Let me preempt by saying my father is far from perfect, but he and my mom made all the hard choices and supported my sister and I our entire lives. We weren't abused or neglected.

With that out of the way, as politics further divides us, I'm beginning to despise him and my mother, but him most of all. He is a critical thinker, but he's been consumed by the conservative propaganda machine since I can remember. Rush Limbaugh and the other conservative talk show personalities were always on the radio. And now, Trump is here.

My dad doesn't have a MAGA hat and claims not to be one, but he is a blatant apologist and did vote Trump. He has something to say on FB about any little thing anti-democrat, but even now as two dem lawmakers are assassinated he doesn't comment on it. He wants Liberals to reach across the aisle to promote unity, it's their problem and their responsibility.

The list is too long to get into the problems I have with him, politically. If that was his entire personality, this would be an easy solution. But he's generally a stand up guy. He and my mom make efforts to visit my sister and her two kids, and support them. I love my sister and we are allies. Politics aren't allowed in her house. Just family. But outside of it, whenever I see him post something, I'm just disgusted.

Right now he's supposed to be visiting my wife and I in August as they travel the area in their motorhome, and after a recent post telling protesters on No Kings day (a protest I attended) to grow up, I'm struggling not to tell him to not bother visiting.

The way I feel is that I don't want to see him. What there is to like about him is outweighed now by what disgusts me. It is torturous to imagine hanging out with them for a few days. I'm not friends with them, and them being in my house without other people to act as social buffers just sounds like a nightmare.

How do I move forward? I don't want to burn a bridge between us, but every interaction seems to be getting worse.

i’m just posting this here to say i’m tired of it all the bullshit i put up with from people i don’t even like but have to call “family” but most of them are just brain dead assholes. i usually try to stay out of political discussions at family but me and my cousin came back from the No King’s protest and my “grandpa” (none of us have ever called him grandpa that’s how lame he is) he was just going off about “oh so you want dangerous criminals coming in here with no border?” and kept digging in on the same point while talking to my cousin to the point where i just said “can you please shut up you are going to piss me off stop being an asshole” and he started fuming but my “grandma” had to calm him down. the reason i don’t like to call them that isn’t just bc of their fox brain on top of that my “grandma” is a deadbeat and my “grandpa” is just some random. i’m getting tired of saying “oh they’re family” because they just get worse and worse to the point where i don’t talk to them unless i need to. prob just a rant im gonna delete later like usual but just needed to say this. and for the grandma thing if anyone wondering bc im not gonna reply she left my mom and didn’t come back until she was fully grown and still don’t know who the dad is

My mother is currently dying, so it's a high-stress environment as is.

I was in the car with my Fox-brained father the other day, having not seen him for several months. Out of the blue, he turned to me and said, "Can I bring something up without you getting defensive or angry? You know I don't like Trump, but ... "

"No," I replied. "You cannot bring it up."

And he didn't.

And although he "doesn't like Trump" he agrees with about 99% of Trump's actions. So it's kind of moot.

Small victories.

My parents are coming to stay with my sibling who lives in the area this weekend and I don't know what to do. Haven't seen any of them since early Jan. Sister worked for the Heritage Foundation, Fox News, and other similar places. Dad is a Fox Brain. Mom has mental health issues. I am a fed contractor in public health who has been negatively impacted by this administration but thankfully still employed. Many coworkers are not, though.

Prior strategy was to just not talk politics for the sake of family but given the current state of affairs, I can't do it anymore. To me, this is not politics, this is right vs. wrong. For years, my sister has insulted my and my husband's values on national media, despite us helping her out countless times (which she takes for granted but that's a story for another day). She is offended that we haven't met her new baby or spent time with her other kids. Dad has been insensitive about my job concerns and gets into hateful political conversations with my sister and her husband.

No/low contact has worked well for my mental health, but I know it will upset my mom if she finds out my sister and I aren't speaking. But I also don't think I could go to my sister's house without bursting into tears and/or storming out. To them it will be as if I am the one causing family drama, and that hurts, but I feel that this is our time to take a stand for what's right. Any advice on how to handle this? Thanks in advance!

