Dealing with my grandmother
There really is no good way to do it. I usually just smile and nod, or say yeah to whatever it is she's talking about. Just today, in one day, she's managed to make me wish I were already in Japan. I'll tell my parents to their faces if I think something they're doing is completely wrong or stupid, but I can't say that to her. She's a racist and judges everyone at a glance. If you have rings or earrings(or other piercings) in non-conventional places(or anywhere if you're a guy), there's something wrong with you. If you're "colored", there's something wrong with you. If you're not Christian, there's something wrong with you.
She was talking to me earlier today. She asked if I "really like livin' off over there." Obviously I do, and I said so. She said that "there's nothin' you could do to get me over to one of those places." Part of it is that she doesn't like planes, but the other part of it is that she thinks like a lot of people I've come into contact with around here that honestly think America is the only civilized, free/democratic country, with electricity.
She asked me what kind of churches they have in Japan. I said it's a mostly Buddhist and Shinto country(which isn't exactly right, as most seem to be utilitarian, if religious at all), and she stared at me as if I had said they eat babies and perform a ceremonial crucifixion daily. It was a look of sheer horror. And then she said "Lord, you don't wanna get mixed up in none of that." Nope, sure don't. Not me. No sir. I'm gonna be part of a religion where people prejudge everyone around them, gossip like there's no tomorrow, and talk about family members behind their backs.
I grew up Christian. I think a lot of Christian values are good things. But the things I think are good about Christianity can be said for most religions. Don't take shit that doesn't belong to you. Don't fucking kill people. Basic goodwill towards your fellow man. I have a couple Bibles, but no Koran, and I'll admit I don't know much about Buddhism except for a few random names misused in the name of making interesting characters for RPGs. But if people ask me about God, I have to say He probably exists. I believe in ghosts and other paranormal things, so if they can exist, if souls can exist, surely God can too. But I wouldn't say I'm Christian. So many people use that label and continue to dirty it while pretending to be better than the ones who don't use it.
I didn't mean to start rambling about religious beliefs. But it just makes me sick how mamaw will sit there and say "some people just don't like to clean house. I can't understand it. I like to clean house, myself" and show complete intolerance for people with different priorities in their lives(she's talking about my mom). And why would anyone's grandmother want to say mean things to someone about their mom? But she always does it. How are you going to claim to be Christian, the last days are upon us, Jesus is coming back soon, you all need to be in church praising the Lord, and all the while condemning all other religions, judging everyone around you, being narrow-minded, and talking about people behind their backs? That gets on my nerves more than I can express in text.
And yeah, my mom doesn't keep the house clean very well, that's true, I guess. But what gives a guest in our house the right to think that when they go back to Kentucky they can blab to everyone they meet(including aunts, uncles, and cousins) about how dirty our house is and how my dad's living in terrible conditions because his wife isn't treating him right? Matt and I came in from our walk around the "block"(about 3.5 miles), and found a huge bug on his desk chair. It looked like a roach to me, but I'm not too good with identifying bugs. If it was a roach, it's the first one we've had in the house in 9 years(being when we moved in, because the previous owners had bug problems which we quickly fixed). Yet even though my grandmother has had bad bug problems in her own home before, she's already prepared to go home and tell the rest of the family that our house is infested with roaches. If anything other than us living 2 hours away has anything to do with us being the black sheep of the family, it's her spreading stuff about how miserable my dad is and how terrible my mom is to the rest of the family in Kentucky.
And shame on them for eating that stuff up. Especially the idiot that thinks there are 52 states. My grandmother even claims that computers have ruined the world. That's funny, cause I could have sworn the life support system they had her on last time she was in the hospital is the reason she's still alive. The worst thing about all this is that I actually feel guilty for being angry at an old person who happens to be my grandmother. I actually feel guilty, when I should be appalled and outraged.
She was talking to me earlier today. She asked if I "really like livin' off over there." Obviously I do, and I said so. She said that "there's nothin' you could do to get me over to one of those places." Part of it is that she doesn't like planes, but the other part of it is that she thinks like a lot of people I've come into contact with around here that honestly think America is the only civilized, free/democratic country, with electricity.
She asked me what kind of churches they have in Japan. I said it's a mostly Buddhist and Shinto country(which isn't exactly right, as most seem to be utilitarian, if religious at all), and she stared at me as if I had said they eat babies and perform a ceremonial crucifixion daily. It was a look of sheer horror. And then she said "Lord, you don't wanna get mixed up in none of that." Nope, sure don't. Not me. No sir. I'm gonna be part of a religion where people prejudge everyone around them, gossip like there's no tomorrow, and talk about family members behind their backs.
I grew up Christian. I think a lot of Christian values are good things. But the things I think are good about Christianity can be said for most religions. Don't take shit that doesn't belong to you. Don't fucking kill people. Basic goodwill towards your fellow man. I have a couple Bibles, but no Koran, and I'll admit I don't know much about Buddhism except for a few random names misused in the name of making interesting characters for RPGs. But if people ask me about God, I have to say He probably exists. I believe in ghosts and other paranormal things, so if they can exist, if souls can exist, surely God can too. But I wouldn't say I'm Christian. So many people use that label and continue to dirty it while pretending to be better than the ones who don't use it.
I didn't mean to start rambling about religious beliefs. But it just makes me sick how mamaw will sit there and say "some people just don't like to clean house. I can't understand it. I like to clean house, myself" and show complete intolerance for people with different priorities in their lives(she's talking about my mom). And why would anyone's grandmother want to say mean things to someone about their mom? But she always does it. How are you going to claim to be Christian, the last days are upon us, Jesus is coming back soon, you all need to be in church praising the Lord, and all the while condemning all other religions, judging everyone around you, being narrow-minded, and talking about people behind their backs? That gets on my nerves more than I can express in text.
And yeah, my mom doesn't keep the house clean very well, that's true, I guess. But what gives a guest in our house the right to think that when they go back to Kentucky they can blab to everyone they meet(including aunts, uncles, and cousins) about how dirty our house is and how my dad's living in terrible conditions because his wife isn't treating him right? Matt and I came in from our walk around the "block"(about 3.5 miles), and found a huge bug on his desk chair. It looked like a roach to me, but I'm not too good with identifying bugs. If it was a roach, it's the first one we've had in the house in 9 years(being when we moved in, because the previous owners had bug problems which we quickly fixed). Yet even though my grandmother has had bad bug problems in her own home before, she's already prepared to go home and tell the rest of the family that our house is infested with roaches. If anything other than us living 2 hours away has anything to do with us being the black sheep of the family, it's her spreading stuff about how miserable my dad is and how terrible my mom is to the rest of the family in Kentucky.
And shame on them for eating that stuff up. Especially the idiot that thinks there are 52 states. My grandmother even claims that computers have ruined the world. That's funny, cause I could have sworn the life support system they had her on last time she was in the hospital is the reason she's still alive. The worst thing about all this is that I actually feel guilty for being angry at an old person who happens to be my grandmother. I actually feel guilty, when I should be appalled and outraged.