Woman Defended for Not Giving Back Invasive Neighbor's Binoculars: 'Creepy'

Members of a popular internet forum rallied around one 28-year-old woman whose quick thinking put a stop to her neighbor's invasive behavior.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/ThrowRaBinaculoras (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she recently moved into a new neighborhood and quickly made an unsavory discovery: she was being watched.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for refusing to return my neighbor's 'special' binoculars unless his wife comes and gets them?" the post has received nearly 18,000 upvotes since September 16.

"All my neighbors are lovely. Especially my next door neighbor," OP began, sarcastically. "I noticed that he's been looking towards my house for a while...he had his binoculars with him."

Continuing to explain that she'd caught her neighbor peering into her living room twice, the original poster said she resorted to simply closing the curtains, but that wasn't enough.

But after catching him spying from his balcony once more, the original poster said her neighbor's binoculars fell into her backyard, where she quickly snapped them up.

"He came knocking on my door, asking how I was [doing] and whatnot," OP wrote. "He then brought up the binoculars and said that they 'must've fell in your backyard earlier today'...[and] said something about his kids probably messing with them.

"I said I have them but I won't give them to him unless his wife comes and gets them herself," OP continued. "He looked at me shocked and angry and said that these binoculars are his, and they're special because he has them from when he was in the military.

"He threw a fit saying he can't send her because then she'll 'misunderstand' the situation. I told him there is [no] misunderstanding if their kids [were] really the ones using the binoculars," OP added. "He's been complaining about me wanting 'to stir drama' and keeps demanding I return his binoculars...and leave his wife out of it."

Moving into a new neighborhood is stressful. Moving into a new neighborhood with a next-door neighbor who isn't shy about his surveilling tendencies is even worse.

The stereotypical image of a spying neighbor has transformed drastically with the proliferation of video doorbells and the increasingly looming presence of cell phone cameras.

However, as is shown by the viral Reddit post, the lurking neighbor using binoculars to spy through the curtains still exists.

Earlier this year, a survey published by LendingTree revealed that 73 percent of people living in the United States don't like at least one of their neighbors, with 28 percent citing "weird vibes" as the root of their dislike.

In 2017, a separate survey conducted by Homes.com also revealed that more than a third of Americans have had severe issues with at least one neighbor, with 36 percent reporting that those issues have turned into full-blown arguments.

Towards the end of her viral post, the original poster said her neighbor became infuriated when she refused to give back his binoculars, and that their disagreement did eventually transform into an argument—an argument that she refused to lose.

Throughout the comment section of the viral Reddit post, Redditors commended the original poster for standing firm and called out her neighbor for such blatant acts of surveillance.

"[Not the a**hole]," Redditor u/countingpickles wrote in the post's top comment, which has received more than 22,500 upvotes. "Honestly, good for you for standing your ground on it.

"The whole situation is creepy [as f**k]," they added. "Wait [until] he's not home and take them to the wife yourself."

"You could even take them over and give to the wife, describing her husband's behavior," Redditor u/Lurk_Again chimed in, receiving more than 1,000 upvotes.

Redditor u/emotionallydented445, whose comment has received more than 6,000 upvotes, echoed that sentiment.

"Your neighbor is a creep," they assured. "He knows he's doing something wrong and he's trying to get away with it.

"I'm sure other neighbors have noticed," they continued. "If you see creepy's wife, see if you can talk to her."

In a separate comment, which has received more than 3,500 upvotes, Redditor u/MyShoulderHatesMe advised the original poster to alert the police of her neighbor's behavior.

"I would consider filing a police report," they wrote. "He was clearly spying on you and has been.

"It's harassment," they added. "A report will help develop a pattern of behavior, if you need to file an order of protection, or pursue greater action down the line."

Newsweek reached out to u/ThrowRaBinaculoras for comment.