That did not go quite as planned...

[Quartz]

@Li'l Pluck

Are you really as bad as all that?

Oh, I’m pretty damn good - that made his insult all the worse - it’s just that my brother is vastly better.

[Quartz]

And thanks everyone for the kind words and the good advice.

[Caridwen]

I’m really sorry this happened to you and can understand why you’d be hurt.

I’ve seen this done to people and it makes me almost sick thinking about it. A guy I know was very wild in his youth and got in all sorts of trouble. By 18 or so he really turned his life around. He has his own business and a great wife and kids. I’m in their company a lot and his parents never miss an opportunity to bring up the past and berate this guy. This is almost 20 years later. He doesn’t say anything but I can tell by the look on his face how hurt his is. I feel like grabbing his mother by her chicken neck and choking her. The sad thing is he really cares about his parents in spite of this.

Don’t think this goes unnoticed by others.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

Habitually lunching with the nobs, father disapproving, are you by any chance Prince Charles?

[Anne_Neville]

@Spectre of Pithecanthropus

Habitually lunching with the nobs, father disapproving, are you by any chance Prince Charles?

If his dad is Prince Philip, that’s far from the first insensitive remark he’s ever made…

@Nava

Campion, is your Dad my Mom? When did (s)he get a sex change?

I didn’t know that about Prince Philip! You need to get in touch with some British tabloids right away

[Quartz]

@Spectre of Pithecanthropus

Habitually lunching with the nobs, father disapproving, are you by any chance Prince Charles?

I have, in fact, met Prince Phillip - no more than a ‘Hello’ - and he didn’t insult me. I was crushed :D.

[gigi]

@uglybeech

It’s funny. that’s exactly what I was thinking as I was reading what you wrote.

For most humans being your dad does entitle him to a place in your life. It’s called having a family. You get mad, you indulge in another night of dysfunctional self-medication or you continue the cycle of abuse – whatever – but you don’t jettison your own father over a snide comment.

I’m an adult, and my parents are supposed to be my friends by now. If one of my friends insulted me in front of a roomful of people, I’d think twice about our relationship. My parents decided to bring me into this world, they did what they were required to do in the way of taking care of me, and now we’re even. We can now choose whether to be friends with one another.

[Anne_Neville]

@uglybeech

For most humans being your dad does entitle him to a place in your life. It’s called having a family. You get mad, you indulge in another night of dysfunctional self-medication or you continue the cycle of abuse – whatever – but you don’t jettison your own father over a snide comment.

The sad truth is, though, that some people do or say things that are so hurtful to other members of their family, that the others are better off not including that family member in their lives. I’m not saying this is necessarily an example of that, but it does happen. Not every family relationship is worth saving, just like not every marriage is worth saving. You wouldn’t argue that someone should maintain a relationship with their spouse who regularly beats them, right? And it’s not just physical abuse that can make a relationship not worth saving- emotional or verbal abuse can be just as harmful.