Parenting 101: How Not To Dad
Just so you all know, I have not lost my mind. You'll probably think I have because... I'm actually going to be sticking up for Lee (my super-annoying technical brother-in-law) a fair bit in this post. I know. It feels weird just writing that.
The receiving end of my fury today will be Sian's dad. Oh my god, he is one of the biggest dicks I have ever, ever encountered. Seriously.
I got this weird text off Sian today asking me to ask Jason if Lee was okay. I was a bit surprised because why wouldn't he be, right? I wondered whether they'd had an argument or he'd been really down or something... both of which were unlikely because they're getting on really well so far and he certainly wasn't in a funk last night when they were at Jason's, in the next room.
It turns out that, while Lee was at Sian's the other day, she walked into the living room to find her dad basically having a go at him. Well, she described it as 'bullying'.
Lee can be a bit selfish and immature at times, and he doesn't tend to own up to his shortcomings, but I've never known him to deliberately give anyone a reason to have a dig at him like that. He never really acts up out of malice... it's more of ignorance. And Sian's dad... well, he's an asshole. He treats people he thinks he can push around like an emotional punching bag. Sian's mum left him because of it, apparently, and after that he started doing the same to Sian and her older sister Sam. Sam's gone now, so it's just Sian.
Sian's worried that Lee will get sick of having to look over his shoulder all the time, but I don't think he'd leave Sian over something like this. Not after what his ex-wife did to him. They've talked about it already, apparently, which is good... so we shall just wait and see. Maybe it's because Lee comes across as quite friendly and non-confrontational that Sian's dad thinks he can pull crap like this.
Whatever the reason, it's seriously not cool. I cannot abide a bully, especially when they affect my closest friends. The worst part is that the bully is Sian's own father; someone that she should be able to count on for love and support. He's just... I don't know, I can't actually imagine a man would be like this with his own daughter. He should be happy she's in a relationship, maybe a tad overprotective... but not this. He's not even being a 'protective dad'; he's just bullying Lee. For what reason, I don't know. Maybe it's to get at Sian. Maybe it's for the pleasure of intimidating a young man at the prime of his life. Maybe it's even out of some weird jealousy... I don't know. What I do know is he's a complete jerk.
The receiving end of my fury today will be Sian's dad. Oh my god, he is one of the biggest dicks I have ever, ever encountered. Seriously.
I got this weird text off Sian today asking me to ask Jason if Lee was okay. I was a bit surprised because why wouldn't he be, right? I wondered whether they'd had an argument or he'd been really down or something... both of which were unlikely because they're getting on really well so far and he certainly wasn't in a funk last night when they were at Jason's, in the next room.
It turns out that, while Lee was at Sian's the other day, she walked into the living room to find her dad basically having a go at him. Well, she described it as 'bullying'.
Lee can be a bit selfish and immature at times, and he doesn't tend to own up to his shortcomings, but I've never known him to deliberately give anyone a reason to have a dig at him like that. He never really acts up out of malice... it's more of ignorance. And Sian's dad... well, he's an asshole. He treats people he thinks he can push around like an emotional punching bag. Sian's mum left him because of it, apparently, and after that he started doing the same to Sian and her older sister Sam. Sam's gone now, so it's just Sian.
Sian's worried that Lee will get sick of having to look over his shoulder all the time, but I don't think he'd leave Sian over something like this. Not after what his ex-wife did to him. They've talked about it already, apparently, which is good... so we shall just wait and see. Maybe it's because Lee comes across as quite friendly and non-confrontational that Sian's dad thinks he can pull crap like this.
Whatever the reason, it's seriously not cool. I cannot abide a bully, especially when they affect my closest friends. The worst part is that the bully is Sian's own father; someone that she should be able to count on for love and support. He's just... I don't know, I can't actually imagine a man would be like this with his own daughter. He should be happy she's in a relationship, maybe a tad overprotective... but not this. He's not even being a 'protective dad'; he's just bullying Lee. For what reason, I don't know. Maybe it's to get at Sian. Maybe it's for the pleasure of intimidating a young man at the prime of his life. Maybe it's even out of some weird jealousy... I don't know. What I do know is he's a complete jerk.