways is the importance of standing up for yourself in a peaceful manner, especially if you're someone that another person thinks they can walk all over.
Yet, probably the greatest lesson is the concept of forgiveness and how Lynch acted once the problem had been solved. He didn't appear to be angry or resentful, just happy that everything worked out.
