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(Slate)   My kids are revolting. And they don't like Aunt Ruth. Do they have to talk to her at Thanksgiving?   (slate.com) divider line
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    More: Amusing, Vaccine, Vaccination, You Are Not Alone, Family, Influenza vaccine, Influenza, Mother, Sandie Shaw  
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555 clicks; posted to Discussion » on 14 Nov 2022 at 1:20 PM (18 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



28 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
Dustin_00 [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 1:08:51 PM  
Aunt Ruth is 40 years old.

She needs therapy.

Not having invested in this for the last 20 years is her fault, not your kids.
 
Chompachangas
2022-11-14 1:15:32 PM  
Can't say I blame the kids. People like that are mentally and emotionally exhausting.
 
spongeboob [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 1:28:20 PM  
Why does she want to talk to your revolting kids?
 
spongeboob [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 1:32:05 PM  
She needles them about their clothes and makeup, misses social cues when she brings up topics they don't want to discuss

And you're okay with this?

Ruth doesn't say things that are racist/sexist/homophobic, just socially clueless and sarcastic.

Oh that makes it okay

I'm of course worried about future abusive partners or even toxic friendships). What should I do?

You should also worry that they leave home and never look back if you keep forcing them to interact with her
 
Psychopusher [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 1:33:00 PM  
"But mom, I don't like aunt Ruth!"
"She's your auntie, so be nice!"
"But she shoves my face into her cleavage when she hugs me!"
"So?  Lots of aunts and moms and grandmothers do that."
"Yeah, but they don't all tell me to make a motorboat noise while shaking my head!"
 
RogermcAllen [OhFark]
2022-11-14 1:34:49 PM  
""Ruth," is childless and deeply unhappy. She has a negative and sarcastic outlook on life..."

What's her Fark handle?
 
Gramma
2022-11-14 1:48:52 PM  
I think basic civility is called for.  They need to say hello to Aunt Ruth. If Aunt Ruth asks them a question, they need to answer it. Even if the answer is akin to "Don't be such a biatch brat "
It will be good practice for when someone just like Aunt Ruth occupies the next desk over at work.
 
Rapmaster2000
2022-11-14 2:17:31 PM  
My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.
 
mcmnky
2022-11-14 2:20:40 PM  
I'll say. They stink out loud.
 
Psychopusher [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 2:21:57 PM  

Rapmaster2000: My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.


I'd never heard that one before.  Plenty of others, but growing up the Budweiser stereotype was always the mullet-sporting, baseball-hat-wearing blue collar beer of choice that inspired such Sensible Chuckle-worthy T-shirts as "Who says beer don't make you smart?  It made Bud wiser!"
 
Rapmaster2000
2022-11-14 2:25:33 PM  

Psychopusher: Rapmaster2000: My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.

I'd never heard that one before.  Plenty of others, but growing up the Budweiser stereotype was always the mullet-sporting, baseball-hat-wearing blue collar beer of choice that inspired such Sensible Chuckle-worthy T-shirts as "Who says beer don't make you smart?  It made Bud wiser!"


Yeah, to me it's just the standard beer.  It's the most popular beer so it's difficult to stereotype it to one particular group.
 
zeroman987
2022-11-14 2:27:13 PM  

Rapmaster2000: Psychopusher: Rapmaster2000: My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.

I'd never heard that one before.  Plenty of others, but growing up the Budweiser stereotype was always the mullet-sporting, baseball-hat-wearing blue collar beer of choice that inspired such Sensible Chuckle-worthy T-shirts as "Who says beer don't make you smart?  It made Bud wiser!"

Yeah, to me it's just the standard beer.  It's the most popular beer so it's difficult to stereotype it to one particular group.


Yeah! Not like those Coors swilling dutch
 
PlaidJaguar
2022-11-14 2:28:24 PM  
Good on the kids for showing solidarity.
 
Rapmaster2000
2022-11-14 2:31:13 PM  

zeroman987: Rapmaster2000: Psychopusher: Rapmaster2000: My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.

I'd never heard that one before.  Plenty of others, but growing up the Budweiser stereotype was always the mullet-sporting, baseball-hat-wearing blue collar beer of choice that inspired such Sensible Chuckle-worthy T-shirts as "Who says beer don't make you smart?  It made Bud wiser!"

Yeah, to me it's just the standard beer.  It's the most popular beer so it's difficult to stereotype it to one particular group.

Yeah! Not like those Coors swilling dutch


In a strange twist, I had a driver's ed instructor make disparaging comments about the Dutch.  Or something like that.

I grew up in NW Indiana and there is a town south of where I lived that was primarily settled by the Dutch.  It's called DeMotte.  So the guy says "Alright, we're driving down to DeMotte to pick up a student... lotta Dutch down there!"  And as we approached the town there was some guy walking on the side of the road and he said "Look at that guy.  You can tell he's Dutch."  And then something again about how you could tell this or that person was Dutch, but he never said why.  It was weird.
 
The Reverend Sam Hill [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-14 2:37:32 PM  
upload.wikimedia.orgView Full Size


Also stink on ice.
 
ltdanman44
2022-11-14 3:02:35 PM  

spongeboob: Why does she want to talk to your revolting kids?


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
buckeyebrain
2022-11-14 3:03:46 PM  
"Mommy, Mommy!  I hate Aunt Ruth's guts!!!"
"Shut up and eat what's on your plate."
 
wage0048
2022-11-14 3:04:02 PM  
No one owes anyone else a relationship, friendship, or comeraderie.

