Does anyone ever feel like it’s near impossible to stand up for what you believe in if the people you are standing up against are family members? I have found in my life that my views differ incredibly from those of my family and those that my family are close too. I hear comments, see posts, and feel the general vibe that they all put out and it makes me very uncomfortable. To hear people I love saying that minimum wage workers don’t deserve health care, or that all “illegal aliens” should be deported. To hear that it is a “good thing those thugs are off the street now that they’re dead”. Knowing that the people that I love don’t believe that others should have the right to live comfortably, and deserve the poverty that they are trapped in. Hearing them say the n-word without flinching or stopping to consider the evil history of it. I feel like when I do try to stand up for what I believe to be basic human rights, they will all pounce on the opportunity to tell me I’m too liberal, and that I need be a bit more conservative. They tell me that “this is not how we raised you”.
“Elise, people who make their money deserve to keep it, and those lazy poor people just need to work hard and they’ll easily get out of poverty”.
“You know, if they just put down the crack pipe and stop complaining about ‘racism’, they might actually be successful”.
“Homelessness is a choice, Elise. If they really wanted to have money they would go out and make it instead of leeching off hard-working people like us”.
“The police aren’t racist.. You realize that, right? Black people are just more violent than other races.”
I struggle to keep my relationships with them strong, but I feel myself faltering sometimes when I realize how hateful and closed minded their opinions are. I feel like I’m screaming for them, but their heads are so full of sand that they don’t hear a damn thing. I'm so tired of trying to open closed minds.
I completely understand where you are coming from! My family is very segregated due to this issue (among many other reasons, but we won’t get into that). I know what it’s like when your views are different than your family members. I also know what it feels like when trying to convince them to change their views, or to at least see things from your perspective. A few topics in my family that are often fought over are abortion and religion. For example: I was baptized as a baby and recently got baptized again (something I wanted to decide and remember for myself). My grandparents are strict Lutherans and certainly did not approve of that. Also, some people in my close family believe that abortion is okay- I however do not. It’s hard to not be on the same page with your family. However, you are a strong willed person and I think one day your actions about the issues you are passionate about will speak to those certain family members.
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