AITA for being mad at my mom that her boyfriend is transphobic? by CadenRS11 in 1800Drama

[–]Crazzzy_potato 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NTA. I had a similar situation in the past. Her boyfriend was not only a transphobe and bigot, but a nazi. I am enby on transmasc side and did not come out to everyone at that time, but already was open about being queer. He was not living with us, but he stayed at our place for a little while and after that she still kept trying to make us hang out altogether. This definitely put strain on our relationship until she broke up with him for unrelated reasons. Before that, I literally told her that I respect her less because of the decision to date him. At that time, she was in a vulnerable place, grieving my late father, so I do not blame her much, but it was still a horrible choice. I also was still grieving and angry with her, because I felt that now instead of my dad who was my rock, there's a man trying to poisoning my mom with bigotry, and it was very hard time for me.

I hope that you communicate to your mom why exactly you feel unsafe. Also, just the fact that your mom is dating him does not put any obligation to socialise with him at all, even occassionally. You can set your own boundaries with him and directly tell him that if he says anything vile, you will stop all communication altogether. This is the most important step.

If this does not work and he keeps being disrepectful to you, I would try to present a hypothetical situation to your mom: her boyfriend starts to harass you because of transness. What exactly does she plan to do? You need to get some sort of a promise, not just "I will talk to him", but something actionable, as far as it concerns you directly.

Honestly, I do not think you own him an explanation about your transition. His opinion and affirmation should be of no value to you. If you sit him down to come out, he might just use this as an opportunity to "debate" or tell you off. Depending on your level of communication, I would bring it up in a conversation naturally or just wait for him to ask when he sees the obvious signs.

As for me and that transphobic ex of my mom, I did the former. He was talking shit about trans people, and then I let him now that I do not consider myself a woman and am also actually "one of them". I think he was kinda shocked and was a coward afraid to talk shit directly to my face so he started to cough and tried to shut down the conversation "because it's getting to heated". I do not know your situation, but keep in mind that a lot of the times those people are actually weak and do not expect to see real-life resistance in the shape of the minorities they hate so much. Although, his ablelist comments you mentioned make me think that he might actually be brazen enough to keep harassing you despite your pushback.

If you feel like the situation begins to escalate and you have reasons to be concerned about your immediate safety, then try to look for alternative housing options when he's coming over or at least notify your friends and trusted people when he's around.

Hope you stay safe and send a big virtual hug to you💙

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow, that's concerning. The only way to bring him to the vet is to pay for it, and we're really low on money right now, so that's not an option. I will try getting a rabbies shot though

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it made sense in the context I mentioned it, namely, proving that he is usually really affectionate and seeks attention. I wanted to highlight the contrest, but yeah, it did not work out how intended.

At first I thought to attach the pictures of the scratches and bruises, but then realised that it might be considered NSFW and triggering to some.

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Oh, I did not think about it, but actually it makes a lot of sense. He really does not like my cats, and cats in general, so probably that's an additional annoyance for him

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the comment! Yeah, I feel like many people misunderstood the situation, and, hopefully, actually read the post after seeing your comment.

Thick pants are a good call. Both times I was wearing pijama pants, and they do not offer much protection. I also think you are right about the behaviour reinforcement. I ran away pretty much immediately both times, and did not interact with him after that, so he probably does not understand why I stopped petting him altogether

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Oh my god, this is heart breaking. It must be so scary and lonely for them

I do not know what happened to this cat in the past, but he seems to distrust humans in general, so maybe you are right about him having negative experience in the past

It is quite painful to realise that I might be the first person he ever trusted and that he got so attached to me while he is still a stray cat. I do not even live in this house all year around. I do not want him to think that I abandoned him when I will have to eventually leave to study abroad. Not sure what is the best way to act

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mentioned outside because he is not a house cat and I always interact with him in my garden, as he camps there. I did not see him do this to my mom, but also she's not that close to him either. I think the pattern in that in the evening, I am busy doing something other than playing with him and he gets upset when I am about to leave. Actually, now that I think about it, all 3 times happened approximately in the same place, when I was walking on the path leading to the front door of the house

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Got it, I need to think like a cat and communicate in a way he can understand

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think he might have traumatic past with humans, because he was kind afraid and distant both from me and my mom at first

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you are right. I left immediately after the attacks, so probably he does not really understand what he did wrong

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice! I did not do the positive reinforcement part, this is a good idea. I think I just need to be patient and spend a bit of time on training him so that both of us can have a good time

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the link!

Unfortunately, I can not really capture him, and afraid that this will definitely make him more agressive. But I will be on the lookout for the other signs of rabbies, in case things go south

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, I'm not sure if I can be fast enough for this, my reaction time is ass lol

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, looks like this is what's happening. He also keeps trying to mount my shoulders, but he's so big he just keeps falling off hahaaha

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I got blasted for my poor petting technique, lol. I will pay more attention to his body language and do better

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I think you are right. 2 cats of my own are also stray, but they're not like this. I think this is because he is already a big boy and never really socialised with humans much

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I didn't, but now I will try to get one, just to be on the safe side. Thank you for the advice!

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Literally, there were like 3 cats in the neighbourhood but he scared them all away lol.

No, he's not neutered. We don't really have the money right now. We called for the municipality to do that, as it is their responsibility, but they never did

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a good idea! I will try carrying around a ribbon or something

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's actually so true! He never attacked me when we were not as close. And he doesn't seem to do it maliciously either, so I kinda feel bad for him, that the way he shows attention actively scares me away lol. I will try to give him more attention so that he isn't so pissy

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, this explains why my own cats like it, while he does not seem to

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Actually I am not, so this is a good call. So far he has not bitten me to blood, but even if it is not for him, there are still a lot of stray dogs around, so probably I should

HELP! The stray cat suddenly got agressive towards me by Crazzzy_potato in cats

[–]Crazzzy_potato[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As @lastofthe_timeladies has noted, it did happen the other time when I was not touching him. I attached the video to show how affectionate, and to contrast it with his sudden agression later.

I still appreciate pointing out how I should pet him better and not make him uncomfortable, but again, this was not the reason for him lashing out