Bit of a heavy one, I know, but I found myself in a bit of a pickle recently. I have recently gone from being a bricklayer to running my own bricklaying team with bricklayers and labourers working under me. Things have been good for the most part, but unfortunately the majority of people taking on labouring roles in my area have some sort of history or even current relationship with methamphetamine. About a month ago, one such labourer had a bit of a hissy fit out of nowhere and packed up his things to go home. Then, apropos of nothing, he got right in my face and told me if I didn’t pay him, he was going to come to my house. What made the comment especially egregious is that until that point we had gotten on. He had been to my house, met my 18 month old daughter and heavily pregnant partner. Now, had I been a single man, I’m sure this wouldn’t have bothered me one iota of what it did. But, knowing that I have a child and a pregnant partner at home, and knowing that he knows that and he felt it acceptable to say such a thing, and with him right up in my face - I quickly took him by the scuff of his shirt, bent him over a pack of bricks and informed him that if he ever set foot on my property it’d be the last thing he ever did. This unfortunately massively escalated things. He stood out the front of the job with a hammer in his hand making threats for half an hour, then when he finally took off, I figured I should call my partner and tell her to lock the doors. When she didn’t answer for the third time I found myself speeding down the freeway, white knuckling the steering wheel, just to pull into the drive to see her sitting in the front room with the baby wondering why I looked like I’d seen a ghost. It’s been a month since this happened and it’s still bouncing around in my head. I saw a psych about it today and he gave me nothing. I’m torn. On one hand I feel there is a very valid opinion that I shouldn’t have responded the way I did. On the other, I feel there is an equally valid opinion that I should have responded even harder and put the fear of god into him. Am I wrong to have flipped out? What would you all have legitimately done in my situation? submitted by /u/dxdx_
Originally posted by u/dxdx_ on r/AskMen