My Mother-In-Law

[cheri010353]

Last month she got a bill for some surgery she’d had that said she owed $1,300. She has Medicare and TriCare. She’d never had to pay any co-pay for anything before, so, of course, the first words out of her mouth were, “Obama really messed up the health care. I never had to pay before.” We asked her if she’d called the hospital and asked about it. Of course she hadn’t. When she finally did call, she found out it had been a mistake. Obama hadn’t "messed up the healthcare” after all.

Yesterday, we were at dinner and she said, “We’re not getting a cost of living allowance again this year, but “someone” wants to give us $250 to make up for it. When we told her that President Obama was backing a bill to do that, her comment was, “Well, why does he have to ask Nancy Pelosi? She’s no good.” We told her that the President can’t just wave a wand and make it happen. I explained to her that Nancy had to bring it up to a vote in the House, which she has said she will do, and then it has to pass the Senate and be sent to President Obama for his signature. My husband said that the senate is where all the good bills die because of Republican obstructionism- end of conversation.

She always does that. We rarely bring up politics, but she will if she thinks she has a way to criticize liberals. The thing is, she never knows the whole story and when we tell her the truth, her reaction is, “Well, I don’t know anything about that” - like that’s a valid argument, and then no more discussion. It’s frustrating to me that she’s happy with her lack of knowledge and doesn’t want to find out more about the issue. I can’t imagine having such a lack of curiosity. She’s not stupid or especially shallow, which makes it worse. Maybe she just doesn’t like being wrong.

:banghead:

[AmericanMan1958]

1. That is my Father-in-Law.

We have dulling emails...
I counter all his with links and facts...
I stop doing so and he comment at a resent family wedding how he misses my emails.
I told him, I care for him deeply but I have found it to be a waste of time.
I got no response and I left it at that....
Still waiting for Round#2....:crazy:

[Gin]

2. my sister is the same way...I quit responding to her emails becasue

it doesn't change a thing.

[Missy Vixen]

3. My younger sister claimed to be a Republican

I asked her to name three planks of the Republican Party platform. She couldn't do it. She's a "Republican" because her boyfriend is.

Meanwhile, my union-supporting, Democratic parents must be twisting in their graves.

[TBF]

4. That is my MIL as well - and that phrase "well I don't know about that"

is a very dismissive one they like to use. I don't know it it's generational, or something they picked up listening to FOX news.

[pacalo]

5. Very interesting post.

Most of us can relate. I blame the contrariness on the boy king's divisive reign of terror & on Fixed News's misinformation.

Sad beyond words.

/on edit, welcome to DU, Cheri!

:hi:

[SheilaT]

6. You have very succinctly described

virtually all of the people who are supporting the Tea Party and their candidates. The profound ignorance about how the system actually works is truly scary. Not bothering to call about a bill, just to assume that Obama really messed up, not to understand that the evil Nancy Pelosi is actually crucial to getting good legislation passed, not realizing how obstructionist the Republican Senators have been -- all of those are shared by too many millions who will cheerfully and ignorantly vote for Tea Party/Republican candidates this year. And won't they be surprised when things get a whole lot worse.

[AmericanMan1958]

13. I love it...

You are so right.
How hard it it to understand, look at their voting records...
It's all "NO'S"
That being a obstructionist.. DUH!!!!!

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. “Well, I don’t know anything about that”

The answer is:
"That's not entirely correct. You might have know nothing about it when you started talking, but now you DO. I find it odd that your willingness to talk about a subject is inversely related to your knowledge."

[DemocracyInaction]

8. I divorced the son of my mother-in-law

and replaced him with a great guy. Picture her as being like the mother-in-law you describe but with a Bible under one arm pit always preaching to others and criticizing others, etc. No wonder her son was an asshole..........

[nenagh]

9. There really are Two America's..

Those who watch Fox News & some CNN, and those who don't..

[madmax]

17. And a third

Those like me who read DU first, read the posts and follow links to the source. By then I've either got it, changed position, or am totally confused. :P

The latter has yet to happen. ;)

[lunatica]

10. This sounds like a pattern that repeats itself all the time

which means she's pushing your buttons so she can goad you into explaining everything so she can then dismiss it with her trite disclaimer. It's just a control thing because she obviously isn't bringing it up to learn anything. She may not even be conscious of this because by now it's just a habit with her in her relationships.

Next time she trashes Obama or makes a derogatory remark just say nothing. Your non-response will surprise her because she's always been successful when she pushes your buttons. But by then you'll be the one in control of your own buttons. Then simply don't let her control you anymore.

[CanonRay]

11. Murdock is right

these people don't want to know the truth, and they don't want to know the facts. He knows his audience.

[EC]

12. When my family used that phrase

“Well, I don’t know anything about that”, I always retored "Well, you know now"

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Does she watch FIXED News? That may be a big part of the problem...

My mother does and she's far from stupid, as well. But she seems to consider this "the news" and gives me crap because I don't watch "the news" or read the local newspaper. *sigh* I tell her that I do read the Washington Post and the NY Times, but that doesn't seem to mean anything. One time she blurted out that she wasn't in favor of stem cell research because that means they "kill children." WTF?! When I answered "What?!" she must have realized that what she said made no sense and backtracked. It's an uphill battle. You have my sympathies... :pals:

[shimmergal]

15. Cheri, I think you hit

the nail on the head. She doesn't like being wrong. Her "well, I don't know about that" is a way of saving face, at least to herself. And it may be a sign she's re-evaluating whatever she's believed about the issue up to now. At least, she may be less likely to repeat it again to others, for fear of having it shot down again. Your patience in putting up with her questions is admirable!

[madamesilverspurs]

16. Sounds like my young friend (she's 45).

Thinks Palin would be an awesome president, people who don't agree are just mean. When I attempted to introduce facts and history into the conversation she said "You might be book-smart, but I'm street smart and you don't know everything." It amazes me because she's really rather bright and can be sharp as a tack. I suspect her fairly recent reconciliation with her estranged father, a fundie matchbook preacher, might have something to do with the attitude.

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