I disagree. I understand the place you're coming from, but not everyone needs to be direct to fix a problem. Bringing something with you helps break the ice, and IMO may help mend fences lol sorry about the pun... can't think of a better term... lol There's no reason that neighborly relations can't BE neighborly.
When I worked in a Chinese Restaurant, the cooks HATED me. For no reason. They just decided not to like me, and made my life as a waitress HELL. (late orders, mix ups on purpose...) Eventually, I decided to take the sweet way. Started bringing donuts on Sundays to the crew. Not long after, the cooks started calling me their favorite.
When my son was in middle school, a boy who had never met me started teasing my son about how fat I was. (I wasn't, and never have been, and the boy didn't know me) It upset my son, and when he told me about it, I told him to make a joke of it. Told him to tell the boy the family was having to roll me through the kitchen door. By making a joke about it (like joking about chasing chickens being the reason for the fence) my son took the boy's power away. Since his comments no longer "bothered" my son, he stopped being a problem.
My point is, you don't have to be confrontational to fix problems. The more you can put your neighbor at ease the more likely you are to have a good outcome. I know first hand that not all solutions have to be actually talking directly about the issue.
When I worked in a Chinese Restaurant, the cooks HATED me. For no reason. They just decided not to like me, and made my life as a waitress HELL. (late orders, mix ups on purpose...) Eventually, I decided to take the sweet way. Started bringing donuts on Sundays to the crew. Not long after, the cooks started calling me their favorite.
When my son was in middle school, a boy who had never met me started teasing my son about how fat I was. (I wasn't, and never have been, and the boy didn't know me) It upset my son, and when he told me about it, I told him to make a joke of it. Told him to tell the boy the family was having to roll me through the kitchen door. By making a joke about it (like joking about chasing chickens being the reason for the fence) my son took the boy's power away. Since his comments no longer "bothered" my son, he stopped being a problem.
My point is, you don't have to be confrontational to fix problems. The more you can put your neighbor at ease the more likely you are to have a good outcome. I know first hand that not all solutions have to be actually talking directly about the issue.
