If you remember in the Old Testament, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, because God commanded him so. Millennia have passed since then, but many parents still choose God when faced with a choice between religion and their own children. Only, unlike the biblical story, there is often no angel who stopped Abraham’s hand in time…

The first quarter of the 21st century is coming to an end, but many parents, alas, as in the old days, continue to break off relations with their own children if, growing up, they do not share their beliefs, or even more so, do not correspond to these beliefs somehow. Religion, traditions, superstitions – and any relations between closest relatives are practically destroyed.

This story appeared very recently in the AITA Reddit community, and as of today has more than 11.8K upvotes and around 1.7K different comments. Quite, by the way, biblical in its plot – there are two brothers, each of whom has his own children. However, this is where the similarities end…

More info: Reddit

The author of the post has a brother with ultra-religious viewpoints

Image credits: mododeolhar (not the actual photo)

So, the author of the original post has a brother and an older sister, and the original poster’s brother has had a difficult relationship with his adult daughter for quite some time. The OP’s brother’s wife comes from a conservative ultra-religious family, and after the wedding, the man almost completely adopted her viewpoints. As a result, when their 17-year-old daughter came out as a lesbian, her parents almost cut ties with her.

Image credits: ConcernEquivalent744

The brother’s daughter came out as a lesbian at the age of 17 and her parents literally disowned her

As a result, until the very end of high school, the teen lived in the OP’s parents’ house, and they also paid for her college. The author of the post helped his niece as well, trying to be a safe space for her, and the woman’s now-fiancee is basically the OP’s second niece, according to his own words. Yes, in the near future, the women have planned their wedding.

Image credits: ConcernEquivalent744

The OP also admits that over the past two years, his brother and wife have tried several times to reconnect with their daughter. They have attended family therapy and appear to have made some progress in terms of overcoming their bigotry. And more recently, the OP’s 16 Y.O. son also came out, but in his case, the parents demonstrated the maximum level of understanding, care and love. The main thing, as they believe, is to see him happy.

Image credits: ConcernEquivalent744

The author’s niece is going to marry another woman but her parents still feel ‘uncomfortable’ over this

Getting back to the topic of the upcoming wedding – of course, the OP’s niece wanted her parents to be present at the ceremony, but the couple are experiencing some kind of mental block regarding this. They even asked for the wedding to be pushed back a few months to “have time to come to terms with it,” but the OP thinks it’s just some kind of psychological ploy.

Image credits: ConcernEquivalent744

In general, it all ended with the niece asking the author of the post to lead her down the aisle, and he happily agreed. However, the brother then called him and chewed him out for what he considered an attempt to “undermine his relationship with his daughter” and “pushing him out.” The OP, in his turn, was indignant and stated that all the problems are only in his brother’s head, reminding him once again that his own son is also gay.

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Image credits: ConcernEquivalent744

The niece asked the author to walk her down the aisle, he agreed and got accused by his brother of ‘pushing him out’

And at that moment, the brother asked the OP if he thought his relationship with his son was more important than his relationship with his daughter. The author of the post, in the heat of a quarrel, said yes – because “I don’t have to see a therapist to teach me how to love my own kid.” The brother was very upset and offended, and even relatives told the OP that he probably crossed the line. His wife, sister and parents believe that the author of the post probably have handled that better, and that he simply needs to judge less and listen more.

Image credits:  Rosemary Ketchum (not the actual photo)

People in the comments, however, sided with the author of the post, stating that there’s a huge difference in the two brothers’ attitude towards their children

The commenters generally agreed that the original poster could have handled it better, but still, firstly, he said these words in the heat of the moment, and secondly, there really is a huge difference with the brothers’ relationships with their children. The OP and his wife accepted their son’s coming out and loved him no matter his sexuality. As for his brother and spouse, even after eight years, they feel uncomfortable with their own daughter. And this attitude really makes the difference.

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Image credits: Dhaval Jani (not the actual photo)

People in the comments also claim that the original poster’s answer was far too epic. “Sometimes you have to be hard,” some of the commenters say. Moreover, many people write that the author’s angry remark would look great on a shirt, they need it on a poster or commemorative mugs. “You’re my kind of people,” another person in the comments wrote enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, there are still cases when representatives of the older generations espouse such bigotry towards their close relatives. For example, you can also read our post about the old gentleman who not only cut ties with his granddaughter for marrying a woman, but also disinherited her. And, of course, we’re already looking forward to your own comments to this particular story.

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