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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be sick of politics???

31 replies

Heartistired · 03/07/2020 20:58

Hey,
This is going to be really really long, apologies in advance, I will probably miss huge points but can only remember so much at once, im not man bashing, i am hard work, I have ocd from previous experiences which he understands finally, and can be high maintenence.

I need serious help, im at my whits end, but is it me? Am I the problem? Is my ocd getting in the way? Am I just being narrow minded, totally respect anything that is thrown at me, just help me please!!
I've NC for this.

I have been with my husband for 10yrs, married for 7, have dc8 and my dc 10 whos father passed away and his family never bothered.

Hes a pretty happy go lucky, fun, spontaneous guy, I love him, i
I love his spirit, I love his soul, and we are very similar in character, or at least we were, something changed 2 years or so ago, he started getting right into conspiracy theories and politics, not a problem, if that's his thing to do, to unwind, fair enough, I listen occasionally, don't always agree, but that's how things are, not a problem, I should also mention that there is a significant age difference (15yrs+) but love is love, and I really love this man, it makes my heart hurt.

But this is where it gets complicated, well is wasn't, but apparently they are now, DH has African heritage, through his grandfather, who was a tribal leader in Sierra Leone, husband is very proud of this, as am I, we have always planned on heading to SL once our child is old enough, and looking more into his heritage, finding direct family links, our heritages are very important to us both sides, his is Africa, and mine is Irish, both that our grandfathers are our link, IYSWIM.

Now where this becomes a problem, DH recently went through something tragic, he lost a family member through someone else's doing, sorry for the run around with words, I dont want this to come up in a search, this was absolutely horrific, and I understand he needs time to heal, having been im a similar situation, I have tried to he his rock and I have honestly tried, but tonight I completely snapped.

With covid, there still hasn't been a funeral, they want the deceased to have a good send off, with everyone there, so are holding off (also held back due to forensics, tests etc) I stand by whatever he and his family decide, having been in a similar position before.

I spent December to Feb virtually alone, being as understanding as I could be, luckily, my mum helps massively, I wouldn't be able to work if it wasn't for her, because when it comes to dh, sometimes he is useless, beyond his own wants and needs.

Until eventually I reached a point where I told him, I know he was going through a hard time but he needs to remember, we have young children that need our emotional and physical support too, he says all the right things and then a week later creeps back to where he was, his nephew who is an adult but needs xyz, his sisters all adults, need xyz, then covid hit, i thought we would finally get the break we needed, all was good for about 4 weeks, we had to self isolate in the first month, then 2 weeks later again, the first isolation was great, we really did manage to unwind, it was just us, and the good weather, second isolation started to go down hill, it was us the good weather and the media.

Ive lost thought path because im trying to remember everything thats happened over time.

Basically DH always knows what to say, sorts himself out for a few weeks/months then carries on, which im used to now.

I managed a happy median with media and our happiness, just by telling him, I ignored the media and avoided the Internet because it was affecting my mental health, which is true, all the covid, and everything that went with it, scared me, so I took a back seat and focused on home life and happiness.

This worked fine until the black lives matter movement really picked up.

Blm is significant in both our lives, i will call put racism or any discrimination as I see it, I always have, and DH has told me this was one of the things that drew me to him, but lately, I dont know who he is, and im scared.

He has brought up deep physiological feelings, that i didn't know about, I have been as supportive as I can, but lately, he keeps showing things to our dc, ive asked for him not to show some things, dc is 7, and should not be weighed down politically, well I thought so anyway.

Every day, every conversation is something political, he woke me up to tell me about D trumps latest statement about wearing masks fgs.

Now today happened, and I dont know what to do, DH came in with some lead pellets, said he wanted an air rifle, i agreed the prior days, thinking he was joking around, and I made a point of that.

I told him if this was all we were going to talk about all night I would be going to bed, he said fine, im getting a motorbike, another thing I am not keen on because my dc dad died on a motorbike suddenly before being born, so i told him to F off, he always brings this up to get a reaction and I was not in the mood for it, so he went back to the air rifle, I made a point of previous bad experiences with my DFather and now he wants to get a gun licence, said dont write it off for one bad experience, ill get a junior one so dc7 can do it and how his friend got a gun licence, eventually, i walked away, the conversation ended, next conversation went onto Tommy Robinson and Churchill and trump, he started typing a fb status about it all, i just blew up, after 2 yrs of this, and the evenings conversations already, i think I finally realised he is just waiting for a reaction from me.

