?We’re enjoying breakfast and laughing about how you get blocked on Facebook by half of your relatives. Sounds like What Would Jack do?
I’m still getting used to the idea of having a family again. After being estranged for the better part of 20 years, it feels odd to have blood relations who love me and/or think I’m something closely approximating an asshole. I’m not, of course, but the quote above is from a text one of my brothers sent me as Erin and I were heading to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to fly back to Portland. He makes a good point- a good portion of my family and relatives have blocked me on Facebook…and while I almost think I should feel guilty about that, I really don’t. Turns out several of my relatives are things I’m most definitely not- very Conservative, exceedingly Christian, and unwilling to accept that their way is not THE way. I don’t help matters by being willing to put my beliefs out there as I do. I actually try to avoid hot-button issues when interacting with family. That said, I’m not about to condone something I know to be factually incorrect or patently ridiculous. Bottom line, I’m a lousy poker player.
I have a brother who believes Ted Nugent to be a prophet and Barack Obama a Muslim. The patently absurd and errant nature of those beliefs should be self-evident to any rational, intellectually agile person. Then again, it’s long been said that fundamentalism is the sound of a mind slamming shut…and so it is in this case. While I can ponder the reasons for his ignorance, arrogance, and homophobia, I know that his mind is shut so tightly as to be impervious to anything resembling reason. He knows what he knows, and nothing- factual or otherwise- is going to have an impact on that. One of the phrases he loves to toss at me is “Truth is hate to those who hate the truth”- HIS truth, of course, which is unquestionable and inviolable. In his mind, I’m angry, intolerant, and resistant to the truth- charges I have no plans to contest because I don’t recognize his self-perceived right to sit in judgment of me.
This is my family. Some can accept me, some can’t…and while it would be nice to be universally loved, I do feel loved- if not always appreciated- by my family. That seems a pretty good start. In the meantime, being the crazy uncle seems like a role I could grow to be comfortable in.
