u/PeppyApple

I knew, logically, my parents were not going to change, no matter how many articles and videos I sent them. If they haven't woken up by now, I don't think they ever will. Still, something deep inside of me kept pushing me to try again and again. Until we actually tried family therapy, and the therapist told me in private that by sending them my evidence, I was most likely entrenching them further.

So I finally sent this several weeks ago, and while it's still hurting me, I've felt slightly less compelled to try to convince them and I haven't sent them articles since. I hope they actually considered these words. But my expectations are low...

And no, they did not directly respond. Just told me they love me.

Just needed to vent a little.

I posted an ad for my nursing support blog on my Facebook page, and this comment got to me a little. The fact people think and speak like this just enrages me. I remember crying over patients that died in front of me. I remember taking 5 minutes to properly gown up in heavy isolation gear every time I had to enter a room. I remember being told I did not have a choice to hide from the pandemic everyone feared, because my job was to face it and protect and help those who were sick (not that I tried to hide, but you know the emails reminding us we are "essential workers"). And I was happy to do it from the beginning of the pandemic to the end. I know this commenter is probably just trolling, but I also know people actually believe the stuff he is saying and that just makes me so angry...

For context, I'm married to a Latino immigrant. My parents invited us both to their house for a July 4th party. I hesitated, until I found the aliens.gov site and broke. I slept on my anger first, but then I sent this after waking up. I don't really know what I'm feeling right now.

Charlie is my childhood nickname. He was purposely trying to tug on my heart strings. This comes shortly after I left a group chat because he was spewing insane MAGA stuff. He just found a different old group chat to send this. To suggest they only want the version of me that believed what they said without question, and I'm letting them down by straying from their views like the bad little black sheep I am, is pissing me tf off. They don't want the independent-thinking version of me. Just an obedient little puppy. Every time I leave a group chat, they add me back or go to a different one. And no, I can't block them right now because they live alone and my mom has started having falls. As a nurse, I can't let myself be unreachable knowing that. I'm just stuck sucking it up.