Is there a reason to snap when someone bumps into you in a crowded public pool? Worse, is it reasonable to wear 3 ft long fins in the shallow end of a crowded public pool and react irritably when a teenager bumps into it? OP lost it when a young girl did and now won’t stop wondering whether the teenager deserved her harsh reaction. She posted about the ordeal on the “AmIThe***hole” subreddit to seek people’s reactions.
Not Your Usual Fins
OP is training to get into freediving. She needs to practice breath-holding(apnea) and general techniques to do this.
She had a problem finding a pool to let her use her fins. It took her long, but she was excited when she finally found a pool that allowed her to practice with her fins.
She describes her fins as “not the usual ones.” They are free-to-dive fins that are almost 3 ft long and are made of carbon fiber. Besides, they cost her $400. She adds that the fins are flexible and delicate.
In short, if you are using them, you must be super careful to keep them in their original state.
Watch Out for My Fins
She describes the pool she practices in as a standard type. The shallow end is 1 ft-5 ft deep, then slants to 7ft. There is also a small section about 13 ft deep for diving boards.
So OP was in the shallow-end training with a friend. The technique they were working on involved them having their face down in the water and their legs out behind them. This meant that OP’s fins were prominently sticking out.
She then felt someone bump into her right fin, so she immediately put her head out. It was a teenage girl, 15ish, that had bumped into it. OP just told her to look out for other people and returned to her exercise.
How Dare You Spoil My Expensive Fins?
As she kept training, the same teenager kept bumping into her fins. OP kept reminding her gently, but she kept doing it.
It got to a point where OP was furious, thinking how much the teenager was not just listening. To OP, the girl was only interested in looking stupid in front of her friends.
Then she bumped into the fins again, and they bent into a semi-circle shape.
She Lost It
This made OP lose it, and she started calling her an idiot and asking whether she had $400 to replace the damaged fins.
The girl burst into tears and sat by the pool for the rest of the time.
OP may have acted impulsively and now feels guilty for having acted too harshly on a young girl for what was likely an innocent mistake.
Would you consider OP the ***hole?
The Masses Weigh In
At the end of the thread, OP was labeled the ***hole. Would you agree with this? Here is what Redditors had to say.
It Is a Public Pool
One user reminded OP that it was normal for people to bump into each other in public pools, especially in shallow areas. The chances were even higher because the fins had OP at 8-9 ft long in the shallow end.
The commenter said, “YTA. You’re in a public pool. You can’t expect nobody to touch your fins…especially in the shallower area. And you’re taking up 8-9 ft of space (with fins) at a time, so you’ll inevitably get bumped. There should be a designated location for the training you need rather than a public pool with others doing their own thing. Also, do you need to have all your gear on if you’re only practicing apnea?”
Cheap Is Expensive
Many commenters noted that there should be designated areas for this kind of practice. But these cost much more. They concluded that OP did it in a crowded public pool to save money.
One user said, “There is a designated location for training, those just take good prices for practice sessions, so OP went with the free/practically free option and now is mad that the public pool is crowded.”
Full Gear for Breathing Practice?
A good number of commenters also thought OP only wanted to show off her expensive fins because she did not need them for breathing practice.
One of them said, “Pools are made for everyone to have fun, not meticulously paying attention to weirdos with 3ft fins sticking up in the air. I doubt she needs to wear them for breathing exercises anyway.”
You Are Just Looking For Attention
And finally, “She can do her breathing training w/o fins. Pool training for freediving fitness isn’t done with 3’ fins. There are even quite a few events where fins aren’t permitted, so she could train without ever wearing fins. OP is just looking for attention with her $400 fins. *****baggery clear and simple.”
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This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
