I recently had an argument with my brother regarding a really stupid issue. I saw him leaving the living room without turning of the tv and politely asked him to turn it off before leaving. For some reason he got mad and said he will not turn it off. I thought this was quite weird. I told him that leaving electronic devices on when they’re not in use wastes electricity and he should learn to turn them off after he’s done using them. We kept arguing back and forth about this for about 5 mins. I decided to be the bigger person and let it go.

A few mins later he enters my room and starts accusing me of hiding his laptop. I was studying using my laptop and he snatched it from me, refusing to give it back to me. He said he will not return my laptop till he finds his. This was another weird situation as I didn’t know where his laptop was. Turns out it was under a pillow that HE had used last. As he had found his laptop I asked him about 5-6 times to give me back my laptop but he rudely told me to “get up and take it myself”. He snatched my laptop away from me and refused to give it back for no apparent reason even when it was in his hand.

I told him he was being rude and he started mocking me by repeating my sentence over and over. I decided then that I would ignore him till he realises his mistake and apologises.

My main reason for doing this is not because I felt bad about what he did but because if he doesn’t learn to apologise right now, he might never learn. Today he isn’t respecting me, tomorrow he might treat his partner the same way. I feel like as his older sister it is my responsibility to teach him how to respect others and apologise when necessary.

Would I be the asshole if I continue to ignore him?