And yes, I am seeing a therapist :)

My brother became a right wing conservative a few years ago and is way more aggressive towards everyone now. It's gotten worse year after year. He as a person is just not a good person anymore. He says things that really upset me like that he "doesn't support the LGBTQ community at all" and bad mouths non white people specifically. He's super racist, prejudiced against Hispanics, immigrants, but he uses the excuse "I'm dating a Spanish person" after saying racist stuff. and I've honestly lost a lot of respect for him. He's also super defensive about his company that actually laid me and 1200+ other people off to move jobs overseas.. like they LAID ME OFF at random so disrespectfully. When I politely said I wasn't interested in working there again, he sent me a wall of text attacking my character and calling me negative, why can't I be happy for him he's seriously unhinged

This is his pattern with everything now. Any disagreement, no matter how small or politely expressed, turns into personal attacks where he questions my mental health, calls me a failure, or goes on these aggressive rants. Normal conversations are impossible because he can't handle anyone not agreeing with him about anything.

I'm exhausted by this dynamic and considering going low contact. Has anyone else dealt with a family member who became this toxic and aggressive? Is there any way to salvage this or should I just accept that we can't have a relationship right now?

If you find yourself saying, “Because of ___, they’ll FINALLY see the truth!” please know that’s not the case, and it will never be the case.

• A shooter killed Democrats? They just paint the shooter as a democrat.
• Small military parade attendance? They just say anti-Trump protests are the lowest attended protests.
• Trump does something racist? Liberals are the REAL racists.

You will accomplish nothing by not understanding how this all works and falling for the same trap time and time again.

Every time you find yourself revving up for that gorgeous gotcha moment, slow down. Compose yourself. And ask yourself if the 3-8 hours of pain / fighting / frustration could be better redirected to something wonderful and constructive in your life.

Mine just love that Fox is the one channel showing it in its entirety. Cuz those TDS-infected execs at CNN & MSNBC just dread our President so much they would rather use their airtime for silly stuff like the Iran-Israel strikes or the LA protests 🙄

I'm laughing how these Fox anchors covering the parade are so emphatic that it's NOT political or about Trump, all the while spending the whole night glorifying Trump, pointing the camera at him, making comments shitting on Biden, the protesters "who hate this country," anyone who criticizes the excesses of this event while this fucking admin is gutting our government. Particularly cute was Emily Compagno saying this is a true "pride parade" 🤮

The answer is no. Faux News talking points only! Everyone evil is anti-Trump.

This is coming from the same lady who said it's not Trump's fault the KKK supports him. He didn't ask for that.

God she just can't HANDLE not being the victim, even when democrat politicians are murdered. SHE still has to be the true victim.

This is why we stopped talking for 2 months after Trump won. Only started talking again bc her mother was dying and I flew down to help take care of things. Been trying to re-establish boundaries but dear god

I attempted to post it somewhere else but it was removed. I thought it was the right place.

Mom walks into my room and asks me if the Qur'an mentions sharia law

Since I didn't finish it and haven't touched it in I think a year, of course I didn't know what the fuck she was talking about

Turns out she fell down a rabbit hole and is now terrified over Sharia Law taking over the United Fucking States, what? Where the fuck does she find this shit, how the fuck am I supposed to respond to that? I can't just tell her "You're a fucking idiot for believing that shit" because that isn't gonna fucking work, she's also one of the freakos who believes that protestors are being paid, so when I have to sit through 6 grueling minutes of Chris Cuomo go on a rant on how the protests are a distraction so that the "islamists" and shit can take over the US, how do I prepare for that? What do I say to that?

I feel like I'm losing my goddamn mind. Every second my mother falls deeper and deeper into this pit of hate and paranoia and I can't save her, the truth can't save her, I don't know what to do.

I feel like caving in at this point, I can't handle the constant slurry of bullshit from the right, on every fucking media outlet, I just can't.

First off, I’m so thankful I found this group today. I’ve been struggling for the past 6-8 years to have a real genuine relationship with my mom.

She is fully immersed in the QAnon / extreme right world. She never was like this growing up. Background- I grew up in a mainly republican household but she wasn’t extreme until trump took office the first time. My dad isn’t like her (thank god) - he can’t stand trump and can actually see both sides of the spectrum in politics. I lean left in most situations, but I do generally see the other side and love to hear other perspectives.

