All cultures have their taboos -- and also their taboo-breakers!
I think most people who come to this site find themselves in the taboo-breaking mold over their desires and wishes.
metroidnerd wrote:AndLee wrote:For this situation, yes their wishes take precedent...just because they own the ground you stand on, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt verbally slap them for being insensitive.
This.
Social protocol dictates that one is to respect their family and elders, meaning that it's a form of taboo to cross that line and defy the opinions/wishes/whatever of those who are supposed to love you and use their greater wisdom and experience to guide you. But family ties and experience doesn't make anyone better than anyone else. If your mom is saying things like that -- willing to sacrifice your self-confidence for her own profit -- then she's not being your mom. Sure, it's her house and her rules, but that doesn't mean that her rules are right, and that certainly doesn't mean you can't call her out on her bull. Who knows... maybe if you were to explain to her how she was/is damaging your psyche then her love for you would yield some acceptance. (Then again, i take a certain cruel, sadistic pleasure out of tearing people's souls to pieces and watching them (hopefully) reform into something better.)
And as far as this Abby person is concerned, i don't care if she's the understanding matriarch or the demented granddaughter. She doesn't know you, and therefore can only give general advice from her perspective. And since you don't know her, you have no way of knowing whether she's got a good head on her shoulders or if her advice can be trusted ("A lot of people listen to her" or any other bandwagon appeal is irrelevant and unsubstantial). Therefore, using your own discretion, you have the option to, in varying degrees, either take that advice to heart or completely disregard her statement as if it were merely the ravings of a livid, delusional ignoranus.
