I’ve just been out for food with parents (60’s) and nana (80’s) and I don’t know why I go as they leave me disheartened every time damn time.
In the short span of a couple of hours they (mainly my nana but parents will have silly views too) managed to comment on the number of black athletes at the Olympics (somehow being a bad thing), shit on the upcoming Para-olympics (quote: disabled people should just accept their lot and not try sport), protesters (of any kind) and questioning if any protests have ever been successful, to which I answered the suffragette‘s we’re pretty successful.
Complaining about people being spoilt these days at the same time as my nana confessing she was given food in a bowl at my aunties and refused to eat it unless it was on a plate (seems pretty spoilt to me). Asking for things to be like when she was younger, to which I asked if she was a fan of Nazi Germany as she grew up post WWII.
I guess I am wondering how can I come from a family that seemingly has no compassion for anybody and even less empathy for anybody different than them. They make me angry at times and I know I can be annoying my always challenging their bullshit views, but I can’t sit there and let people take utter nonsense like this.
I haven’t even covered half the awful stuff they say and their warped ideals.
Edit: The other one that irritates me is them (two women ) shitting on female athletes. Like WTF if a female wants to be a footballer what skin is it off their noses. Unless they just bitter they people have more choice to be themselves now.
My folks are chill. My mom and her friends are passionately cool. My dad DGAF. He’s cool, but he’s also a charter boat captain which means lots of sportsmen so he has to be able to ignore/get along with anyone. He just gives a noncommittal grunt and steers the conversation back to fishing.
My father in law is okay. Ex cop so opposite of ACAB. Spouts Fox News bullshit, but he sat out the last election because he has like 8 granddaughters and at least one gay grandson. He’s a good guy as long as you don’t talk about anything political. He accepted my kid when they identified as trans for a bit. (Jury’s still out. Don’t care, they just don’t seem committed to anything right now.)
His brothers, though, what fucking assholes. I have to tolerate them for my wife’s sake because she can’t deal with family strife but I actually had to sit in a public restaurant with one of them making buck teeth and shouting “Ching Chang Chong” when saying something insulting about Asians, then “oh but now I’m racist.” Right you are, motherfucker. Disgusting. Humiliating.
My ability to even mildly rebuke them is limited by my need to keep the peace for my wife. But if I could I’d just tell them to let me know when they are done acting that way, and I’d get a drink at the bar.