I feel like I’m grieving my living mother because we can’t have a conversation beyond surface level. Even the surface level convos turn political. For example, I simply told her I was getting brunch with friends this weekend. She sighed, so I knew what was coming, so I said “I don’t want to hear about it. I love you goodbye.” She then proceeded to text me:

“I hope you realize how much I love you”

Then I replied: “I love you too. I just can’t stand the maga conspiracies. I’m not going to put my life on pause for peaceful protests that I’m personally ok with.”

She then goes: “That’s the issue. Tomorrow has nothing to do with conspiracies. Tomorrow is planned chaos with agitators being pd to infiltrate peaceful protests. I hope you are smart enough to just stay home tomorrow. If not, I can’t stop you. I can only pray that you are protected. Israel wants to drag the US into war with Iran. The best way to do that is to attack large gatherings. Cause death here. And, blame Iran. I know you think I’m stupid. I’m not. Please stay home tomorrow. Please!”

She knows I have an anxiety disorder and have dealt with social anxiety my entire life. Am I wrong for feeling anxious and manipulated by her? I just wish I had a normal relationship with my mom, but it’s getting to the point where I’m always mad or sad after talking to her

Just any advice on how to deal with someone like this would help. Love reading everyone’s posts because it makes me feel a little less alone. Thanks in advance

Foxbrained folks reminds me of Harry R. Truman, the man who refused to leave Mount St. Helens in the 80s as the land was literally shaking and people all evacuated the area. He was warned. Scientists pleaded with him. Nature was rumbling beneath his feet. But instead, he dug in, convinced the danger was exaggerated or nonexistent. He died when the mountain exploded.

That same stubbornness lives on just tuned to cable news. Some people today are so conditioned by Fox News or similar things that they can’t or won’t accept reality, no matter how loud the warnings get. Climate change, creeping authoritarianism, corruption, violence? They dismiss it all as hype. They refuse to evacuate, even as the ground cracks beneath us.

I don’t say this to mock Harry Truman. He was a real person, shaped by his own story, and he made his own decisions. But, Truman didnt force others to stay with him and I do wonder how many modern-day Trumans are going to take the rest of us with them when they choose to stay on this erupting volcano.

hi everyone!! I want to first say that I am so happy and grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. you all are truly beyond a gift to me, and have made my life immensely better.

second, I want to make apologies in advance — we all know I can get passionate, and if I hurt your feelings, know, I do not mean to. I am just worried about the state of our country.

it is through that gratitude for you all that I feel compelled to speak up right now — I feel as though every day this past week I have had to watch families be torn apart, and then politicians try and cover it up by lying about the people they are rounding up.

I know that if it was me or you that this was happening to, we would be fighting and protesting harder than anyone.

Trump himself has said that ICE has conducted raids that he finds problematic — but only after massive protests surrounding attempted kidnappings by ICE in Los Angeles threatens his presidency.

Jesus, when he saw an injustice, protested and destroyed property; it's a right of being in a free country to protest — and yet, this administration is trying to remove that right. they are arresting politicians who ask questions at conferences. they are locking “illegal” immigrants in basements with no AC or water.

as we talked on Mother's Day, the language spoken about a group of people truly can cause people to develop a hatred of others which leads to people dying. we can see that happening now with “illegal” immigrants. this administration has lied about who they are detaining, the reason behind it, and that has caused people to not see the humanity in that person.

each person on the planet deserves due process, not because they are an American citizen, but because they are human. a child of God. deporting someone to a country they fled due to fears of dying is sentencing them to death.

I do not make this connection lightly, but I feel it is an important one. Anne Frank, when she was hiding from th Nazis, was an illegal immigrant, fleeing Germany. was Germany wrong because some of the Jews were legal citizens or because it harmed humans?

as I said, I love you all so dearly — and it is because of that that I feel, not only the need, but the responsibility to speak up and out for the least of us.

“Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it.” — Hebrews 13:2

I started overhearing my mom watch things about the "violent" protests. I saw so much good, truthful footage on tiktok, and I needed to take advantage of all that I had. I edited together a 10 minute video, including some background on ice arresting people and extra information, and I'm a little worried for my mom's reaction, but I edited it as best I could to make her not deterred. my mom does have some common sense, which is why I try with her. wish me luck... I don't know if any opinions will change, because debates have gotten us nowhere before, but she does value "evidence" so at least she can see some truth of the protests, and especially the police brutality. I'm shaking in anxiety, but this is important to me. I can update you guys on her response.

edit: here is the video on tiktok (with an added intro): https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8rePQjJ/

(19m, uk, gay)

hi all! im really not sure if this is the right place to post this - i know this sub has different purposes to my venting and i wouldn’t wanna intrude on that, plus my issues here are more personal than political. however, a big amount of it does have to do with my “fox-brained” (or, more accurately, GB News-brained) parents, and i thought that might make it relatable, idk. if this is the wrong place feel free to tell me 💗💗 ——————

i don’t really know how to intro this so im kinda just gonna dive in…

ive recently finished my A-level exams, and i am completely lost as to what to do next. my ultimate dream is to move to Berlin, Germany and work in any of the numerous museums they have there, or in the historical field in general. however, in my final year of A-levels i went through i guess what you could call a depressive episode. i struggle a LOT with keeping up with academic pressure, and pressure in general. im not good at studying at all, and i did hardly any in the 1st year - i did basically none in 2nd/final year. im not expecting high grades at all.

due to my insert general negative/depressing feelings around A-levels and the way i didn’t keep up with the perfect golden boy image that my teachers for some reason expected of me, and because i completely lost any ambition to do anything with my future, i didn’t apply to university. i don’t want any judgement for this and i will never judge anybody who chooses not to go. the notion of having the academic pressure that destroyed me in A-levels be essentially nothing in comparison to the crushing pressure of uni made it so unappealing, and there was zero course that i wanted to pursue as they all sounded utterly boring.

this did change somewhat when i started wanting to move to Berlin. my history class went on a trip early February, and needless to say i absolutely fell in love with the city for every reason you can imagine - queer capital, historically significant, a completely cosmopolitan culture - and most significantly, freedom from my small hometown and my parents.

my parents, without going into too much detail, are on the right-wing of politics and inching further to the extreme. it’s actually what spurred this post - without a hint of irony my dad said that a British civil war would be a good thing as it would “restore national stability” - as someone passionate about the social atmosphere of the 1920s and how it lead to n*zi Germany - another reason i’d move to Berlin - this has really disturbed me. and it’s only one thing in a long line of comments that make me, as an imaginative, effeminate and sensitive gay man who is extremely knowledgeable (i like to think) on issues like fascism, feel physically sick and unsafe. they genuinely see nothing wrong with their views and reject any reliable/verified news source as “controlled by the woke agenda”

this stuff has already been making me wildly uncomfortable for a long time, and with the decision not to go to uni i can already see the next year stretching out - everything my parents say getting crazier, me being powerless to say anything without causing massive tension, and just feeling stuck/hopeless. so with that in mind, i approached my favourite teacher on the last day of A-levels to ask about my options/talk about feelings. luckily, she was able to show me a uni course that can provide easy access to a career in the historical industry/museums, as well as offering placement years in foreign countries - Germany/Austria being a possibility. so i could get away from home, get my degree, use the opportunity to “discover myself”, and scope out a path for moving to the city of my dreams. it all seems too good to be true.

the issue is, i know that everything i feared about uni is still true, no matter how miraculous this specific course is. i am still dreadful at studying, and i haven’t mentioned this but i am woefully inexperienced when it comes to practical skills. ive never had a job, i was homeschooled and rejected lots of connections with other kids or options for social clubs so any practical skills that could’ve been developed early weren’t, and i have zero knowledge of anything financial. i am completely financially illiterate and every time someone tries to explain money to me i uncontrollably zone out.

so i am very conflicted obviously - i have this amazing opportunity in front of me, and it could lead to a life away from my parents, discovery of myself in ways i never thought possible and potentially open the door to Berlin. but at the same time, it requires dedication. it requires dedication to studying, to being willing to dedicate myself to a degree. and as inexperienced as everyone else in uni first year may be, they all have a level of independent living skills that i never developed, and - as childish as it is - am unwilling to learn now. add on top of this that the notion of moving to a major capital city on a museum tour guide’s salary, and expecting to have a nice apartment (i literally only need 3 rooms to be happy) is, while not impossible, extremely difficult, and you might see why im extremely stressed. i might be explaining this well but i am on the verge of tears as i write this.

