Her fiancé's dad mocked her with a crude joke — but instantly regretted it after she asked him to explain it

Intelligence is often associated with degrees, whereas in reality, they aren't necessarily related. However, the world we live in is obsessed with educational degrees. In fact, a survey by Matthew K. Meisel, Michelle Haikalis, Suzanne M. Colby, and Nancy P. Barnett found that 71.8% of participants reported experiencing at least one form of discrimination because of their educational status. Moreover, 79.4% agreed that not having a college degree is highly stigmatized and that society views them as inferior. A woman (u/rare-speed9374) who had to drop out of college to make ends meet experienced it years later when her fiancé's dad mocked her 'intelligence' in front of his whole family. The woman, however, confronted him and refused to stay silent, leaving the to-be FIL embarrassed. She posted the incident on Reddit on December 15.

The woman, 26, left college at 19 to work full-time to support herself. While she never took pride in leaving her education incomplete, she had no other option but to drop out. "I worked my way up in sales and now make really good money without a degree," she explained. The woman met her fiancé when she was 24, and within six months, his sister brought up her education in front of the whole family. "It was awkward af. Yes, I dropped out. Yes, he knows. Yes, he doesn't care. He has his degree, but respects that I took a different path," the woman wrote.

Ever since his family found out that she hadn't finished her college, they left no opportunity to mock her. Her partner, however, took a stand every time it happened, and things eventually got better. Life continued, and she found out that she was pregnant a while after her partner proposed to her. When the couple broke the news to his family, his mom pulled the woman aside and asked if she was ready to have a baby without a degree. "She gave me this whole speech about how she just wants to make sure I can 'provide intellectually' for the baby," the woman recalled. Anyhow, they moved past the topic until a gathering at her partner's parents' home.

"We were joking about what traits the baby might get. My FIL said something about how his whole family is really good at math and all his kids got that gene. Then he goes, 'But how do we know if the baby will be smart? Could go either way,' and looks at me. He and his brothers started laughing," the woman said. Her partner was obviously pissed, but before he could say anything, she jumped in, asking her father-in-law to explain his joke. The woman repeatedly asked him to explain his joke until he got embarrassed. "I kept saying, 'But everyone laughed, so it must be funny, explain what's funny about it,'" she recalled. The FIL was so embarrassed that he left the room. Later, her partner's family asked her to apologize to his dad. 

Meanwhile, the woman's post went viral on Reddit, with almost everyone supporting her for standing her ground. For instance, u/untouchable_pro_max commented, "I think it's the other way around; he is the one who needs to apologize for questioning your intelligence because you didn't go to college. You need to stand your ground."

Similarly, u/inevitable_junket555 said, "NTJ, making someone explain their mean joke until they realize how awful it sounds is chef's kiss level boundary setting. The fact that he couldn't even explain it without looking like an asshole proves it wasn't actually a joke; it was just him being cruel."

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