Living in a foreign country can be an enriching experience but it also comes with its fair share of challenges, including navigating cultural differences. A foreign resident in China – henceforth referred to as “OP” – has taken to social media to ask whether or not they’re in the wrong in regard to a dispute with neighbors.
A Sticky Surprise
OP, who has been living in China with their family for four years, recently found themselves at odds with their upstairs neighbors, who had previously lived in the same apartment they now occupy. OP wrote: “They left for a year because they got stuck in another city during COVID. When they moved back, we had already moved into the apartment they were in before. Now, they live above us.”
Loud and Obnoxious Neighbors
The trouble began when the neighbors in question started making excessive noise that disturbed other residents in the building. OP described them as “incredibly loud” and “obnoxious” and wrote: “We’re not the only ones who complain about them.”
A Forever Sticky Cross
Adding to the grievances, the neighbors are highly religious – “annoyingly religious,” according to OP. Moreover, the family had left a wooden cross on their front door during their previous stay in OP’s current apartment – but they never removed the glue or tape used to affix it, resulting in a “forever sticky cross” on the front door.
Disney Is Witchcraft
OP explained why they found their neighbors’ religious tendencies so annoying. They wrote: “The dad works with my husband and he has made it known on numerous occasions that they don’t care for Disney movies because of the ‘witchcraft’ they [portray] and that it’s evil and their son will never be allowed to watch a Disney movie.”
Hollywood Witchcraft vs. Spiritual Witchcraft
OP continued: “They’re weird about a lot of things but one thing he said really stood out to me – ‘witchcraft.’ If he really understood what witchcraft is, he probably wouldn’t have a problem with it. I have dabbled in Wiccan beliefs for the past eight years and I kind of took offense to it.”
A Revenge Plan
OP went on to explain that the neighbors have since put the cross on their new front door and keep sending pictures of it to work group chats, which OP’s husband is in. OP wrote: “When [my] husband showed me the latest picture, I lost it. I instantly went [online] and ordered a bunch of DIY crafting supplies to make my own pentagram door wreath. They have to pass our floor to get to their floor, so they’ll be forced to see it as they go up. If they’re going to parade around their religion, then I’m going to do the same.”
Taking to Social Media
OP, while happy with their plan, felt conflicted. While they wanted to cover up the “forever sticky cross” left on their front door, and while they wanted to get their own back on the neighbors for being so “annoyingly religious,” they couldn’t help but wonder if they were in the wrong – so they took to social media to find out.
The Internet Responded
OP’s post now has over 1,000 likes and over 300 comments. For the most part, people felt they did nothing wrong. “It’s not like you’re putting up a sign that says ‘I hate Christians.’ Just expect them to harass you for it. If you’re lucky, you can get the complex to ban all external religious symbols,” one person said.
Flaunting Religious Lifestyles
Another person wrote: “I wouldn’t even call you petty if it was a retaliation. What they are doing is disrespectful to other people who have different belief systems. They shouldn’t flaunt their religion and lifestyle. They should keep it for themselves.”
Christianity’s Pagan Roots
Further justifying OP’s actions, another commenter said: “Those people need to be reminded that many Christian traditions, like Christmas trees, Easter eggs, and many more – all these are from Pagan traditions. Some can even argue the actual cross itself has Pagan roots.”
Religion in China
Others expressed concern for OP. “Hi, please check what is acceptable in China before you do this. Just some advice,” one person said. “Yes, we will be checking with the Chinese staff,” OP later confirmed.
A Lack of Protections
A few people echoed the aforementioned commenter. One wrote: “Might be safer to put up images of Disney princesses or witches. Wicca doesn’t have the same protections under Chinese law that Protestants or Catholics do. It’s possible that they can make trouble for you.”
An Important Warning
Some people also issued OP a warning – but for different reasons. One person said: “I think you should maybe reconsider. Religious zealots can be completely unhinged, especially when it comes to what they consider witchcraft. They can view it as a direct threat to their safety and the safety of their children.”
A Personal Holy War
The commenter continued: “The last thing you’d want to do would be to rile up some Christian zealots and have them wage their own personal ‘holy war’ against you. Just whatever you do, be careful and do not underestimate the crazy that can come from Christianity.”
Incredibly Obnoxious Neighbors
Another wrote: “Your neighbors are incredibly obnoxious and I’m sorry that you have to deal with that. However, expect to deal with a bunch of headache and drama from them when you put up your Wiccan wreath.”
The Wrong Reasons
Others had mixed views. One person wrote: “You are not [in the wrong] for wanting to display your beliefs nor for wanting the neighbors to not be so ridiculous. You are slightly [in the wrong] for wanting to display your beliefs just to irk the neighbors though.”
Simply Wanting to Offend
A fair few echoed the aforementioned individual. Another said: “Everyone sucks here. Them for pushing their beliefs on others and you for using religion as a prop against people you don’t like. You aren’t putting symbols of your religion up in order to practice your beliefs. You simply want to offend others.”
OP Hit Back
In response, OP wrote: “We were told it was illegal to display anything religious outside our homes, which is why we hadn’t done it yet. We were only recently told that we live on private property and it was okay to display on our doors. If it wasn’t illegal, I would have brought my pentagram wreath we had displayed on our door in the States and displayed it four years ago.”
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