Life isn’t fair. That’s something we all have to accept from a young age, or we’ll be in for a painful reality check. But sometimes, the playing field could certainly be more even, if favoritism wasn’t a factor.
Redditors have been recalling the most egregious favoritism they’ve ever experienced, so we’ve gathered some of their infuriating stories below. From nepotism in the workplace to parents picking a golden child, enjoy reading through these examples of playing favorites. And be sure to upvote the stories that remind you to always be as impartial as possible!
#1
In middle school, the teacher's son was in her class and he was relentlessly bullying one of my friends: being in his space all the time, throwing mud and packed ice at him outside. Whenever my friend would try to get him off or yell for him to go away she would say "inside voices please" and "that's just how boys are".
Eventually my friend had enough, picked up the other kid, and gave him a concussion from throwing him on the pavement. He was suspended and then the teacher brought in a speaker to talk about bullying in school. So, being the smart*ss that I was, I raised my hand and asked, "what are we supposed to do when the bully is the teacher's kid and she doesn't see the problem?" and looked right back at her.
My friend was back in school the next week.
Eventually my friend had enough, picked up the other kid, and gave him a concussion from throwing him on the pavement. He was suspended and then the teacher brought in a speaker to talk about bullying in school. So, being the smart*ss that I was, I raised my hand and asked, "what are we supposed to do when the bully is the teacher's kid and she doesn't see the problem?" and looked right back at her.
My friend was back in school the next week.
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184points
#2
* When I was 16, my 13-year-old sister got a brand new cellphone. I never had a phone, and I still didn't at the time.
* I worked 3 jobs in college just to survive. My parents paid my sister's tuition, rent, and bills. They also got her a brand new car. I spent my college years working and using public transportation. My sister spent hers partying and going on road trips with her brand new car.
* When I graduated college, I got nothing. My sister got a brand new MacBook, which was stolen a few months later because she left it in her unlocked car.
* My mother constantly told my sister that she loved her growing up. My mother only said it to me once, in the context of "I love you, but I don't like you".
I have plenty more of these stories. And, no, I don't speak with my parents or sister anymore.
* I worked 3 jobs in college just to survive. My parents paid my sister's tuition, rent, and bills. They also got her a brand new car. I spent my college years working and using public transportation. My sister spent hers partying and going on road trips with her brand new car.
* When I graduated college, I got nothing. My sister got a brand new MacBook, which was stolen a few months later because she left it in her unlocked car.
* My mother constantly told my sister that she loved her growing up. My mother only said it to me once, in the context of "I love you, but I don't like you".
I have plenty more of these stories. And, no, I don't speak with my parents or sister anymore.
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160points
#3
Worked in a company for years, my superior left the company and there it was, the possible promotion and new job title including leading a team. I was the only candidate in that team (because they didn't want the responsibility). Boss decided to give the job to his son who had no job experience and told me to help him, because I was one of his best employees.
I quit.
I quit.
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149points
#4
My mom can kiss the dog as many times as she wants and he's fine with it.
If I kiss the dog, I get growled at.
If I kiss the dog, I get growled at.
119points
#5
One of my classmates always got better scores on comparable essays in a high school literature class. I suggested it was favoritism so we decided to write each other's papers to see what happened. Our study found that no matter who wrote the paper, if I turned it in, I got a worse grade than if she turned it in.
115points
#6
Years ago, my Ma and dad re-did their will.
They called me. Said, "I just want you to know, that we re did our will and you'll be getting less of our estate."
K. I didn't need to know that and I honestly wouldn't have cared. But without even asking why, she continued, "You seem to be doing well and your brother works so hard. He's going to need it more."
I was a stay at home mom. My brother was (and continues to be) a top exec in a major corporation in a major city with two millions dollar homes.
I'm now twice divorced, living in an apartment, relocating for a full time job three states away.
Funny, she hasn't called me telling me that maybe she re did her will again.
And this is why I forget Mother's Day.
They called me. Said, "I just want you to know, that we re did our will and you'll be getting less of our estate."
K. I didn't need to know that and I honestly wouldn't have cared. But without even asking why, she continued, "You seem to be doing well and your brother works so hard. He's going to need it more."
I was a stay at home mom. My brother was (and continues to be) a top exec in a major corporation in a major city with two millions dollar homes.
I'm now twice divorced, living in an apartment, relocating for a full time job three states away.
Funny, she hasn't called me telling me that maybe she re did her will again.
And this is why I forget Mother's Day.
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102points
#7
My mom told my brother a (very boring) family secret and he told me. I mentioned it to her and she got pissed off and said he shouldn't be telling 'other' people about that, it's just for family. I had to remind her that I am also a member of the family.
97points
#8
I'm female. Worked my way up in 9 months from a temp to a downstream operator. Applied for a promotion to the next position up that I and everyone else knows I earned.
Another person, male, on another shift, in my exact position, applied for the position too, but just before, (I will dispense with diplomacy and talk shop), operated the KUKA robot with the touch screen after an operations failure, which is suppose to be a direct call to maintinence, and if you as operator try to fix it yourself it's suppose to be automatic termination. In doing so, he caused the robot to move backwards and break through the cement wall and cause 17,000$ in damage and shut it down for a week waiting for new parts to replace so we could restart the process.
