I'm starting to piss off Republican friends and family

[Grammy23]

145. My Problem is the people I'm having issues with are my son and DIL

My husband and I have been the Odd Balls in the family for quite a few years since we consistently vote Democratic. Last election we had an Obama sign in our yard (at our peril, I might add, since we live in NW FLorida.....a hotbed of ultra conservatism). We tried talking to various relatives to no avail. They were all determined to stick with the Repubs, in spite of the Train Wreck Bush turned out to be. The fear and lies presented about Obama and his DARK SKIN kept a lot of our relatives squarely in the Republican camp. We talked to our son and DIL but could not make any headway with them. It really grieves me that our son has moved away from the way he was raised but it is a fact.

Recently we tried to engage them again in conversation about the election hoping to get them to understand the lies and distortions that have been made about Obama. In addition, we have real fears for their financial well being, as well as ours, if the country is turned back into the hands of the same people who drove us off the cliff during the Bush years. The conversation ended badly and there were hard feelings all around. There is NO getting through to them. They repeat the right wing talking points and a lot of the same rhetoric you hear on the right wing news channels.

But here is the REALLY big thing for me. The MAJORITY of their hateful, mean spirited attitude comes from their CHURCH. They have become members of a church that is Independent of any national affiliation. And they get a steady diet why they should take a hard line against the poor and needy. And they back it up Biblically by cherry picking verses that support that view. My DIL had the nerve to tell me (via FB) that it is the job of the church to take care of the poor and when I pointed out to her that they are failing miserably, in spite of their best efforts, she took major offense to that but admitted that is true. Having worked in a non-profit related health agency, I know a tad bit about the poor and needy in this country. SHE has never held a paying job since she worked at K-Mart prior to her marriage to our son. I tried to say that the numbers are just too high for the churches to handle this problem alone. Without some government programs, there are going to be a lot of hungry people, homeless citizens and people who have to resort to the ER for ALL of their medical care.

I have a real problem with anyone who claims to be a Christian and then conveniently ignores all the words written in RED in the Bible. You know, the ones that their Lord and Savior allegedly spoke. And they do ignore them, preferring to refer to the words of Paul or another writer in the Bible who say things like, "He who is able and does not work, shall not eat." Guess THEY get to decide who is able and who "deserves" help. I, by the way, was raised Christian but have since abandoned the organized church but not necessarily the things I was taught about "loving one another", "do unto others, as you would want done unto you".

In any case, it's hard not to call them hypocrites and, in all honesty, I admit I probably suggested that they are hypocrites, since anyone who glosses over/ ignores the admonition by Jesus to take care of the poor, sick, lame, hungry etc. and still says they are Christian meets the definition of hypocrite to me.

So it's a sad thing for me and we have reached a stalemate. My DIL posted something on FB earlier this week that I know beyond a shade of a doubt was intended to bait me into a response. I completely lost my cool and ranted and raved for quite a while. I did have presence of mind NOT to respond but it hurt me more than words can say. I feel like it has changed my relationship with her and my son forever. I am not sure SHE knows this yet since we have not talked nor communicated since then. It grieves me to know that we can never talk about this again without raising the battle flags, no matter how hard I try to remain calm and not be baited into an argument. They know my hot buttons and are not afraid to push them. It takes all the effort I can muster not to get drawn into this drama because I know that their lives WILL be negatively affected if the election is won by Romney. They simply refuse to discuss any of the facts because they would rather vote for a man they think belongs to a cult, but who has disavowed his previous stance on abortion. The Gay Marriage Issue is another thing that strongly influences their thinking. And they let those two things (neither of which will ever affect them personally) influence their thinking and voting. None of the economic issues has as much hold over their thinking as abortion and gay rights. And their church just reinforces this over and over.

I think I could deal with all of this if it were not for my three grandchildren. I love them and they love me. The thought of limiting my contact with them because of the relationship I have with their father and mother over the political situation is just not something I can do. I will swallow my pride, keep my mouth shut and suffer in silence so I can be with my grandchildren. I just hope that my son and DIL do not find out the hard way how difficult their lives can be if the Republicans are back running this country from the Presidency and other branches of the government. I honestly do not think the working class/middle class can take much more from these thugs and thieves.

Sorry for this lengthy post, but there are few people I can talk to about this......one is my niece and another is my husband and he is worn out with this! So I come to DU and lurk, read other posts and find people who think more like I do. Thanks for the safe place where some of us outcasts can hang out and find solace.