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Read other letters about this article
I agree with psycprof, and I think most of the other posters are just guilt-tripping the good older brother.
I had years of a belligerent younger brother and his nasty wife. Fueled with alcohol and disdain, they were distant when they weren't rude, and they were chronically critical. I could give details, but so what?
The breaking point happened one Xmas when we hadn't seen each other for a few years (our parents are gone) and brother decided to attack me for something I'd said in a political argument/discussion we'd had in 1978. (It was 2001 when we were speaking.) He blustered and blustered, and then went into an alcohol-fueled sobbing fit: "You're my only sibling . . ." blah blah.
I completely lost interest. I send cards on holidays and birthdays, and that's it. I don't need the aggravation.
A blood tie is not enough reason to submit to a lifetime of unpleasantness. What for? I have many, many friends I enjoy spending time with. I don't need to draft myself to be slimed, and neither does the original questioner.
Shame on the posters who don't take his feelings into account. He is a good person. Let him off the hook and let him have a happy life.