I walked away, went down the garden, kept away from it all, dh followed me about 30mins later, came in where i was to carry on conversation, i just blew up, told him I married him, not politics, i was sick of hearing about all the wrong doings in America, why this person is wrong why that's wrong, why this is right, and I told him so, i told him I missed mundane chats about what colour to paint our bedroom, not what trump said about looking like the lone ranger, so he left me alone and about a minute, later he came back and said to me that i only had to ask him why he felt like that, i said that after 2 yrs I dont care why he feels like that, that he never cares about my thoughts before he tells me something, then its all gone to shit, hes basically told me he thinks im racist, that he has elephant blood running through his veins, im heartbroken, i miss my husband, im sick of having a house full of politics, every day i get,did you see.. Did you hear... Im so tired, ive just been diagnosed with anemia and pttd, he couldn't give a hoot, trumps more important, i realise now how unhappy I am, when i looked at old photos, in 4 years I ve gained nearly 10 dress sizes, im tearful all the time, have my back up everytime he tries to start a conversation,

I don't know what to do, is it just me, am i really a racist because I don't want to hear it every waking moment?

I will add that our dc has an autoimmune disease so we did not protest, although we did discuss it, with covid, this was not something we could participate in.

Help me please 😭

I should also mention, that most of this happens when he has been drinking, heavy spirits, without drink everything is fine, my mum has had enough, she was married too and I had an alcoholic as a dad before he drunk himself to death, she said shes been here, she knows the pattern, but it's not the same, or is it?

After i finally reacted tonight, dh walked off saying 'know your place' and messaged me about having elephant blood running through his veins

OP posts:
Heartistired · 03/07/2020 21:22

This has been a very slow process to now over the past 7 months, so I can elaborate if needed, Im just at such a low point, am I just not understanding his point of view, or am i at such a low point im not understanding.

Im sorry its so long, I want to be there for my husband, he is my life, but I also want him to understand me, and not spend everyday talking about trump, epstein etx

OP posts:
picklemewalnuts · 03/07/2020 21:40

Oh dear!

How often is he drinking? Can you have a sensible conversation when he hasn't been?

picklemewalnuts · 03/07/2020 21:48

I'm not particularly familiar with alcohol issues.
Although the loss of the family member, the BLM protests and CV have brought things to a head, it sounds like the problems you've been having are older than that.

It also sounds as though he has no interest in how you or your DS feel or experience life.

It's really important for children to feel safe, and that the world is broadly benevolent. To undermine that by showing them things that will scare them is really damaging.

Can you have a conversation about any of this when he hasn't been drinking? How much is he drinking, would he have had time to get sober by the next day?

Dilatory · 03/07/2020 21:54

I can see that the air gun, drinking etc is worrying, but honestly, I couldn’t live a week with someone who thinks a genuine, ongoing interest in current affairs is abnormal and pathological. DH and I regularly discuss politics, US, UK, European, our home country. You seem incompatible in this regard.

But what is the ‘elephant blood’ thing? Is there a reference I’m missing?

Heartistired · 03/07/2020 21:59

Recently, his drinking has slowed to once a weekday and every Saturday and Sunday, it was everyday.

I will say to him, Xxx stop showing dc things and I get 'i was shown things at that age, I understood' or some other excuse.

Im not making excuses, do believe our children should have an understanding, but there is a line you stop at, and when it comes to videos of police brutality or videos of similar violence, I draw the line, my DH finds it highly amusing to make a point of things like this, for instance, tonight I am unhappy with him virtually calling me a racist, with his 'elephant blood' which had me sitting in the garden in tears for hours, until I had no choice but to retreat as it was pouting, I deleted messenger and Facebook so he couldn't continue the messages he was sending me, so he has told our child that I am just unhappy with people so I am being rude towards him an his dad, i will be sleeping on the sofa, i cant do it anymore

OP posts:
Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:04

*I can see that the air gun, drinking etc is worrying, but honestly, I couldn’t live a week with someone who thinks a genuine, ongoing interest in current affairs is abnormal and pathological. DH and I regularly discuss politics, US, UK, European, our home country. You seem incompatible in this regard.

