I took my sister's car keys and hid them to stop her from driving drunk.
By @reesefr · Family
My older sister got wasted at a family dinner this weekend and was about to drive home. I told her not to, she wouldn't listen, so I took her keys from her purse and refused to give them back. She thinks I crossed a line and treated her like a child.
The full story
My sister (32F) has always been a partier, but it’s gotten worse since her divorce. We had a family dinner at my parents' house on Saturday. She had at least five or six glasses of wine, maybe more, and was visibly intoxicated—slurring her words, stumbling a bit. Around 10 PM, she announced she was leaving. I (28M) immediately told her she was in no condition to drive. My parents agreed and offered to let her sleep over or pay for her a rideshare. She got super defensive. they insisted she was 'totally fine' and that she 'does this all the time' which is… not reassuring. She started getting loud, accusing us of judging her and trying to control her life. She grabbed her purse to leave and I just… snapped. While she was putting on her shoes, I walked over to her purse, took the car keys out, and put them in my pocket. I told her calmly, 'I’m not letting you drive. I will call you an a rideshare, or you can stay here, but you are not getting behind the wheel.' She absolutely lost it. She started screaming that I had no right to steal from her, that I was humiliating her in front of our parents, and that she's a grown woman who can make her own decisions. The fight got ugly. My dad ended up having to physically stand between us. Eventually, she wore herself out, and my mom convinced her to stay in the guest room. She sobered up and drove home the next morning without saying a word to me. Now she's texting me saying I was completely out of line, that I 'assaulted' her by taking her property, and that I treated her like a criminal instead of a sister. they says she would have been fine and I just wanted to feel superior. I feel like I did the only thing I could do to prevent a tragedy, but the way I did it has seriously damaged our relationship. My parents are on my side, but they also think I could have been less confrontational. I don't see another way it could have gone down where she actually listened.
How people voted
- Side A — 33% (41 votes)
- Both — 38% (48 votes)
- Side B — 29% (36 votes)
Readers are split: “Both” leads with 38% — 125 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@judehm — nahhh
@yaraok — She's mad because you held a mirror up to her behavior.
@umay — Oh I would hold this over her head forever. Anytime she asks for anything, 'sorry, can't, you might have been drinking.'
@mmkay — soft.
@xenay — wow what a fun and normal family dynamic.
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