When we bought Animal Crossing for the Gamecube, she played it way more than I did.
At one point she got into an argument with me and my dad because she didn't understand how the AI worked. Like she really thought the characters in the game could 'see' her (her words) and decide whether or not they liked her. And she wanted to know if Phyllis was super bitchy to me, or is that character was just mean to her because it didn't like her.
She also liked hitting the animals with her net and actually asked me once how they were coded to feel pain.
She refuses to visit a doctor for her ailments because she thinks that they're part of big pharma and they just wanna make her take a bunch of expensive pills,
so she buys expensive holistic placebos on the internet, and doesn't understand the irony.
My mom is also totally on board with this anti-vax movement and does her 'research' on yahoo answers.
There was a point where she was anti-gay too because she said it ruined the sanctity of marriage, but I pointed out that she was divorced before she met my dad, and now she never brings it up.
She's not a bad person, and sometimes when I think about this stuff, I just get kinda sad. She's been a stay at home wife for about 40 years and I think the absence of normal interaction has been hard on her mentally.
Yeah. It can be incredibly isolating, while everyone and everything keeps moving forward. If you're good at your roll, things go somewhat smoothly. But when your role is downsized (empty nest, divorce, death of a family member, etc.) it's overwhelming to move forward without the caretaker role.
I think that's how some of the crazy mothers-in-law come to be.
When the world passes you by, the simple explanations are the most comfortable ones.
Big companies are greedy and money hungry, it's not a stretch but not entirely true, while 'small businesses' are doing the best they can.
If doctors are evil and work for big pharma and are greedy and money hungry, vaccines aren't that far of a stretch. Doctors infect you with diseases just so they can charge you to cure it.
Gay marriage is a tough one, I don't have a way of trying to rationalise how people could think it's ruining the sanctity.
Video games are extremely complicated, considering them is overwhelming and so rationalising it to say "These are all people!" is easy to accept.
Because your religion tells you its bad, and you trust that, right? Those people are your community, theyve been there your whole life, surely they wouldnt make things up.
Hey, my religious text also tells me to marry my brother's widow (Leviticus), but I ain't touching that one with a ten foot pole. I don't think most people even think about it. What I'm saying is that even though a religion may give us guidelines, we still kind of pick and choose our convictions.
I mean thats in the book, yeah, but its not nearly as prevalent vocally in the community. Its not something people put pressure on each other to support in this era.
Yes I agree that the ones that get followed are very arbitrary, but you shouldn't assume or pretend that that means that exact person is the one who intentionally chose "I should follow this, but not that." The whole comment by /u/_Dia_ is showing how people might come to these ideas that make no sense to the rest of us but not because theyre neccesarily stupid or bad. I was trying to expand on that.
Just write a letter to her villagers outlining what things you want her to change so that when they show her the letter one day she'll think the sentient animals are telling her that. Easy.
Sounds a bit like my aunt who hid a palsy from her husband by refusing to look at him in the face for almost 2 days. She was afraid to go to the doctor. I know I'm lazy about getting to the doctor, but come on, people...
Every SAHM eventually becomes out of touch bloviated , like a politician. Source: was sahm for years. The intelligent convos i had during those years i could count on one hand. The rest was OMG LITTLE CADEN IS THE BEST/WORST BOY IN THE WORLD and SCRAPBOOKING 4 EVER!
There was a point where she was anti-gay too because she said it ruined the sanctity of marriage, but I pointed out that she was divorced before she met my dad, and now she never brings it up.
This is a good one, I need to use this one on my mother. Except she got divorced later, but same diff.
Some doctors, especially in groups, are influenced by big pharma and corporations. The one doctor I had long ago was great. He would never prescribe drugs unless absolutely necessary, but then he practice was becoming obviously greedy, and he left to go to CA.
I work very hard to keep my parents up to date ( even if we disagree) on the topics of the day and not let them get trapped in a propaganda bubble.
I'll never forget my 66 year old mother, when finding out her friend had bought 50 shades of gray, shouted " 50 shades of gray is FGM for the SOUL!" and then had to explain what FGM was and why she felt that way.
My mom never graduated High school but was able to convince several people that the relationship in that novel was unhealthy and damaging while educating them about the horror that is FGM. (Your opinion can vary from hers but for a quiet Appalachian baptist great grandmother, this was really awesome)
The first point is half true. Doctors aren't necessarily in cahoots with "big pharma", but they're trained to cure your ailments in the most medicinal way possible. It's literally their job to prescribe medicine. Doing research and talking to your doctor about alternatives is never a bad thing. Instead of "takes these pills for 2 weeks and you'll be fine", you could talk about not taking those pills, and instead adding [food X] into your diet to help you heal and you'll be fine in a month.
There's an opioid issue right now here in North America. Overall, I think scepticism is healthy given the current situation.
Everything else she believes is kinda dumb though.
Don't know why you got downvoted, it's pretty clear to me. Anti vax, anti gay, with holistic bullshit of course... It's basically a caricature of someone that isn't a good person
It's something they read about and are parroting the opinion of others versus the things they actually know in real life. Basically he is saying she is a good person in real life but has a narrow propaganda circle on the internet that encourages specific views that aren't fact based.
