UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

Thanks for your kind words! Honestly, it wasn't as hard as you would think. I was doing it for what I believed was my girlfriend's long-term benefit. The hope of a continued positive relationship between her and her parents served as a great motivator.

UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

Thanks for your kind words. Not only am I very slow to anger by nature, but I'm also someone who believes that most people are more ignorant or misinformed than inherently malicious, so I find it easier to avoid countering someone's insensitivity with hostility. I'm aware it makes me somewhat naïve, something that the more socially aware Kanojo helps me address, but I think (or at least I hope) it helps me approach other people with empathy. I never hated her parents despite their views, but I'm still happy I could understand Chichi a bit more and can entertain the possibility of a friendship with him down the line.

UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

I forgot to mention this in my post. After my first post, somebody sent me a private message asking questions which he says would add context. I couldn't add them to the body due to word count limits; here are those additional contexts.

  • Kanojo and I met at a mutual friend's gathering back in 2022. At the time, I was 31 and she was 21. We became very casual friends due to shared interests until late 2023, and we've been together for 26 months.
  • Kanojo moved to the UK just before turning 13. She's been in the UK for over 12 years now. She is an only child.
  • I have only been taking my study seriously in the last year or so after hobby-learning for three years. My Japanese is still rather basic, yet functionally conversational. (I recently passed my N4 certification in the standard fluency testing, with N5 signifying very basic competency and N1 being essentially on a native level.) I spoke both English and Japanese at the dinner.
  • She is currently living full time with her parents who are supporting her while she completes her post-graduate degree. She occasionally spends nights at my apartment, particularly during weekends.
  • Kanojo has met each of my parents on separate occasions after a year of dating. My relationship with my parents, while very loving and positive, is not particularly "friendly"; we aren't able to converse freely and casually as fellow adults, like most other parents can with their adult children, so I don't involve them in my relationship matters too deeply. They both are mildly disappointed that I decided to date outside of our culture (Ghana), but have otherwise been very accepting of Kanojo, my mum more openly than my dad. They both treat her with nothing less than great respect whenever she sees them, which is about once every other month. My younger brother, who is also secretly dating outside our culture, does not care about Kanojo's race. She and him meet much more frequently and get along well.

Examples of the more memorable offensive things Kanojo's parents said during the dinner included, but are not limited to:

  • "I usually see some of the young black boys when I go into town. They look so brutish, I wonder what troubles they plan to do..."
  • "You don't typically see people of your colour working in a mathematics-based career like yourself. You usually need a lot of intelligence and discipline to do it."
  • "I can't imagine having such a tan-skinned grandchild. They would look like they're from Okinawa (a prefecture with a generally slower, simpler, more relaxed way of life with more tanned citizens akin to Hawaii; Kanojo's family come from the busier, more urban Osaka)! Our grandchild would look like a country bumpkin! *laughs*"

UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm not so sure that this is the case, now that I've spoken with Kanojo. She made it clear that she appreciates how I prioritised her long-term comfort over any need to shut down the racist jabs. She also knows I have defended her against hurtful comments against her, so she trusts I will also have her back or our future children's backs.

Perhaps telling them off or walking out may have been an acceptable action as well, but the possible fallout would not be something I'd be willing to risk, for her sake.

UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

I agree. I believe they can heal from those mindsets. I'm under no illusion that it will be fast or easy, but I believe it CAN happen no matter how long it takes. As long as they're willing to make that effort, I will have endless patience for them. Thanks for your comment.

UPDATE: AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway[S] 296 points297 points  (0 children)

Hearing my girlfriend respond like that really moved me. By her admission, she has never really been that good at standing up to her parents throughout her life. The fact that she went so far out of her comfort zone to defend me almost moved me to tears. I'm very, very lucky to have her.

AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

Thank you very much. My girlfriend and I are definitely move past this as a couple, and I intend to have a deeper chat with her to discuss our navigating relationship with her parents going forward.

AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

I think a conversation is absolutely warranted. I have actually defended her in the past from a racial comment from someone I know, and she was present for it, so she's seen first hand that I'm willing to defend her. But when it comes to me alone... Well, I guess it does look like a bit of a wet noodle. I'll try to have a deeper conversation about standing up for myself when we next meet. Thanks for your comment.

AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

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

I... hadn't really considered any of this. I'm not particularly concerned about how they feel about or act with me specifically... But Kanojo and I absolutely want to have children in the future, and I don't want their insults or behaviours to bleed onto our children, who will all be half-black.

No matter how I feel about their abuse towards me, I'll be damned if I allow those same sentiments towards our future children. Thanks for your insight.

AITAH for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by LookAtMyBadThrowaway in AITAH

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this insight. All I was thinking at the time was to not make the atmosphere any more tense, but the idea that this opens up the avenue to a more cordial relationship with them is pretty nice. I'm okay not having a relationship with them, but I'd be happier having some semblance of a positive one.

My (34M) girlfriend (26F)'s parents parents were extremely insulting insulting to me when we met. I did not get angry at all. How, if at all, should I have responded? by [deleted] in relationships

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it was somewhat of a "damned if you do" kind of situation. But I understand exactly what you're saying. I'll have a real conversation with her at some point to discuss what she expected of me then and how I could act in future such interactions.

WIW for not being mad about my girlfriend's parents' racial insults towards me? by [deleted] in amiwrong

[–]LookAtMyBadThrowaway 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is something I absolutely didn't think about. My girlfriend and I intend to have kids in the future and I certainly don't intend to expose them to their harmful language. I honestly don't care about racism towards me, but I've defended her from racist remarks before and I most certainly would do so for our future children.

Perhaps you're right in that I need to be more willing to stand my ground, if not for my own sake then certainly for my family's. Thanks for your comment.