But what is the ‘elephant blood’ thing? Is there a reference I’m missing?*

I do discuss things with him, sometimes we don't agree, and that's ok, but lately, it is constant, I work nights, and he has been waking me up to get changed when I should be sleeping to bring something up.

The elephants blood, maybe I am getting it completely wrong, but I think he means 'elephant in the room blood' as in he has black blood, now, I may have that completely wrong, in my emotional state, but he has been drinking heavily since he came home, so I am not willing to ask, O cannot wait for my shifts to change so I am working when he is off, and I can video call to make sure my dc aren't being pulled into his thoughts.

Maybe i am just stuck in my ways??

OP posts:
Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:11

Ive just had to have a very tearful conversation with my 7yo,because daddy's said i cant love him the same as my dc, because he has different blood, I cant do this anymore, my dc7 is crying over us being his favourites, because of whatever dh has said, im done, i cant do this, once dc is in bed, im going for a long walk

OP posts:
Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:19

Its raining, but i am going to take the bike out for a ride, i cant live with this 💔 to think my husband is right, and everything i stood for is a lie, everyone i stood up for was a lie, Im broken

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Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:20

I have nowhere else to discuss this, so im sorry to put tjis on mumsnet, but this has truly broken my heart, i cant wait for everyone to be asleep so I can leave

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Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:21

He was right, years ago we fought and he strangled me, he told me noone would believe me anyway, he wasn't wrong. It just took years to come out.

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Spinakker · 03/07/2020 22:30

I think you need to leave him and stay with your mum. It sounds like he's totally lost sight of what's important. I understand his passion for politics but it shouldn't be more important than your marriage. Yanbu at all. You need to get you and your kids away from him imo.

srownbkingirl · 03/07/2020 22:33

I don't think you've been racist in anything you've written. Sounds like both of you are really stressed but in completely different ways. Seems he's fully immersed in his and is having some sort of realisation/awakening or it's just his own way of dealing with stuff.

I agree he shouldn't be dumping it all on your 7 yr old.

You'll need to take care of yourself for now, I think. You're completely worn out, it seems. Do you think it's time to step back and take it easy yourself? When he's not drinking, you can have a discussion with him and just let him know you'll be zoning out for a while to take care of your mental health so he shouldn't tell you anything he's getting from the media.

Take care of your child and yourself for now. When you've had a good rest (however long it takes), you can see better what the situation really is between you and your DH.

If at all possible, therapy for you and for the both of you could help too.Flowers

picklemewalnuts · 03/07/2020 22:34

Please don't leave your D.C. Your husband is abusive.
Take him and stay with your mum.

picklemewalnuts · 03/07/2020 22:35

He strangled you years ago, how long ago exactly? Had he been drinking then, too?

Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:41

Yea he strangled me a long time ago, first years of our relationship, it was a bad time, I think we both had our issues we had yet to deal with, alcohol was involved.

We did get past this, it was a one off, and we did take time to make sure we was passed this to move on, I got both our parents in on it, to help, i felt like he was using other ways to make me feel bad but now I'm worried that maybe I am a racist, i never did intentionally and im in tears at the thought, im not that person, but am I because i won't listen to him? Ims c o conflicted

OP posts:
srownbkingirl · 03/07/2020 22:41

@Heartistired

He was right, years ago we fought and he strangled me, he told me noone would believe me anyway, he wasn't wrong. It just took years to come out.
Missed this!

I see you have much much bigger problems than what I thought! Him saying no one would believe that he tried to strangle you is another level of sinister, right after trying to strangle you. Not sure I could say anything else other than protect yourself and your child. That doesn't sound right!

Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:49

I dont want to make him out as a monster and me as an angel, because i will be honest and say we both have our demons, but things have been okay until this recent blm protests, without our dc and covid, we both agreed we would be out there, protesting for what is right, but as before, our dc has an undiagnosed immune problem, only undiagnosed as we are 5 years into diagnosis, its been a long road, and i am happy to hide in our little bubble, clearly dh is not, and not because i dont want to hear about the lone ranger and joe bloggs who was brutally arrested 3 yrs ago, does this make me a bad person.

