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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think this shows he hasn’t changed a bit?

9 replies

JustLyra · 21/10/2021 08:57

I have no relationship with my siblings. Our parents were neglectful and abusive alcoholic drug addicts. We were taken by our grandparents when I was 7 once they realised the problem. I’m the youngest by a long way (one of my earliest memories is being called the mistake by my father).

I went NC with my eldest brother several years ago when our father died. My sister had started visiting him and eldest brother decided we would all visit, all organise his funeral etc and it caused WWIII when I decline. Lots of nasty things were said and done, including me having to call the police when my brother was kicking my front door and screaming at me that I was a spoilt brat at 2am (I was heavily pregnant, DH was away and I had my other children in my home).

At that point he made our two siblings, his wife (who, being 9 years older than me, had been like a big sister/aunt/mum figure since I was young) and his children choose between him and I, and pressured them to the point that none of them spoke to me or my children again.

A while after I went NC my SIL and niece and nephews came to stay with us for a while after my brother assaulted SIL. She opened up at that point that he’d been abusive for many years. When she chose to go back my teenage nephew refused and has been part of our home ever since. This culminated in my brother turning up and being removed by police twice, making vexatious complaints to social services and my work (I worked in schools at the time).

There have been other incidents over the years (including a recent one where my niece wanted to live with us and showed some similar tendencies to her father) where he has been nasty and intimidating.

Anyway this week I had a letter from my brother, via an intermediary, stating that he’s been having counselling and he bitterly regrets the state of our relationship. He requested that I meet him, with a mediator, to talk and so that he can apologise properly.

I replied to the letter stating that I was very glad he was in a better place and that I wished him well with his counselling, but that I have no wish to meet him or reconcile our relationship.

He’s now ranting and raving all over social media about me. I’ve received another letter, just from him, stating that I’m being cruel and unfair by denying him closure. He’s also told a relative that I should be grateful he’s even willing to speak since I “stole” his son.

He hasn’t changed at all, has he? This is just not the actions of a genuinely contrite person.
Why on Earth would the mediation people have got involved with this in the first place? Abusers (and he has convictions) shouldn’t be given mediation - everyone knows that!

OP posts:
ChubbyK · 21/10/2021 09:00

You're right op, he hasn't changed.

Are you the poster that took in your nephew and then niece wanted to move in, and you were going to offer her a rental deposit instead?

JustLyra · 21/10/2021 09:02

@ChubbyK

You're right op, he hasn't changed.

Are you the poster that took in your nephew and then niece wanted to move in, and you were going to offer her a rental deposit instead?

Yes, that’s me. We didn’t take in my niece in the end, or give them deposit (niece didn’t want that option)

My brother is their father.

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 21/10/2021 09:05

He's awful, isn't he.
Unsurprising really that it was so easy for you to 'steal' his son.
You've done the right thing!

FrenchBoule · 21/10/2021 09:06

YANBU

You don’t have to accommodate nasty abusive people in your life,related or not.
Don’t listen to anybody telling you “but he’s your brother”. People pulling this phrase don’t have a clue how toxic and damaging/damaged relatives could be.

Cycle ends with you 💐 wishing you all the best.

Sn0tnose · 21/10/2021 09:08

In my experience, many abusers are very good at convincing people that they are lovely and that the problems are all due to circumstances out of their control. They’re very good at appearing to be reasonable, rational people. It’s how they get close to people to abuse them in the first place.
Most of the time, that’s sufficient to fool strangers who aren’t aware of their history. Sometimes, it is coupled with professionals who have misplaced confidence in their ability to see these abusers for what they are.

But all of that is largely irrelevant. You see him for what he is and his reaction has proved to you that you made the right decision.

JustLyra · 21/10/2021 10:16

In my experience, many abusers are very good at convincing people that they are lovely and that the problems are all due to circumstances out of their control.

From what I can gather that’s very accurate.

Everything is our parents fault (apparently I’m lucky because I 7 when we were moved - which ignores so many things), my fault for not being forgiving, his wife’s fault for being goady… Never his.

He’s very, very charming. I had concussion, a nasty cut and a suspected fracture once (I managed to close the car boot on myself) and while i was in A&E in the hospital he worked in he came down and was apologising to the staff for my “time wasting”. Even though I needed stitches and they were surprised by the lack of fracture two of the staff members joined him in a rant about people wasting A&E resources in a way that made me very uncomfortable and I ended up apologising to them!

OP posts:
WhenISnappedAndFarted · 21/10/2021 10:29

Nope he hasn't changed at all.

You gave him a decent reply and the fact he's acted like this just shows he hasn't changed, he doesn't actually think he was wrong and it was just an act.

His true colours slipped pretty quickly

Iwantamarshmallowman · 21/10/2021 11:24

In my experience, many abusers are very good at convincing people that they are lovely and that the problems are all due to circumstances out of their control. They’re very good at appearing to be reasonable, rational people. It’s how they get close to people to abuse them in the first place.

My mother is an abusive nassassist.. you just hit the nail right on the head.

FlorenceNightshade · 21/10/2021 11:31

He’s proved with his reaction that’s it’s all about him not you. It’s sad it’s come to this but you’re all obviously better off without him and I guess he knows that too and hates it.
You’ve done absolutely the right thing for you and your family Flowers

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