You never can tell what’s going to upset a neighbor. A Reddit user recently posted on the site about her quest to get her neighbor to remove a frog lawn ornament. In the post she explains that she walks through the neighborhood each day with her husband and six-year-old daughter, and that the daughter finds the frog statuette, which is holding a jar, creepy. The poster writes, “I find it really creepy… my daughter hates it. She is absolutely terrified of it. Now she refuses to go on walks.” She adds that she asked the owners to move the statuette, but they declined. She then reached out to a neighbor, who is vice president of the Homeowners Association (HOA)—who then ruled the statuette is a violation of HOA bylaws, so the frog’s owners were forced to take it down and are now being fined. The post has hundreds of comments on Reddit and has gone viral on Twitter, where it was reposted. Many commenters disapprove of the woman’s choices regarding the statue—saying she took things too far or that she’s teaching her daughter to be entitled.
Here is what she wrote on Reddit:
Recently I (35F), my husband (34M), and my daughter (6F) started to walk because of coronavirus. We've been doing the same route everyday. It is about 2 miles and there aren't a lot of cars, so it is a really good route.
Recently one of our neighbors put up a frog statuette up for display outside their house. I find it really creepy and so does my husband. My daughter hates it. She is absolutely terrified of it. Now She refuses to go on walks.
Earlier today I went to the house to ask them to move the statuette so it is no longer on display. I knocked on the door and a middle aged man, maybe 55, opened the door. I told him the situation. He seemed sympathetic, but he said that he and his wife really like the display, so they won't be taking down that statuette.
After that I talked to my next door neighbor. He is the vice president of the HOA so I was wondering if he could force them to take the statuette down. He said that the statuette might be a violation of the HOA bylaws. He went to look at it and sure enough it is. Now they're being forced to take down the statuette and are being fined for violating the bylaws.
My husband says that I took it too far. I see it differently. The statuette is destroying the aesthetics of the neighborhood and is scaring the children. AITA?
So? Did she go too far? Is there anything wrong with the lawn ornament?