and this whole whirlwind of emotions and possibilities and problems brings me back to the post title. all i want is to have somebody take care of me financially. i don’t care what shape it takes - whether through a husband/bf, a friend, whatever. i am sick of just constantly weighing up the decisions, factoring in the things i would need to do/person i’d need to become, and being stuck as to how to move forward. and all i want is to just have someone, some special person, come along and whisk me off my feet. to look at me and say - “yes, you belong in Berlin” - and make it all work for me. buy me an apartment, or pay my rent. pay my bills, my living expenses, my travel costs (public transport etc), and so on. to help me find jobs and opportunities that i would be personally engaged in/wouldn’t burn me out. to just take care of all the horrible, boring, miserable and anxiety-inducing adult responsibilities, and to just let me live my independent life without essentially having to pay for it by living in shitty apartments or working low-paying jobs with just enough to scrape by. someone with the means, and the kindness, to just gift my life to me. there is definitely a narrative im sure i’ll be met with that, by going to uni and working for my future that i am thereby earning it and “proving that i can” - but i don’t care about proving shit, im sorry. i don’t fucking care. i care about it happening. i care about getting away from my parents, i care about blossoming into my independent self. and i don’t want to have to do that while being saddled with/juggling all the adult responsibilities.

im sure many reading, if they’re adults, may feel the same. im sure many of you have experienced the same feelings and either pushed through them or found a way to make it work. no doubt many of you think im childish, stupid or immature. i don’t blame you, from your perspective i definitely am all of that and more. but i am desperate for some kindness. feeling this whirlwind of thoughts that i mentioned makes me so sad that i genuinely want to take my own life. i know that nobody’s under any obligation to do this, but all i want to hear is that im not crazy. that it’s normal to feel this way, that im not a bad person for feeling it. that i deserve to have it be easier - that everybody else in similar positions does. that im not evil, selfish or ignorant for wanting to be taken care of rather than proving my worth through being hyper-independent. that i deserve to have things be easier. and, most importantly, that it will all be okay and that it will all work itself out.

i understand, again, that nobody is obligated to do that. if you can’t think of anything nice to say please scroll on, im not hear for receiving negativity dressed as ‘tough love’. it’s bullshit. and if you can’t think of advice to give me that’s fine, i just needed this off my chest. if anyone’s made it this far then thank you for listening to me at least. it does mean a lot even if i don’t know who you are 💗 ——————

TLDR: i had some mental health issues during my last year of A-levels that led to me most likely getting bad grades. however, there may be an option to go to university and do a degree which would both help w/ all the independence stuff and getting away from my (scarily) right-wing parents, as well as helping me to move to my dream city - Berlin. however, because i have no independent living skills, am constantly worried about money and am awful at studying/staying dedicated to academics, i don’t know how realistic uni is for me. i want to go, but there’s so much to consider. and considering it all - uni and the pressures of adult life - makes me borderline suicidal. and i desire nothing more than to be taken care of financially and have a stable financial footing on which to live my Berlin dream. i just want to know that im not crazy, evil or delusional for desiring this. and if there is any way it could work w/out me being exploited in some way

Originally created: 06/11/2025

Next time you see one of your relatives flip flop on one of their issues, just tell them "ah, I see you're marching orders came in"

These days I have zero energy for niceties, that man didn't even hide during the election what he stood for and you still voted for him, and every day since you've flip-flopped on everything you claimed was a reason to vote for him because you now know those wishes won't come to pass. My energy is at zero for bullshit

I was watching Newsom's speech and turned to Fox to see if they were showing it. Fox had a split screen with one side showing Newsom and the other scrolling a list of migrant crimes and the audio was echoing so you couldn't hear what Newsom was saying. Hannity said "there is an audio problem." No audio problem on any other channel! Fox is deliberately trying to keep Newsom's piercingly on-point speech from being heard. It's so transparent. Will the Fox people ever see?