[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

My crazy aunt on my dad's side and her idiot boyfriend (now husband apparently) were in town from Lethbridge last week -- no doubt because they were here for the Alberta separatist rally at Big Four -- and reached out, asking if they could get together for a quick visit.

I had to pick between being honest or being pleasant; I chose pleasant.

I made small talk over text, then bowed out on account of my having an evening meeting with a team in a different time-zone over dinner... I neglected to mention it was happening the day after.

Being honest would have required me to say that I would rather have bird flu than have to spend time with them. He's about as abrasive and unpleasant as a sandpaper colonoscopy, and she's a complete moonbat; I don't want these people knowing where I live. Apart from some personal family history grievances I have with them, they have made their brand of right-wing politics their personalities. They spread lies and conspiracy theories on social media, advise people not to get vaccines on the back of their medical qualifications massage college certificate and some homeopath training bullѕhit, and they were the most unhelpful asѕholes when the pandemic was going on. They used to invite us over for dinner but refuse to have even a couple cans of diet Pepsi on hand for my T2 diabetic father because "aspartame is poison and we don't poison friends" -- that's VERBATIM. Oh, and now they're born-against Christians too. The kind of people who turn to Jesus tend to be the sort of people who haven't done that well with everybody else, and they're a walking Exhibit A.

By comparison, bird flu sounds fuсking lovely. I don't know who the 'visit' was supposed to be for, sure as hell couldn't have been for any sort of mutual benefit.

All of this is to say that 'family' is what you make it, and someone who is a complete drag on your sanity isn't worth the time. If your brother is that, then you gotta decide how much -- if any -- limited interaction is right for you. Our of courtesy, I did ask my parents if it was a concern to them if I decided not to see those two, and they were okay with me pushing it off, but they also understand the issue because they get to deal with it too.

Holy ####. It almost sounds exactly like my brother...

Are we...are we related?