Your kids don't owe that to you or to your sister.

She acts like a b*tch and treats them like shiat, and the natural social consequence of that is that they want nothing to do with her.

That's perfectly reasonable and perfectly fair, and if you decide to invite her over for Thanksgiving, you are risking the social consequence of your children deciding they don't want to be around or have anything to do with the b*tch who invited Evil Aunt Ruth.
 
Johnny the Tackling Alzheimers Patient
2022-11-14 3:04:26 PM  

RogermcAllen: ""Ruth," is childless and deeply unhappy. She has a negative and sarcastic outlook on life..."

What's her Fark handle?


We. Are. Groot. Ruth.
 
Trainspotr
2022-11-14 3:12:30 PM  
Have your kids provide 3x5 cards to give to Aunt Ruth when she asks them anything.

"Hello, Aunt Ruth. Thank you for your interest in my life. School is great and I'm getting good grades. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, but that's ok because I have a lot of good friends that I hang out with when I'm not hitting the books. Mom tells me you had an unhappy childhood, which is why you're constantly so miserable and generally unpleasant to be around. Have you considered therapy? My friend Smokeshow sees her therapist a couple times a week, and she's been making lots of great progress, and hasn't gotten pregnant or caught VD in almost six months. I hope you find the happiness you're seeking, but I know you won't find it talking with me, so I understand that you have no desire to engage me in conversation this year. Best wished, happy holidays, and smell you later!"
 
Pants full of macaroni!! [BareFark]
2022-11-14 4:00:16 PM  
Don't know about letter-writer, but my Aunt Ruth is fine.
 
bostonguy [TotalFark]
2022-11-14 4:30:54 PM  
My younger sister, "Ruth," is childless and deeply unhappy.

Point of order on including "childless" in a way that implies that everyone must have children to be happy.
 
OK So Amuse Me
2022-11-14 4:42:11 PM  
If she is so bad that it got three siblings to unanimously agree and give a joint ultimatum I'd say you better take it seriously and be prepared to back your kids up! You need to finally tell her the truth, as tactfully as you wish, that your kids don't wish to engage her as she is so disagreeable toward them. Period.

This obviously went on for too long and now the kids are putting their collective foot down, good on them.
 
RogermcAllen [OhFark]
2022-11-14 5:26:50 PM  

bostonguy: My younger sister, "Ruth," is childless and deeply unhappy.

Point of order on including "childless" in a way that implies that everyone must have children to be happy.


You've got that backwards.  Children are a leading cause of unhappiness.  The fact that she has no children and still manages to be unhappy speaks to the  full depth of her depression.
 
tipseasily
2022-11-14 6:12:01 PM  

bostonguy: My younger sister, "Ruth," is childless and deeply unhappy.

Point of order on including "childless" in a way that implies that everyone must have children to be happy.


I took it as the LW excusing his sister as unaware of how to talk to children without upsetting or freaking scarring them.

The LW should have stood up to protect his kids from nasty and inappropriate comments from his sister before now. On the other hand, his kids learned to stand up for themselves from somewhere, so maybe he is not THAT bad as a parent.
 
Dr Jack Badofsky
2022-11-14 9:19:32 PM  

zeroman987: Rapmaster2000: Psychopusher: Rapmaster2000: My ex-wife had a drunk uncle.  One time he at Thanksgiving he got into some kind of rant that included "You know the blacks... they like Budweiser."  I didn't know that was a stereotype.

I'd never heard that one before.  Plenty of others, but growing up the Budweiser stereotype was always the mullet-sporting, baseball-hat-wearing blue collar beer of choice that inspired such Sensible Chuckle-worthy T-shirts as "Who says beer don't make you smart?  It made Bud wiser!"

Yeah, to me it's just the standard beer.  It's the most popular beer so it's difficult to stereotype it to one particular group.

Yeah! Not like those Coors swilling dutch


Austin Powers' dad, is that you?
 
Laobaojun
2022-11-15 7:27:21 AM  
The best thing about my divorce; no more Thanksgivings with her [horribly dysfunctional] family.
The worst Thanksgiving at work (and I have had a bunch of them) was better than the best Thanksgiving with them.
 
crzybtch [TotalFark]
2022-11-15 11:09:03 AM  
My brother is a total arsewipe.  I told my sister's kid long ago that she owes him nothing.  I told her at family gatherings that if he asked her a question, to give a one word answer.  Other than that, I told her to ignore him completely.

He has never gotten along with my Dad and basically treats him like he is senile, which he is not.  He acts like my parents are senile because they are in their 80s.  They are both fully functional.

About 5 years ago, my Mom confronted him about his treatment of my Dad at a holiday.  He told my Mom "I think I need a break from you two"...the next day she called him and told him not to show up if he couldn't be civil to my Dad.  Hasn't been back since.

Every holiday is so much more relaxed and easy than it used to be.  A win for everyone.

Just because you are related to someone, does not mean you need to put up with their shiat.  I told my niece that if you wouldn't put up with behavior like that from a stranger, you sure as shiat shouldn't have to put up with it from someone in your family.  If a person is your family, their behavior should be held to a higher standard than a stranger.  If they cannot do that, uninvite them.  This whole deluded idea that blood is thicker than water and "oh but they are family" is bullshiat.
 
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