Homeowner asks elderly neighbors to stop parking in his driveway, they refuse and tell him he’s being “too rigid”: ‘[They] suddenly started to use my driveway, first for a couple of hours and by now they are just straight up occupying it’ – FAIL Blog

It’s nice to do things for other people, after all, it feels good and “right” and is a reminder of the importance of the almost entirely eroded social contract. But, give some people an inch and they’ll take a mile. Any sign of perceived weakness or a soft point that they can work their way into, and you’ll have invited something (or someone) into your life that is going to keep working its way in as far as it possibly can. It starts off with letting your neighbor park in your driveway, and before you know it, you’re tucking them into your bed in the evening. 

While in today’s world, the idea of being direct with someone may seem off-putting and impolite, there’s nothing impolite about effective communication and setting reasonable boundaries. And, setting firm boundaries is an absolute necessity in some instances.

When this homeowner found his elderly neighbors were parking in his driveway, it started off as an occasional thing, but quickly escalated into the older couple “straight up occupying” his driveway with their vehicle. He realized he needed to put a stop to this quickly and tried to set boundaries with them, to which they immediately started playing the victim. 

Bewildered, the homeowner turned to this online community to see if he was in the wrong for being so firm and direct with them. Readers encouraged him to stick to his decision, citing concerns like possible issues with liability should he turn a blind eye to their behavior.