He got the promotion. I quit in protest. He was fired not long after for bringing his guns to work to show off to people.
Another person, male, on another shift, in my exact position, applied for the position too, but just before, (I will dispense with diplomacy and talk shop), operated the KUKA robot with the touch screen after an operations failure, which is suppose to be a direct call to maintinence, and if you as operator try to fix it yourself it's suppose to be automatic termination. In doing so, he caused the robot to move backwards and break through the cement wall and cause 17,000$ in damage and shut it down for a week waiting for new parts to replace so we could restart the process.
He got the promotion. I quit in protest. He was fired not long after for bringing his guns to work to show off to people.
92points
#9
My mom used to beat the s**t out of me with anything she could get her hands on, over any little thing. (Because I'm my dad's twin). My little sister never got hit reprimanded or even talked to in any way about discipline. Talk about favoritism. I've cut myself off completely from my family.
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89points
#10
My nephew's school had two students who won a contest all by themselves. They got a chance to meet the prime minister and show their work. But at the last moment, the principal insisted to add his daughter in the team.
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83points
#11
I babysit for this woman who has two children: 5 and 3. Her oldest will scream and shout and throw tantrums out the a**. Lasts for 30 minutes to an hour. She just talks to her in the sweetest tone and sometimes open threats but gives her whatever she wants. But her youngest, she will send to her room and hits her with a spoon. The oldest NEVER gets this treatment. Her excuse? “She’s been through a lot. Her dad left when she was 1 and the youngest doesn’t know him at all. It’s really hit her hard so I have to be patient with her.” The youngest is the sweetest child, always has manners and listens wonderfully. But the oldest is a spoiled brat and it drives me nuts that she doesn’t see what she’s doing to her kids.
One example of three nights ago. I came over to babysit at 12 am. The youngest was sitting in her room refusing to sleep, not crying. When she heard my voice, she ran out to me excited. She immediately grabbed the spoon and threatened her and she cried and went to her room. The oldest was screaming from the moment I walked in and was begging mom not to leave. “You want milk? You want to sleep in my bed? You want mommy to lay with you for a minute?” Instead of letting me handle it, she was late for work trying to coax her into stopping. Meanwhile, her youngest is in the other room, silently crying and not screaming like her sister. This is all of the time, the favoritism. One sleeps with her mom every night and the other one sleeps in her room by herself. It’s hard for me to stomach every time I see the favoritism.
One example of three nights ago. I came over to babysit at 12 am. The youngest was sitting in her room refusing to sleep, not crying. When she heard my voice, she ran out to me excited. She immediately grabbed the spoon and threatened her and she cried and went to her room. The oldest was screaming from the moment I walked in and was begging mom not to leave. “You want milk? You want to sleep in my bed? You want mommy to lay with you for a minute?” Instead of letting me handle it, she was late for work trying to coax her into stopping. Meanwhile, her youngest is in the other room, silently crying and not screaming like her sister. This is all of the time, the favoritism. One sleeps with her mom every night and the other one sleeps in her room by herself. It’s hard for me to stomach every time I see the favoritism.
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76points
#12
My grandma always yelled to my cousins, but she always pampered me and bragged about me to others.
She didn't even try to hide that difference in treatment and I HATE IT when that happened. Even the little-child-me recognized and despised it very much.
Obviously my relationship with my cousins isn't good till now.
She didn't even try to hide that difference in treatment and I HATE IT when that happened. Even the little-child-me recognized and despised it very much.
Obviously my relationship with my cousins isn't good till now.
72points
#13
At the end of our senior party that was organized for my school, they had a raffle with a bunch of expensive prizes. Every single parent who helped organize the raffle had a child who won big and the main organizer had her son win the 2500 dollar grand prize with the not suspicious speech of “and of course, the winner of the grand prize is Charlie.” Yeah f**k that s**t, I walked out with a 5 dollar gift card to an ice cream shop that had already gone out of business.
71points
#14
So, for a while, my dad decided that he could get more work out of us if he got us to compete to be named his favorite.
Basically the rules he laid out were that if you did something good enough, you were there favorite until someone else did something, and there was some kind of ill-defined benefit to being the favorite that he hadn't decided on yet.
Fast forward a bit, and he had f****d up his company web site because he was experimenting in the production environment like an idiot. He asked me for help, so I did.
He didn't let me touch anything, and insisted I stand there while he fiddled with random controls in Drupal hoping to stumble across the right one because he's afraid of reading logs. That took a few hours. Then he went to the bathroom and I checked the logs, which led me right to the problem, so I fixed it. It definitely saved him time, probably saved him money, and possibly saved his job. I was named favorite.
10 minutes later, my sister comes in from mowing the lawn and now she's the favorite.