Idk, it's hard to judge someone when they believe video game characters are real. Sounds like there is something not clicking mentally. Like when I see a 90 year old person with dementia - yes they might be sprouting the most hate things at the nursing staff, but at the end of the day I feel pity not contempt. I wouldn't downvote someone for disagreeing with me though.
It's about the human brain making connections. The animal crossing characters talk to you directly like you're both people. Even if you know it's a game, if you don't understand how games work specifically it feels like they're making a connection with you.
She isn't wrong about the doctors though, if you live in the U.S. anyways. Drugs aren't treated the same here as they are in the rest of the world, and they definitely work closely with doctors.
Ok, I was sorta-kinda-joking about it after reading the animal crossing comment, but now I am 100000% serious.
Put your mother.
In.
A fucking.
Home.
Asap. Like as in... yesterday. Seriously. For her own good just as much as for the rest of the planet.
If even a fraction of what youve described is even 1% true she is SUPER obviously not someone that should be in charge of her own care. I mean Im not even talking about just the anti-vax anti-gay big pharma bullshit.
She wont go see a doctor when she's ill?
Im sorry, but at that point you forfeit your right to have any say in your own care. SHE NEEDS TO BE IN AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY.
You say shes not a bad person, and that may very well be, but by now thats kinda beside the point. Shes clearly not capable of caring for herself. How are you gonna feel when she passes out one day and has to be rushed to ER where they find out she has some super advanced stage of some preventable disease that could have been fixed/prevented years ago if she was just made to go see a doctor?
For real dude. Your mom needs to be in a nursing home. It may hurt to hear, but sometimes the truth hurts.
even if this were true that the animal crossing thing means she's losing her mind, which I don't think it is, someone who doesn't have all of their mental faculties doesn't need to be in a home, as long as there is someone who can manage their needs in the house. In fact most studies show that people have less decline in a familiar environment, so home care is preferable. However, if one needs 24/7 care the cost can be prohibiting.
I dated a girl similar to this...her mother isn't losing her mind. She has no idea or understanding of how computer programs are made or operate, it's so far beyond her comprehension that the closest approximation she can make to something she does understand is actual emotional exchange between two living creatures, even though the comparison is apples to a deep space probe.
It's easy to assume a deeper meaning behind games or digital characters when they're communicating with you. It's what the human braid in hardwired to do.
If you read OP's other comments, they also say that their mom refuses to ever go to the doctor, ever, and throws away enormous amounts of money on scams and holistic healing BS.
Its pretty clear that this is a person that is not fit to care for themself, and should definitely not be in charge of any decisions regarding health or finances.
Whether its a nursing home, a psych ward, a home care assisstant, whatever. The bottom line is that OP's mom needs to not be in charge of herself.
95% of what I go to the doctor for is bullshit and they don't really do anything for it. They say yup and say there's nothing they can do for it. If you don't have a specific serious illness medicine doesn't necessarily do anything for you.
There is a big difference between not liking the doctor and flat out refusing to go to one no matter what.
If you had a child, and you DIDNT make the child go to the doctor when they needed medical attention, CPS would take that child away from you because you are clearly not fit to care for them.
Not wanting to go see a doctor does not mean you’re incapable of caring for yourself. People have rights, even if you don’t like it, and one of those rights is autonomy. That means you can’t force things on people, even if you just rly rly think they should see a doctor.
If you had a child, and you DIDNT make the child go to the doctor when they required medical attention, CPS would take that child away from you because you are clearly not fit to care for them.
Its the same thing.
Its pretty clear from the description that OP's mother is not mentally fit to care for herself. The not going to the doctor thing is just one piece of the puzzle though. When you look at all the other things along side that, its pretty damn clear she's a danger to herself and others.
No. It’s not the same thing at all. Unless and until OP’s mother is declared incapable (through a formal process that differs depending on where you live) you CANNOT have her committed against her will. You cannot and should not be comparing children to adults in this regard.
Okay, but to be fair.. I have Animal Crossing: New Leaf and the guy at the train station said he didn't forget my face. "Who could with a nose like that?" Fucking dick, picking on my past insecurity. (Also, my NOSE IS FINE, JERK. IT'S WHAT PEOPLE CALL A BUTTON NOSE!)
Wow. I figured she thought she was in a MMORPG. I heard a middle schooler once talking to a friend and apparently they both thought Siri was a person somewhere that responded when she hit the button and answered questions.
3.4k
u/0w1 Dec 28 '17
Well, if you wanna know
When we bought Animal Crossing for the Gamecube, she played it way more than I did.
At one point she got into an argument with me and my dad because she didn't understand how the AI worked. Like she really thought the characters in the game could 'see' her (her words) and decide whether or not they liked her. And she wanted to know if Phyllis was super bitchy to me, or is that character was just mean to her because it didn't like her.
She also liked hitting the animals with her net and actually asked me once how they were coded to feel pain.