- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
The Cary Tennis advice column really turns out to be a Rorschack test sometimes. I'm a little surprised by the anger in some of the responses. The LW wasn't objecting to the parents but the siblings. It makes sense for the disabled parent to stay in a hotel; most hotels have handicapped rooms that would be much easier for the BF's mom to navigate than a non-handicapped house. As for siblings, we don't know how many (I personally would rather pay for a room than sleep under a kitchen table) or why they're considered dysfunctional. I have "dysfunctional" relatives who are heavy drinkers and troublemakers, and I damn sure don't want them spending significant time at my house. The LW also has a baby that is apparently younger than a year and she probably works. She might not have the energy to cope with a houseful of relatives, never mind dysfunctional ones.
Bottom line: maybe she's selfish and petulant, maybe she sees a life of being bullied ahead of her unless she takes action, maybe she just doesn't have it in her to manage this right now. We don't know and to castigate her under the circumstances seems a little cruel.