It wasn't really a big deal. The only benefit of being the favorite for my brother and I was that he wouldn't insult you for not being the favorite. When I was favorite though, he still made fun of me for being at his beck and call. My sister got things like hugs and pats on the back when she was the favorite, but fewer when she wasn't.
Shortly after the web site incident, we all decided that the whole thing was stupid and agreed not to do anything special for him in the hopes that he'd forget about the whole thing. Instead he got angry that we weren't climbing over each other to do him favors. At first he just lowered the bar for "good deeds", so we just stopped doing anything for him at all.
He got pissed that we weren't competing, so he announced that my sister was favorite again because I didn't buy him a soda and he wanted me to defend my title. Then he got angry that nobody cared. Then he sat in his chair and grumbled about that for a while, and he's mostly dropped it. Sometimes, he tries to bring it back, but it hasn't worked.
So, lessons learned:
* My sister is, and has always been, the real favorite.
* If you want people to compete, there needs to be something they all want to compete for.
* Something about either collusion or collective bargaining, depending on how you want to spin it. In any case, Apes together strong.
Basically the rules he laid out were that if you did something good enough, you were there favorite until someone else did something, and there was some kind of ill-defined benefit to being the favorite that he hadn't decided on yet.
Fast forward a bit, and he had f****d up his company web site because he was experimenting in the production environment like an idiot. He asked me for help, so I did.
He didn't let me touch anything, and insisted I stand there while he fiddled with random controls in Drupal hoping to stumble across the right one because he's afraid of reading logs. That took a few hours. Then he went to the bathroom and I checked the logs, which led me right to the problem, so I fixed it. It definitely saved him time, probably saved him money, and possibly saved his job. I was named favorite.
10 minutes later, my sister comes in from mowing the lawn and now she's the favorite.
It wasn't really a big deal. The only benefit of being the favorite for my brother and I was that he wouldn't insult you for not being the favorite. When I was favorite though, he still made fun of me for being at his beck and call. My sister got things like hugs and pats on the back when she was the favorite, but fewer when she wasn't.
Shortly after the web site incident, we all decided that the whole thing was stupid and agreed not to do anything special for him in the hopes that he'd forget about the whole thing. Instead he got angry that we weren't climbing over each other to do him favors. At first he just lowered the bar for "good deeds", so we just stopped doing anything for him at all.
He got pissed that we weren't competing, so he announced that my sister was favorite again because I didn't buy him a soda and he wanted me to defend my title. Then he got angry that nobody cared. Then he sat in his chair and grumbled about that for a while, and he's mostly dropped it. Sometimes, he tries to bring it back, but it hasn't worked.
So, lessons learned:
* My sister is, and has always been, the real favorite.
* If you want people to compete, there needs to be something they all want to compete for.
* Something about either collusion or collective bargaining, depending on how you want to spin it. In any case, Apes together strong.
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64points
#15
When I was in grade 5, we had a music teacher that brought guitars in for everyone. I was a natural, and so I begged my mom to get me a guitar for Christmas.
Every year for five years straight I asked for a guitar on Christmas and my birthday. On the sixth Christmas, I saw what was clearly a guitar shaped box under the tree. I remember actually being so excited because I was finally getting it, and they had actually gone out of their way to surprise me with it.
And then, I sat there and watched as they handed it to my older brother.
Every year for five years straight I asked for a guitar on Christmas and my birthday. On the sixth Christmas, I saw what was clearly a guitar shaped box under the tree. I remember actually being so excited because I was finally getting it, and they had actually gone out of their way to surprise me with it.
And then, I sat there and watched as they handed it to my older brother.
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64points
#16
My friend is the middle child he had to find a job when he was 16 to pay for his car by himself, work full time through college to pay for it by himself, and had to pay for his new house and his parents didnt offer any help in fact they packed up all his stuff while he was at work and dropped it off in his garage and said good luck. While his siblings did not have to work in high school or college, parents paid for their cars and paid for most of their college when his older brother got a house they offered to help pay.
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62points
#17
One of my professors was the same ethnicity as me and 2 other of my classmates. He always talked to me and the other 2 in our three hour lab and straight up told me in our shared language, “I help out my people. I don’t really help the white kids because they get enough help from everyone else in their lives”. I ended up getting an undeserved A in his class.
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60points
#18
When I was in high school, my dad had a very public affair and my mom kicked him out of the house. A few days later, he sent an email to the whole family begging us to let him back in the house. He had a line for each kid in the email. My brother and I got a few sentences saying that he missed us, etc. However, he wrote an entire paragraph to my sister, starting with "I have always had the best connection with you out of all my children..."
i've since cut him off completely but that still stings a little, 7 years later.
i've since cut him off completely but that still stings a little, 7 years later.
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59points
#19
My French teacher would tell the class who she liked and didn’t like and would give the kids she liked extra credit just for being there.
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57points
#20
Coworker gets paid way more than I do because of "experience" yet I have to do their job and mine. Mind you, they can't do half of what I can because of new equipment/software. Also they can p**s off work like no tomorrow but if I have to take a personal day, I come back with worked piled up on my desk just because. Basically, they get away with everything and somehow I get blamed or reprimanded.
57points