Salam

I hope you are well in this blessed month.

I've been mulling over posting this for a number of days as its something that's really bugging me. Relates to an elderly neighbor who i was once close with but due to his mental health issues and all to frequent episodes of making far fetched allegations about other people I have distanced myself from him. I have no ill feeling towards jim in view of his ill health but due to personal circumstances I feel my energy needs to be prioritised elsewhere. I have a young family and I feel its only right to focus on them.

Now the individual in question is someone I avoid interacting with as he has a tendency to create drama and will always play the victim . Despite this I have found myself in a situation with him i admittedly could have handles better.

I was at a local park with my child and his child was also playing with my child. They get on well and this hasn't been a problem. Now my neighbour came to the park and had a brief conversation with his child. The child reacted dismissively which was not appropriate but i just continued watching over my child.

I'd made a few comments as i usually do as my child and his friend were having a laugh with me. I responded in a joking manner that you shouldn't make fun of people as some people can not take banter in the manner it's intended. I always make comments like this to my child. Lo and behold a short while later the neighbor accuses me and my child along with his friend of laughing at him. I regrettably reacted in a disrespectful manner which I cannot justify.

However i find it hard to tolerate somoene making accusations about me for merely joking with my child. unfortunately the neighbour is a very suspicious individual and has made various wild accusations about friends and family. Now in hindsight it could be argued I should not have made the comment given the paranoid tendencies of the neighbour.

My intention in making the comment was not targeting him at all. I am all to aware of how he thinks and it would be utterly idiotic of me to even think of making any comment towards him. In fact if anything i have stopped his own family from make comments that could be wrongly insinuated by him.

Now the thing is his child was dismissive of him which is quite embarrassing for a parent in a public place especially when there are others around. I feel i am being made a scapegoat for no reason. If he has an axe to grind it should be with himself as his own children are fed up of his all too frequent episodes. Wallahi i and the larger community all want the best for him but he always questions the intentions of anyone trying to assist him. There's always an ulterior motive yet he will happily ignore incidents with his own children such as being diamissed publicly like he was just to keep them on his side. That's his right as a father but it screams of double standards when you're making a point of comments others make.

Now how do i deal with this situation as depsite trying to stay out of his way i invariably find myself in this situation. It's not about me but the fact the park which is supposed to be a safe space for children is used by the neighbour to create needless drama. Naturally this has a bigger affect on children than adults.

Wslm