I get the pleasure of spending the next week with my brother-in-law *Ford, a super super conservative ex-military Christian who loves Trump, hates the Girl Scouts, and thinks execution is the answer to all our prison system woes. Of course, I should also add that this man probably has Asperger's, was in foster care, abused by his adoptive parents, before finally being adopted by my husband's family. He doesn't give a shit if he is offensive or if you are offended. He bounces so quickly from one subject to the next that it is dizzying and is one of those people that can make any conversation political. I made the mistake yesterday of telling him we had Girl Scout cookies in the pantry. "I don't eat girl scout cookies," he said loudly. "I don't agree with them." I did not say anything because I am the fucking master at not being sucked into these types of conversation. He barreled on though, "I hate that they teach girls about birth control and sex." Interesting. "So you are against birth control?" I asked, immediately thinking about the pack on my bedside table that I take religiously. No, no, no, he assured me. "I think parents should do that. Not the Girl Scouts." But, I remind him, you of all people know there are some shitty parents out there. If their parents don't teach them, where are they supposed to learn about it? He pauses for a minute and then glibly says, "Well, I have other issues with them too." So much for that line of logic holding up under scrutiny. Honestly, I may understand if you said, I don't think five-year-olds should be learning sex education in Brownies, but to say that the only people who should teach sex education to children is the parents is just stupid. That's how you end up with a bunch of teenagers who don't know anything about their bodies and who get knocked up because rumor has it you can only get pregnant two days out of the month or some stupid shit like that. Also, what is the big fucking deal about kids being taught about sex? In all likelihood they are going to have sex one day. We should be raising kids to become adults. They aren't going to remain children forever. Some kids are sexually active by twelve and thirteen (some even younger). You don't start teaching sex ed in high school. By then it is too late for some. Ideally, I do think parents should teach their kids about sex, but there are way too many parents out there who don't. What better place to learn about your body and sex than in a small group of girls, taught by a parent, in a place where they hopefully feel safe? Anyway, so that's an example of the fun that is *Ford on a regular basis. It's exhausting to be honest. He doesn't know I'm not a Christian and I have told my husband not to tell him because I don't want to deal with a rudeness factor of ten. I have been conveniently trying to plan things all week with friends because I find my house less than relaxing with his constant off-the-cuff remarks that make me feel uncomfortable and frustrated. Our views are often diametrically opposed and he is unabashedly Islamaphobic (for lack of a better term). In his mind, because he was stationed in a couple of Muslim majority countries he is now the expert in Islam and what "those Muslims" want to do to America. I did glimpse a bit of hope though when he stated that it was important for Muslim immigrants to integrate fully into our society, but there was no mention of conversion. It's something at least. Luckily, I work all week and have solid plans for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And if worse comes to worse, I can always put in my ear buds and listen to an audio book.
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AuthorThis is a personal, but secret, blog archiving my deconversion from a Christian to a non-believer. Archives
December 2020
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