Quote Originally Posted by bae View Post
If the caller-id shows that it is certain of my relatives, I don’t pick up ever. They have continually attacked my father for being gay, have accused my father and I of “turning” their own sons gay, and have nothing but hate and religious spittle to offer. It is out of respect to my own psyche and out of respect to the sane members of our family that I simply don’t engage in banter with those hateful folks.
I see your point here, Bae, and I get it. I am related to some Austrian nationals that I won't speak to as they have issues with my being gay - similar it seems to your relatives having issues with your father - and what really pushed these relatives out of my life was a comment that I deserve to be gassed for being gay - this to put it mildly crossed the line and I will no longer speak to this Aunt and Uncle. Thankfully, most of my family - though a few are very "old Austria" i.e., extremely conservative even by US standards and I don't mean in term of social welfare, I mean in terms of roles one should play in society and how one should think and conduct themselves - most of my family is not like this. The relatives I am in touch with I'd consider fairly open minded and have no issue with my orientation. I am closest to my Cousin Astrid who is 8 days older than me and her husband, and Astrid's Mother, my Aunt and her husband,all of whom live in Vienna. I also have relatives I am in touch with but not as close to in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, and even Linz (Austria's token attempt to resemble Detroit - an old formerly industrial city in sad shape though with a great deal of social welfare injected into it).

These people I am in touch with are basically very good people - they just have a different outlook on life and a different mentality than most Americans. Scary as this may seem to some - their outlook resembles mine overall - with a few exceptions. Something I find interesting is that my family will not go to Hungary to save money on dental (which is not socialized in Austria) - I would do this in a heartbeat. They say that doing such would be disrespectful, something that I don't understand - maybe it's what is American in me that blocks me from understanding this, I don't know.

And I've gotten sidetracked yet again......My point was that I can understand where you are coming from as there are relatives on my Mother's side I won't speak to (very much mutual) and there are relatives on my late Father's side in New England that I will have nothing to do with (once again, very much mutual). So I get your post. And good for you for standing up for your Father, Bae - I know we have had our differences on this board but I just want to say that I very much respect you for standing up for your Father. Kudos! Rob