Too Far
Even the nicest people can snap if you push them too far. No matter how calm and reserved they may be, certain things can make them lose it, and after seeing the following list, who could blame them.
Here's a list of the best stories about nice people who finally snapped when their principles got challenged.
The Nice Grandpa
My grandfather was a nice funny guy. Everyone knew and loved him in our small town. One day, my cousin and I were helping him with some work, and we went to the store. There was a lot of poverty in my hometown. One of the poorer families was in the store at the time. My cousin commented about them being poor and what they were doing in the store because they couldn't afford anything anyway.
My nice grandpa grabbed him against a wall and said, "Nothing in your life makes you better than them. Right now, I'd rather have them by me than you." He then made my cousin go and apologize, and my grandfather announced that my cousin would pay for whatever they were getting. That cousin became a great social worker specializing in poverty and rehabilitation.
Forklift Meltdown
When I was working in an auto parts warehouse, one of our managers was a very quiet and collected person. On one particular day, some orders were wrong, and the ordering system was malfunctioning. He calmly went outback, started a forklift, and rammed it full speed into a massive stack of wood pallets.
When there was only a pile of wood scraps left, he turned off the lift, calmly walked back in, and continued working as if Nothing had happened.
Clean Up On Aisle Five
When working at a retail store, my manager was a very kind and soft-spoken man. I never saw him lose his temper except once. A guy in another department was stocking shelves. His name was Bill, and he was in a wheelchair. A huge gnarly-looking guy came up and started arguing with Bill and tried to pull him out of his wheelchair.
I was further up the aisle, but I started toward them because I would intervene. Out of nowhere came my manager and tackled the guy. He had him pinned down for fifteen minutes, not letting go until police arrived.
The Rehearsal
We were doing spacing rehearsal in one of our touring spaces with very limited time. Two months into the rehearsal process, the director had finally had enough of this woman having a backhanded comment about everything. She started to say something, and the director just screamed, "THE SHOW ISN'T ABOUT YOU," He threw his script to the ground so that pages flew everywhere.
It was the first time we heard him yell or curse in anger. The woman ran off stage crying. Then he calmly said, "can we get back to work, please?" And then, later, during a break, I overheard him talking to her about how he would tell everyone he knew in theatre never to hire her or work with her.
Stop Interrupting
My father-in-law is such a patient man. He's quiet, reserved, and has a great sense of humor. My mother-in-law talks a lot. She will ask you questions, and when you start to answer, she talks over you and tries to answer them herself. It's infuriating and obnoxious. She asked me a question one time, and I started to answer her. She cut me off to basically finish my answer for me and started to ask another question.
Finally, my patient, quiet father-in-law just explodes on her, basically screaming at her. "OH MY GOD! Let her actually ANSWER the question you asked! STOP interrupting!! You never let anyone finish their thought!" It was glorious, and I almost tackled him to hug him. She still does it, but that day was fantastic.
Army Man
My dad was an officer in the Army. I have always known him as soft-spoken, kind, and never gets angry. There is a law in the US that basically protects any service member nearing 20 years from being forced out to get full retirement benefits. One day he receives a call from his commanding general telling him that he will be forced put due to budget cuts army-wide.
He got up out of his seat and started yelling at the general on the phone that it was impossible due to the law since he was in the "safe zone." He started quoting section after section, yelling at the general, telling him he had fucked up and that it better be fixed. A few days later, my dad got a call again from the general. The general said, "before you say anything, let me apologize for the other day. You were 100% correct".
Eating In Peace
My dad has the patience of a saint. You never see him get angry or pissed off. He's quiet, calm, and so laid back, pretty much like me. Even when we were kids, he never gave us trouble at all. It was always Mum's job as she was strict.
Anyway, we were at the dinner table, and my siblings and I were all making noise. Suddenly, my dad slams his fists on the table and shouts, "Shut up." We all put out heads down in shock, as we had never experienced this before. I think he shocked himself that day. But no one could take it seriously.