OP posts:
Heartistired · 03/07/2020 22:55

Ive just thought of this, it didn't click until now, and I know I am wrong,

I told husband I miss his 'oh well if it doesn't affect me i dont care attitude'
Because this has been his thought path on brexit etc actually against my thoughts, but i also appreciate that blm is a much bigger problem than brexit will ever be, i was just at a breaking point, i couldn't stand the politics and his following me anymore, ita relentless, I dont know how to make his stop with it, he has gone to bed, so i think I am going to take a flask of tea and a blanket and go and destress somewhere, i need to get out of this struggle, and I dont know how.

OP posts:
srownbkingirl · 03/07/2020 23:02

I don't see how wanting to take a break and distress makes you a bad person or racist at all. Unless there's something more I'm missing.

Do give yourself the break you need. Your dc need you to be in a well enough frame of mind. Have an honest chat with him when there's no alcoholic influence. You don't have to be a sounding board 24/7. You say you both have been doing stuff together so it's not like you're shut off from him. Try to see if you can get therapy if both of you can't come to an agreement on your own and if you're happy to stay with him.

srownbkingirl · 03/07/2020 23:02

De-stress*, not distress.

srownbkingirl · 03/07/2020 23:04

He also needs to see things from your POV and therapy is worth a try if he isn't listening to you. Something has to give though because it doesn't really sound healthy.

Heartistired · 03/07/2020 23:39

I have blown up a blow up bed and will be staying here for a few days, im up before my dc, so they won't know any difference, its the weekend, so there will be no talking about anything in an amicable manner for a few days, I do have a week off work soon, so may make time to get away from everything while he is at work.

Im not sure what I will do over the weekend, thankfully, he is asleep now, so I can relax, and get some sleep.

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Heartistired · 03/07/2020 23:42

Didn't mean to ignore anyone, I'll reply properly tomorrow, I just need to sleep.

Thanks for the replies, they stopped me running off into the darkness at least.

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NudgeUnit · 04/07/2020 01:30

Honestly, I think politics is a red herring. The problem as it comes across to me is not that he's interested in politics, or even that he is and you're not, but that he's picking things and becoming fixated with them, whether that's Brexit, Covid, BLM, his conspiracy theories, 'elephant blood' or whatever. It sounds as though this has been going on a while but may have become more intense if he's had a shock event in the family. He doesn't sound altogether stable in a general sense, and if this recent event has destabilised him further, I think you should consider the possibility that he needs professional help.

Motorbikes, air guns, alcohol, previous episodes of violence are a worrying combination, and you have DC to think of. I think you should get a bit of a grip and stop seeing all this as a criticism of you, and recognise it as a sign that he is in some kind of crisis state. I think you might be safer away from him tbh. Do you have somewhere else you could go while he gets some help? You are going to need to be strong for yourself and DC.

Andsothisit · 04/07/2020 03:27

You definitely don't sound racist. My DH is not white, and we often talk about the issues and the impact racism has on him, and to a degree on us as a mixed race couple.

It does sound like this is all having a really negative impact on you and DC. You shouldn't be made to feel like the enemy and I can completely understand that you're tired of the constant politics.

DH and I both agreed on Brexit for example (i.e it was ridiculous idea) but when it kept dragging on, and causing stress in our personal lives (as we were directly impacted) we just agreed not to talk about it, or stress about it, because even though we were in agreement, the constant discussions and worrying were just causing stress over something we had no control over.

I think the best suggestion (if possible) is to have a conversation when alcohol isn't involved to say how hurt you are, and how unfair it is to be characterising you in this way.

The domestic violence you have spoken about some time before is very worrying. If you feel safe that having a rational and calm conversation is possible, that's the route I'd go for initially. If you believe at any point your safety is at risk, or you feel uncomfortable, please leave the situation and get support.

But most of all, take care. You definitely don't come across as a bad or horrible person, so please don't treat yourself like you are.