My nephew is turning into an ignorant freeper. :(

I'm not surprised, but it makes me sad. :(

I sent him a Snopes article, debunking the "secret Muslim" Obama conspiracy theory. I just skimmed his response, but it was SO ignorant, conflating fascism with socialism and communism. I stopped reading at that sentence...ugh.

On top of that, my video card broke and I just woke up from a disturbing dream.

Hold me. :(

:hug:

Hopefully, he'll see the light soon.


:hug:

ederyt

(crap, I'm gonna lose the vowel contest, I can just feel it, it's like there's one more that U are gonna pull out to trump me with, ha!)

:P

Holding you. Hope it helps. :rofl:

Sad about your nephew - hoping you can reach through to him, before he's laughing off the homeless as just lazy slobs.

I'm sorry to hear. I find it ironic how freepers confuse fascism with other -isms when they are closest to being the fascists in this country. :eyes:

How old is he? I have a nephew I adore and something like that would be devastating. I'm sorry about your video card. My computer blew up once and I thought my life was over, then I found out I was somewhat of an artist during the time my computer was down. As far as the disturbing dream--I've found I have those when there's something on my mind that makes me emotional. Disturbing dreams really can be a godsend if you take the time to analyze them.
:hug:

I did sit down and analyze the dream. I even wrote a few pages. I came to the conclusion that my social / love life sucks and is at odds with the reality of my every day life. Most of the time I don't confront this reality when I'm awake, but I've been thinking about it ever since I woke up from my nap. When I skimmed my nephew's e-mail, everything just came crashing down.

As for computer down-time creating more art, you're right. ;) I should add more art to my life and less Team Fortress 2. I ordered a new video card. Maybe it will be a blessing if it doesn't show up until next week.

I'm an artist and musician. Drawing got put on the back burner recently. I've been making jewelry and hair ornaments, but I miss drawing. I'd like to renew my commitment to drawing and my very wonderful pet parrot.

TF2 is something I share with my nephew, though. :(

I would send a reply to his e-mail, explaining where and how I disagree, but lately I just can't face that kind of confrontation with family. It makes things worse. I don't get my point across and just get more and more angry. Right now I'm more and more sad. I probably shouldn't have tried to debunk the Muslim Obama thing. It just leads to more and more of the same and I'm just not up for that.

Thanks for the hugs. I wish I had a real one just now.

I've read so many of your posts over the years, and know how rough you've had it. I am hoping all the best for you in the New Year. Your nephew just might come around.

You are not alone in having a sucky social/love life, believe me. Case in point. However, a dear friend of mine had the worst time trying to find someone. I watched her suffer for years before she met a wonderful guy. It does happen, and I believe if you want it, it will happen for you.

I shed a few tears and watched A Colbert Christmas for about the eighth time.

Despite the fact I am the only liberal and only atheist in a largely right-wing, fundamentalist family, I still love them, especially my nephew. I had a hand in raising him, but obviously didn't do enough to corrupt him. :)

The kid needs to go to college to have some of his ideas challenged. That can be both good and bad. It led to my questioning, but when a person thinks for him- or herself, things can get very, very lonely. There's a lot of pressure to just fit in, but I couldn't do it. Plus, being a fundamentalist was so stifling. I just couldn't stand that kind of pressure. Dan Barker described it well in his song about Mormons: "I can't drink or smoke. I can't think or swear. I can't wear my shorts in this funny underwear." Well, I didn't have to wear the underwear, but forced wearing of modest dresses felt sucky, too.

I'm rambling. Sigh. It's been a long day. I'm crying again. Maybe it's time for bed.

I find that working on the fiddle helps me work things out. I'm still a lousy fiddler, but the challenge of it sets my mind in a given direction and the discipline dispels the tatters of a nasty dream.

If a challenging instrument is too much, I'll go back to the piano or something soothing. Pick on some Bach or even crack open one of the zillion hymnals around here. The discipline of four-part harmony and the comfort of old hymns seems to put things right.

