How to be the most abrasive neighbor ever: theguardian . com/australia-news/2019/sep/03/vegan-takes-neighbours-to-court-in-western-australia-over-smell-from-barbecues
More on the cookout here: nypost . com/2019/09/04/thousands-to-attend-bbq-outside-home-of-vegan-who-sued-neighbors-over-smelly-meats/
Can you imagine how outrageous it would be if someone came home and smelled their Chinese Neighbors food or their Pakistani neighbors food or their Norwegian neighbors food and tried to sue over the smell? What about a Muslim suing a neighbor over eating pork, or a Hindu suing over having to see your leather seats? Home owners associations and the like can set rules like “no BBQ” or “gas grills only,” “no pets,” “no smoking” etc. even “no kids under x years” black out hours on noise, lighting rules etc. You get a copy of the rules when you move in so that you know what you’re agreeing to before you buy. If you’re concerned about those things you should ensure where you’re moving has rules you can live with.
Courtesy is a two way street. You can try to accommodate a neighbor and work around each other’s needs and schedules- communicate things like when you plan parties etc. At some point however people just have to live their lives. I mean- what if the neighbor doing BBQ said that the smell of cooking veggies makes them sick? Then no one can eat? That’s crazy.
The herring is fine, how else are we going to give the Knights of Ni a shrubbery?
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· 4 years ago
I'll gladly donate pickled herring to get the Knights of Ni their shrubbery, because I'm not a fan of pickled herring, smoked herring on the other side, now that's a treat fit for kings
Uhhh be very careful with this story, the Australian media has been having a hay day vegan bashing. She mostly took the to court for noise, lights and other domestic complaints. The neighbors are real bogans, but she included the smell of meats from the BBQ right next to her house, and all of a sudden it's a funny story.
I can see where you’re coming from with your warning and agree it’s easy to label a person a loon without first hand knowledge. I mean- if she simply complained about smoke from cigarettes and BBQ because of asthma or something I feel people might be more compassionate. We also don’t know what other things she tried first of any, before taking it to a Supreme Court- and honestly myself included I doubt many of us non Aussies are very familiar with the Australian court system. In america a Supreme Court of a district or state is a very high court and a case like this usually wouldn’t get heard before it unless it had made it through lesser courts and been handed up for lack of authority or jurisdiction of lower court to rule- or escalating appeals.
So as an American seeing a dispute between neighbors in a “Supreme Court” isn’t quite as extreme but sort of like (in a way that is internationally relatable without knowing every justice system of every country,) like if you and your sibling were fighting over the remote so went to the leaders of your government to solve it. It automatically reads a tad extreme to us.
And of course- her neighbors do sound like they COULD be terrible neighbors. Smoking close enough that she can smell it, and part of me could see them being spiteful with the BBQ and refusing to move it or do anything to address her concerns. Kids are kids but there is a difference between giggles and play and out of control. The fact most people can’t feel for a vegan sick for meat makes many laugh- but if it were something they could relate to like the kids playing drums right next to the property line while you’re trying to sleep for work or school, hung over etc. they’d probably be mad too.
That’s the danger of such disputes in personal relationships making it to the public forum. We just don’t have all the details and the subtlest thing from tone or inflection can change a polite request we could sympathize with to a demanding or rude one we’d be likely to reject on principal to spite. I can’t speak for AU, but in the US when you buy or rent property there is often a set of rules for the neighborhood and a neighborhood council. It may include things like noise, pets, smoking, working on cars, having derelict cars or junk on your property, parties, BBQ’s etc.
If you frequently or flagrantly break the rules, the association can often fine you or force you to sell your property. If there are any rules or laws these people are violating her best bet is to pursue a case based on those. If they are not violating any rules- they may be shitty neighbors but at least from my cultural perspective it is ridiculous and offensive to be able to get legal action against a person for not being up to your standards of civility.
More on the cookout here: nypost . com/2019/09/04/thousands-to-attend-bbq-outside-home-of-vegan-who-sued-neighbors-over-smelly-meats/