Keep Your Appointments
When I was in elementary school, I was being teased at recess, and the teacher wasn't doing anything about it. After getting the run around at the school, he was referred to some bureaucrat at the district offices. This guy did not want to meet my father, so despite my dad making an appointment, he "wasn't in" that day.
That excuse doesn't work very well when you have labeled dedicated parking spots. The appointment was at 2 pm, so my dad blocked the car, rolled down the windows, pulled out a book, and started reading. At around 7 pm, he hears the cough of a man who wants to get someone's attention. The bureaucrat showed up at the office and was ready for his 2 pm appointment.
Chemistry Class
One of my school teachers was the most patient, kind man who would work with you until you got something, even if it meant he had to miss his lunch. There was this girl who had a big mouth. She would mess around in his class repeatedly. He always kept his cool even when she was being incredibly rude.
I don't know how she didn't get expelled. One day she was drinking Coke in Chemistry class. He repeatedly told her to stop because we were messing around with chemicals and there was a contamination risk, but she didn't listen. He slowly walked over to her desk, picked up her Coke, poured it over her head, then walked back to the front of the class and carried on teaching.
First Day
My friend and one of his other friends were riding their bikes and stashed them behind a grocery store so they could go inside and get themselves something. On their way out, a police officer asks them, "So, where did you kids hide the bikes?" My friend replies, "We put them out back." The officer then requests backup on his radio before repeatedly questioning the kids about where they stole the bikes.
What followed was a three-hour-long back-and-forth where my friend insisted the bikes were theirs. The officer was confident that they had been stolen, which resulted in them being taken to the police station. Eventually, the whole thing got sorted out, and the cop took them home. When it happened, my friend's grandmother was at the door, and the officer said, "I'm sorry. This is my first day." The grandmother replies, "And it'll be your last!"
The Quiet Kid
This quiet, nerdy Asian guy I was friends with in high school was super nice. One day someone caught him in a bad mood and picked on him.
My Asian friend walked by the guy as if he were leaving the room and then whipped around behind his tormentor and threw the guy out of the room. Not just a toss. This was a back-arching, WWE-style throw, and I laughed until I cried.
At The Movies
My brother-in-law is a really soft-spoken guy who keeps to himself. That said, he's also huge. In addition, he's covered in tattoos on his head, neck, everything. So you can imagine he's a pretty intimidating guy, which is why his soft voice and very chill demeanor can be surprising. We were in a movie theater enjoying a flick when the kids behind us started acting up and throwing popcorn, talking, and generally making a ruckus.
My brother-in-law stood up, turned around, and asked them to quiet down since they disturbed everyone else. They behave for fifteen minutes but then slowly start acting up again. He stood up without a word, grabbed the lead instigator, lifted him out of his chair one-handed, pulled him in close, and yelled, "shut up." And sits him back down gently. The rest of the movie was very peaceful.
Making A Lawyer Back Down
When he was younger, probably around 17 or 18, my father got in a car accident which wasn't his fault. He happened to be in an accident with some hot-headed lawyer that threatened him physically. He told him that he would pay for it because he is a lawyer. My dad tells me that my grandfather was a very calm man that contained himself despite being able to put up a fight both physically and intellectually with most people.
My grandfather got word of this and went to the house where that lawyer lived. My grandfather fought in WWII, played semipro football, and boxed in Philadelphia. My dad does not know what happened, but they never heard from that lawyer again, and he got a new car. My grandfather took what he did that day to the grave.
Playing In Silence
When we were 12 or 13 years old, a friend of mine was the Gameboy enthusiast in our class. He was the guy you gave your Gameboy to, and he did the level or boss for you with ease. Also, he was playing Gameboy on the bus ride home each day. One day a kid comes up to him and keeps turning off his Gameboy.
He shows no reaction and calmly turns it back on like Nothing happened and continues to play. The other kid keeps turning it off over and over again. So this goes back and forth for some time. When the other kid reaches for the 15th time to turn off the Gameboy, my friend, without taking his eyes from the screen, calmy intercepts his finger, breaks it and continues to silently play his game.