How do I get past this problem?
I used to give people a lot of rides all over the place and I didn't mind so much, but over time they started getting more and more annoying, always trying to sneak drugs into my car or not paying up for gas money so I upped prices to discourage it and started pretty much subtweeting people that did stuff like them to get lost on Twitter so now it's really only down to a few people.
These two girls constantly go places and have me pick them up, I don't mind so much, it get more money in my tank than I went in with. However, one of them realized I wasn't always putting it all into gas(which is my right as the driver who charges people for doing them a favor) and now she holds it over my head like it's a privilege to get the money for gas from her and goes and pays for it all to go in the tank deliberately to make sure that's the only place it goes, and she tells the other girl to do that too whenever I give her a ride; one day when I asked her to just give me the other of the $10 and she got annoyed and said, "You know I'm giving you the money for gas" like I was taxicab who had no real say in the matter where it goes. My friend pointed this out to me and said it was messed up that she was trying to flex over me like that when I was doing her a favor. So I got real mad about this and decided to stop giving them rides if it included the girl who always paid. I haven't been really answering her phone calls all the time and usually just give her some excuse(which is usually a true but exaggerated one, because I'm sure like many of you it makes me feel physically ill to lie)
Now she's wising up to it and getting pissed off and subtweeting things on Twitter like I was being a jerk for refusing to get them today and how I always talk about how I never want people to screw me over and how I'm screwing them over so it's a double standard, and it's getting to me and making me feel terrible. But at the same time, I've gotta finally stand up for myself, because I'm tired of that kind of disrespect when I really am doing her a favor, and not a guaranteed service.
I can't be direct about it with her because I'll get too angry to think logically if we get in an argument and I feel like she's going to start saying more personal things out loud just to get back at me that might make me look bad to my other friends and try to fight to make me do it again. I don't even want to hear about it if this if I'm around her.
I feel terrible about all this but I need to get my self-respect back at the same time and this is one of the steps to do it, what should I do?
Next time it comes up, explain that it's irrelevant what you spend the money on, since it's effectively borrowing it from yourself until you top-up again, or since you're covering what you've already spent on gas. Maybe if you ask them for the money as soon as they get in the car, that'll bring it up, then if they refuse, kick them out and drive off, it might teach them a lesson.
From your description of their behavior, I'm guessing they are trying to get out of paying as much, or suspect you're a drug addict, or something like that.
If the problem is that you're taking more than you need for gas, remind them that there's effort put in to doing it, and that charging considerably less (I assume) than taxis is a favour. Maybe also that if you're going to do it frequently, then it's more than just a favour.
I'm definitely not drug addicted, and she smokes too, she just doesn't like that the money goes anywhere other than my gas tank but it's really not her decision to make and I'm tired of such disrespect. That she even took offense to it like this shows she's gotten too comfortable with it, to the point where I can't even not do it, her and her friend just plan s**t around me being able to pick her up from everywhere, which I didn't mind so much, I'm never really too busy, but when she took it upon herself to go above my head with the gas money and act like it was a privilege for her to actually pay for the gas used to haul her around, that's when I realized something was wrong.
I just wish I felt more like I was actually entitled to my own opinion though, but apparently if I'm not man enough to argue and fight over something I'm completely in charge of just to say no, then it means I'm the one that's wrong?
People don't understand what goes into driving, and they especially don't know what going into driving for someone with Asperger's who's only been driving since March. This on it's own has made me feel terrible.
I just hope people see it from my point of view and that it doesn't get any more dramatic than this. Everybody in our mutual group of friends knows I've never done anything to slight them ever, and I'm pretty sure she still can't touch me on that, I just hope people can see past the vagina and realize that.
True, but you also can't let people blackmail you: "If you don't give us rides, we'll say terrible things about you." real friends will understand and know the truth.
_________________
?No great art has ever been made without the artist having known danger? ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
True, but you also can't let people blackmail you: "If you don't give us rides, we'll say terrible things about you." real friends will understand and know the truth.
All the girls in our group have been sticking together lately and causing lots and lots of drama for no reason because of this one other girl that came back and started doing it, and hopefully like me, the other guys are getting tired of it. Looking at this and everything else for the past year, having girls as friends is a burden. For the most part, they're just a liability to a guy like me. I'll either get too attached to them or they'll just walk all over me and think only they can be right about anything which isn't good for me at all as evidenced by this situation.
