No, some of us had parents who raised us by fear & intimidation because they lacked the skills & maturity to parent with compassion & empathy. That may not have been your experience, but it was mine.

My parents were Silent Generation, young teens during WWII (one in 🇪🇪, not the best placement). His 3rd marriage (yikes), her 2nd, me the youngest for both of them, in their mid/late 40s Never really thought about it til just now, but yeah. I'm definitely an outlier, I guess.

I was a super happy, outgoing kid, could light up a room with a smile. Buuut when I got to public HS and experienced physical/emotional abuse for the first time, I was totally unprepared Maybe getting smacked around and belittled as a kid woulda given me some coping skills :p

My parents were also Silent Gens. Growing up under fear & intimidation parenting isn’t a flex, but strangely it does make one immune as an adult to that kind of behavior from maladjusted adults who use it to attempt to control others. Now it just earns an eyeroll from me & not fear.

I totally get it, it's not a flex, but... I mean, it's kinda like getting immunized? Able to handle humanity's darker side better. Still, I'm glad family wasn't the root of my PTSD. I got immunized a little later, that's all.

You are not the only one.

It shouldn’t have surprised me that they turned out to have consumed the MAGA kool-aid. It shouldn’t have surprised them that I sought therapy to heal childhood trauma they inflicted, established estrangement, and support a more compassionate society.