This Mom Tried To Teach Her "Elitist" Son A Lesson By Forcing Him To Fly Economy, And The Internet Has Some Thoughts

There's a wild subreddit called Am I The Asshole?, and I swear, it's better than reality TV.

The Last O.G. / Via giphy.com

On the subreddit, people can post about their interpersonal conflicts, and then other users can weigh in on who's the "asshole" in the given situation.

I recently stumbled upon on a post where a mother wondered whether she was in the wrong for forcing her kid to fly economy, and the situation was wayyy too outlandish not to share.

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Here's the story, as told by the Mom, u/TAMommaof3:

"Me (F) and my husband (M) had our first child, Matt (18M) when we were just 17 years old. We weren't in a very good financial situation at first, and it only got better when Matt was 9."

"Currently, we both work well-paying jobs, buy a spacious home, and have our luxuries. We had two more children (8M and 5F). As we cannot stay at home all the time, we hired a nanny, May (45F), to take care of the little ones."

"This year, after the worst period of the pandemic, my husband and I decided to go on an international trip, and instead of giving May a vacation at home, we decided that we would take her (not going to work) and pay for everything (I don't live in the US)."

"Matt, on a random day, overheard me talking to my husband that I was planning to pay for a first class seat for May and her son for her to enjoy like we did. He asked why we should do this; we were already paying for everything, and to let her go economy class if she can't afford first class."

"I was shocked. I said that it was mean to say this and that she was an important person for our family, who gives up having time for her own child to take care of mine. It's the least I can do."

"He still stood his ground, so I said if he sees it that way, I said I'd buy him an economy seat, and he'd have to turn around to pay for an upgrade for him to see how privileged he is to have parents who can pay. He nodded, thinking it was a joke even though I said it wasn't."

"As the months went by, I warned him that his ticket was economy, and he didn't believe it."

"On the day of the trip, like a shocked Pikachu, he was startled when he realized I told the truth. He threw a tantrum in the middle of the airport, saying that 10 hours of travel would be very uncomfortable. I just replied: 'You had 6 months to gather, you've been warned.'"

"The flight was ok, but Matt was outraged the entire trip, saying it was almost torture and that we had gone too far."

"My husband agrees with me, but my parents said I went too far doing this. AITA?"

Now, I don't know about you, but I was speechless after reading that.

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Redditors, however, had a lot to say about the matter.

Most users reassured the mom that she wasn't the asshole, including u/tuttkraftverk, who commented:

"I'm sorry you have such an entitled son. Ask him why 'almost torture' would be fine for the nanny but not for him."

Someone else, who goes by u/Buttered_Crumpet09, agreed that OP wasn't in the wrong, and reasoned why Matt was:

"He was warned he wasn't flying first class and chose not to do anything. The boy needs to understand that his parents' money isn't his and that you don't get to have an attitude about things you haven't earned and aren't yours. He's a snob because he thinks he's better than, but without mummy and daddy's money who is he really?

"Also, if the grandparents are so upset, they can pay for his upgrades and luxuries."

Another user, u/lellyla, concurred and even gave some parental advice:

"Matt can't tell you what to do with your money and is plain mean and classist to negotiate a downgrade in airfare for anyone.

"However, you have already tried taking privileges away by making him work and not supporting him (edit: his perks). I don't think monetary punishment is going to work anymore; you need a new solution. I would try a family therapist to see what is at the bottom of his relationship with money and what you can do to change it."

However, one user, who goes by u/Quoras123 told the mom why she should reconsider her actions:

"It seems like you love your nanny more than your son.

"It is completely BS to tell the son that he has a financial responsibility to have to work for everything, and not giving him an allowance like normal teenagers who should be in school and focus on their education — not working a shitty part-time job that doesn't benefit his career. All of this while you constantly throw around luxuries like multi-thousand dollar vacations for your employees."

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.