Well, now it's pretty much to that point where there's only one guy I give rides to, he's actually the one that made it clear what she was doing
But I can't help but wonder if she was really was looking for me like she said by deciding where the money goes, or if she was just lying to justify holding it over my head so that I didn't make any profit on it. Either way, she's wrong for that in addition to taking it for granted that I would say yes every time she asked for a ride(she was saying how I screwed her and her friend by not picking them up last night even though they asked hours in advance and didn't reply back to me saying no until less than an hour before), though I can't help but feel like I burned a bridge in the name of self-preservation(which I'm terrible at anyway) when she was possibly just trying to help, when it could've maybe easily been avoided by confrontation, but I just can't do confrontation because I can't handle it when it goes bad. I hate when it feels like my fault just because I can't do confrontation though
I don't know how it works in the states, but in the UK if you use a personal vehicle for business use you get paid a mileage allowance, which is over and above the cost of fuel. This is because there are costs incurred beyond the simple cost of fuel, such as
1. Expenses of keeping the vehicle legally on the road e.g. MOT, insurance, road tax
2. Depreciation on the vehicle (mileage will affect the resale value)
3. Wear and tear on the vehicle
So it is not unreasonable to charge a little over the simple cost of fuel to your friends if you so wish, not to mention the fact that you are providing your time for free. If you feel that what you are charging them is reasonable than it is their choice whether they accept it or not - if they are not willing to pay you then they can make alternative travel arrangements. If they choose to publicly criticise you as a result then that is down to their bad character, not yours, and in the long run you will be better off without them. Any true friends you have will recognise that.
Im just Piping up here to Confirm what Tom and LBC have said.
1) You put money into your tank already - so if your tank is currently full you should get nothing? That makes no sense. This is probably the easiest argument to make, like tom said , its all YOUR money, some of it you spend on gas, some on food, whatever. Its really just borrowing it from yourself.
2) Your car has Insurance, Oil, Brake Fluid, Transmission fluid, Winshield Washer Fluid, Antifreeze, Wiper Blades, Parking Tix, Tires, and probably some other recurring operating costs that i forgot.
The next time she sub-tweets that crap thats what YOU sub-tweet. This is an attempt to embarass you or socially pressure you into doing things HER WAY. However , Im not trying to tell you to try to get into a "Cult Of Personality" war with an NT. YOU WILL LOSE EVERY TIME. Theyre just better at it than we are, so dont let her sucker you into playing her game. Play fair like a good aspie and beat her down with the facts of the situation. Facts are immutable and that will frustrate the HELL out of her.
3) Yes, your time is valuable. You stopped doing something else to do this FOR THEM... HOWEVER , dont get into subjective arguments like that, again, NTs will wear you out like a chewtoy. Just stick to the facts above and youll fare better believe me. Itl go somethign like:
*request money*
"oh Im not giving it to you, Ill give it to the cashier"
"no, I need to pay my Insurance later, having insurance is part of what helps me get you around."
OR:
"no I have to get my Oil Changed at some point, cars dont just run on gas alone you know"
OR:
"No, I need new Brake Pads at some point, or dont you want to be able to stop the next time i pick you up?"
4) DO NOT STOP GIVING THIS GIRL RIDES in fact because of 2 reasons.
4a)She is in your Social Circle. And as much as it sucks, as unfair as it might be, NO they WONT see past the Vagina. Shes both a girl, Id bet my next Cheque that shes pretty, AND shes an NT. Dont fight battles you cant win, but this 1 is FAR from a futile cause, andif you Ostrich your head in the sand ("lay low") on this SHE will be the only point of view that is heard on this , this TOTALLY giving her free reign to take as many big steaming piles of CRAP on your good name as she likes. Screw that. Use your superior intellect, and Squash this Tick.
4b)YOU need to do this for YOU. This is an easy way to develop a social skill that you clearly do not yet posess. Think of this as an opportunity, not a crisis. Think of this girl as your teacher, or at the very least the equivalant of the frog you are Dissecting in science lab. Your opportunity here is to use HER for somethign YOU need. To learn to Manage "Viral" NTs.
And BELIEVE YOU ME youll feel AWESOME when you KNOW shes sitting there STEAMING because you didnt follow her little orders.
Steaming all the way home.
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Aspie score: 181 of 200
neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 21 of 200
AQ score: 42
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