There's strong magic in music. To correct an oft-mangled quote, it soothes the savaged breast. That is, it can set the heart aright again. You'll regain your strength to deal with your nephew who's made a bad decision to be an idjit. That's what nephews do... make you crazy. Your job right now is to grab your own strength and spirit back.

:hug:

I should sing and play every day as well as do some artwork. You're right.

Take your power. Don't let anyone steal your spirit. Lift your voice. You know how to do it. Posture, breath control, perch on top of the note -- it's the same as yoga, the same kundalini. I and your DU buds'll be there. When you're refreshed, you'll know exactly how to deal.

I do the same thing with the fiddle. The posture, the fingering, getting the note just to the right pitch, then flying through that sea of black ink. Man, I thought classical used ink, then I took a swag at fiddling. That's a whole 'nother concentration. I never saw such a liberal use of ink in all my born days LOL. The discipline is actually liberating.

Music is wonderful centering power.

Sometimes life can just be a big pain, but it will get better. As for your nephew, I say just let him chase his tail. Metaphorically speaking, that's really what all freepers are doing anyway. Some eventually wise up and stop when they realize the path they're on goes nowhere. The rest either burn themselves out through sheer exhaustion or die deluded. In any case, there's no point in upsetting your decent self about it. I would love to give you a real hug, but since distance won't permit it, please accept the thought at least.
In the meantime, :pals:

If there is anyone I can argue against, let me know

It is a circular set of facts : Rightism <> Confusion

When I see the Rightist beliefs, I see confusion ...

When I see confusion, I see Rightist beliefs ...

It is a symbiotic relationship ....

Maybe your nephew is into retro?

I'm also the only atheist. Many family members are fundies.

sound much alike. And it does hurt.

Your video card broke - in the last month my television quit, my answering machine started whispering messages, and this morning my microwave starting sounding like it was having an orgasm.

As for waking up from a disturbing dream, well, it wasn't a dream after all, but it's going to start getting better on January 20th.

Til then, holding on!

Sally, all I can say is..."I'll have whatever your microwave had."

so I understand your sadness. One watches Insannity on a regular basis and when one of our conversations turned to Native Americans, she wondered "how long do we have to pay these people back?" Another commented about "black values." I was STUNNED. I don't even bother trying to reason with them any more... it's been an exhausting eight years.

can be very gullible.

now he's an anarchist.

by the time he gets married, he'll probably be something else.

let the kid find his way, & be loving as you can.

I just got done watching his Christmas special (again) to cheer myself up. He and Jon Stewart help keep me sane.

now i'm gonna have nightmares!

:P

:P

is your real name stephen?

One of my cousins works for an anti-choice lobby. He sometimes writes for right-wing tripe like Human Events and Town Hall. He got the silver from KO for calling male Virginia Tech students cowards after 4/16/07 - knowing that my father and I are Hokies. My family has cut off contact with him now.

We knew he was going down that road. His parents are fundamentalists as well and he wrote really conservative editorials in college. We tried to ignore it and still be family, but after it gets personal, it's really tough.

1) he listens to Rush & pals in his car or at work


My own son used to drive a delivery truck, and of course the only radio stations around here that come in clear, are right wing ones, and after about a month on his job, I started hearing stuff coming out of his mouth that I could not believe..

This is why they are so dangerous.. like a nasty earworm you can't get rid of..

and yes,he listens to Rush.This is my baby who went to Iraq three times.All I can do is support him and hope he finds some enlightenment one day.

I used to just get angry, but the anger started eating me up inside. If you leave the anger behind, you get stuck with the pain. Now I have to learn how to deal with that.

he is a freeper masquerading as an "independent".

Thanks to everyone who comforted me on this thread. I think part of my reaction was due to an impending cold bug. Due to chronic illnesses, I get sick easily and it tends to make me a bit more emotional than usual.

My video card is on order and I'm drinking lots of liquids. ;)

It took me years to honestly re-evaluate everything I'd been taught and it wasn't easy. It brought a lot of pain and conflict because my other family members weren't willing to do the same thing.