Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.

Listener discretion is advised.

Hello and welcome to season 6 and the final episode of 2019, Episode 153 of Sword and Scale.

A show that reveals that the war monsters are real.

Well here we are in the final episode of 2019 and in case you haven't noticed there has been a bit of a common theme at the latter part of this season.

And that's to stop being dicks to each other.

Look we all have to live here on this planet and sometimes we get so consumed with how we've been wronged that we become blind to our own actions and what we do to others.

During this holiday season let's take a minute to reflect on our own actions and see if we can enter the new year as reinvented individuals.

Let's leave behind all this horrible fucking toxicity online and realize that at the core, even if we disagree with each other, we're all just human beings and we all deserve a little compassion.

Or don't. I don't know, I'm not your dad. But this next story is very much about that sentiment.

In the meantime, don't forget to check out our sister shows Sword and Scale Daily and Sword and Scale rewind.

And if you want more Sword and Scale, check out our premium service called Plus at Sword and Scale.com slash Plus. For instant access to 60 stories, you will not hear on the regular feed.

That's it and now on with the show.

Hey, have you ever had a bad neighbor? Like a really bad neighbor? Maybe they talk too loud? Smoked a lot of cigarettes? Stay up late at night? Hacking and coughing? Or maybe they're the equidoreans that moved into the house next door to mine in Miramar and would play reggaeton until two o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday night?

Maybe instead they just like to do construction a lot. Add all sorts of unlicensed parts to their home. Screw building codes. Let's just put up an extra room. The saw and the sander going all night.

Or maybe they're hoarders with a bunch of old furniture and car parts scattered on the lawn, spilling onto the street.

You know it's a classy joint when they have an outdoor TV propped on a bucket next to a launcher. Oh and God help you if someone next door is in a band.

The worst thing about a bad neighbor is that they're right there all the time. Constantly disturbing you in the one place you should be most comfortable. The sanctity of your own home.

I mean what do you do? Do you try confronting them about issues? I mean you still got to live there and then you're going to have a neighbor that hates you all the time next door given you a side eye.

Or do you pass it aggressively, awkwardly flag them down as they're pulling out of their driveway? Do you call the cops? I mean I have many many many times.

It may be a little uncomfortable when you think about just how little you really know about people living right next door to you.

This story takes place in Titusville, Florida, which is just east of Orlando, but it could be really any neighborhood.

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