FoxBrain is a support group for people who struggle with family and friends who have succumbed to the paranoia, xenophobia, and hatred pushed by Fox News and other extreme right wing news sites. You are not alone. This is a place to share your experience and hear from others about what life skills and tools are necessary in order to maintain you own sanity.
My brother and I met at our parents' house with some cake and a card. Our parents knew we were coming. Our mother was in her usual location, on the couch watching an endless stream of online videos.
We coaxed our mother to the kitchen for a few minutes, long enough for her to get a slice of cake, but then she started walking back towards the couch. We tried to get her to stay in the kitchen with us. She did for a few minutes, but she was standing near the hallway to walk back to the couch as soon as she could. We let her go - it was Mother's Day after all, and she should be able to spend it as she wants - and she immediately went back to the couch to watch more videos. We left after that.
Prior to going, I'd already decided that I would parse anything my parents said as empty statements devoid of meaning. When they say some bullshit like "Deep down, no one really supports interracial marriage", "Blacks were better off during slavery", "Michelle Obama is a man", "John Roberts is radical left", etc., they're not intending to communicate anything. They don't intend to convey any meaning. It's as if they said "Cookie Thursday cat potato." That's why you often get directly contradictory statements in the same conversation, e.g. "I've always supported gay marriage"/"What are you talking about? I've never supported gay marriage". Neither of these statements is intended to convey any meaning. Once I understood this, that they're not communicating but just making sound, it's been much easier to essentially ignore everything they say.
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