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Imagine having a sibling who only contacts you when they need a favor. Would you be willing to help them out, or would you cut them off?
In this story, one man is in that situation with his sister. The most recent favor she wants is to borrow his expensive camera gear.
He doesn’t want to let her borrow it, but he feels kind of guilty about saying no.
Let’s read all the details.
A few months ago, my sister asked to borrow my photography gear (worth around €10k). She hasn’t worked in a few years and wants to start something new.
She’s always had a good eye for photography, and her boyfriend runs a popular travel/Portugal Instagram account, so she thought it could be a way to get started.
He doesn’t think this is a good idea.
Even though I’m not shooting much right now because I’m busy renovating an old farmhouse, I told her I wasn’t comfortable lending it.
It’s expensive, and neither of us could afford to replace it if something happened. Most of it is insured, but I really don’t want to deal with the hassle if anything goes wrong.
He called his sister’s boyfriend about coming to visit.
Fast forward to today — I called her boyfriend to plan a surprise visit next Monday (they live up north, about a 5-hour drive from me).
He said it wasn’t a good idea because they have chickens and ducks that roam freely, and I have two small dogs.
I offered to keep them on a leash and take them for walks, but he still said no.
His sister has obviously been complaining a lot about the camera to her boyfriend.
Then, out of nowhere, he brought up the camera again — saying I should be a “good brother” and lend it to my sister.
I repeated that I wasn’t comfortable with that, mentioned the cost again, and he started guilt-tripping me, saying I’m not a good brother and that she’s done a lot for me (??).
I even offered my old Canon 6D, which is still a great camera, but he said no — that the new one is better and that it’s “just collecting dust” anyway, so I should lend it to them.
His sister only contacts him when she wants a favor.
For context: my sister and I haven’t seen each other in almost a year. Most of the time she calls, it’s to ask for a favour.
We actually had an argument last October because I said no to babysitting her dog when I couldn’t. She didn’t contact me again for five months — and when she finally did, it was to ask for another favour (“Hey, we’re moving to the north, come help! Do you still have your camper van? It’d be super helpful with the move!”).
I’m honestly tired of this pattern.
I don’t think I’m being selfish — it’s my professional gear, my livelihood, and I just want to protect it. Still, the guilt tripping got to me a bit.
He’s right to say no. It’s his camera. It’s expensive. And his sister is a mooch.
Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.
This person urges him not to give in.
He clearly doesn’t have a very good relationship with his sister.
Here’s a suggestion to turn the tables.
Nobody’s stopping his sister from buying her own camera.
She might have an ulterior motive.
He shouldn’t feel guilty about saying no.
If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.
