This guy sounds like a piece of work….I think you’re handling the situation quite well. I, on the other hand, would’ve gone off on him resulting in a very ugly confrontation. Lately, I’ve found that I need to really work toward seeing the good/divine in people that irritate me. It’s so challenging. I think that most people have the capacity to be decent human beings. Some more than others. We’ve been given free will to choose the way we will respond in situations. Unfortunately, the choice is usually self-centered and detrimental.

I think you’re right on track about him probably being hurt as a young child. People get stuck in a rut of responding in immature and child-like ways much like they would’ve responded around the age they were traumatized. Your neighbor being like a bully is his response to being hurt, it’s probably his way of protecting himself from pain. Kinda like a “I’ll hurt you first before you can hurt me” mind-set. That way he can keep people at a distance.

In order to break out of this rut amd learn new ways of reacting in a more mature manner, we need to want to change. This is the hard part b/c some people don’t even realize the need to change. Your neighbor is probably thinking….”It’s the other person’s fault that my life is so miserable”. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that you, of all the people that could have lived next to him, are his neighbor. Maybe you’re the person that has been placed in his path as a chance to change. I bet most people he’s crossed paths with have not been very patient and calm with him as you have.

I’ve found your blog to be very interesting. I look forward to reading more.

Take Care.