October 3, 2026 Issue, Page 5 of 12

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ACTIVITIES The Elk City News SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2026 • 5 Family Gatherings Marred by Hate Speech DEAR ABBY: All members of for taking a stand. It’s too easy to Our problem is that months this behavior? — EXASPERAT- my family are white. When my DEAR ABBY downplay this kind of behavior and months, sometimes years, ED UNCLE IN OHIO children were smaller, an incident for the sake of family harmony. go by without hearing anything DEAR UNCLE: This is the pat- occurred at a family holiday. One ate it. However, everyone else who By acting as a willing audience, from them. Our nephew doesn’t tern your troubled nephew has relative has a history of making was there disagreed with us. They your extended family became return phone calls in general, established, and it isn’t likely to racist comments, so this time we said my husband ruined a perfect- complicit in the hate speech. Un- but if we reach out when there’s change. Deal with his emotionally told everyone that if it happened ly nice family dinner and should less they promise it will never a death or a hospitalization in the draining behavior by making sure again, we would leave. He did, and apologize to keep the peace. I have happen again, I see no reason for family, the niece processes things your niece is the one who gives we left. My husband raised his told them repeatedly that they you to attend any future gather- normally. Our nephew turns him the news he needs to have. If voice at that person and made po- should apologize to us for mak- ings with this questionable crowd. into a bowl of emotional jelly. He he calls you for one of those drain- lite excuses to everyone else about ing us stand up alone. They keep cries and is emotionally draining ing conversations, limit the length leaving early. Then we all stood up calling intervention-style family DEAR ABBY: My siblings and I when we all need to pull togeth- meetings to confront us about our and do not allow him to sap you. from the table, packed our things have a niece and nephew, our late er for someone else. When we and drove two hours home instead behavior and say we need to re- sister’s children, both in their 40s. explain that we can make time Dear Abby is written by Abi- of spending the night as originally pair the rift my husband caused. The niece is grounded, level-head- for him but that he needs to an- gail Van Buren. For nearly four planned. Were we out of line? — FAMILY ed, and emotionally and intellec- swer our calls or return them, he decades, Jeanne Phillips penned I will not repeat to you the com- FRICTION tually strong. The nephew used to promises to do so but never fol- this column, which was founded in ments that were made, but they DEAR FAMILY FRICTION: be like that but now can be a lot lows through. His mental health 1956 by her mother, Pauline Phil- were not microaggressions or sub- That dinner was far from “per- more sensitive and overly emo- is not good (and perhaps his wife lips. Contact Dear Abby at www. tle remarks. They were disgusting fectly nice.” Your husband was tional and has a somewhat con- isolates him), but we are at our DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 270135, and violent, and I refuse to toler- not out of line, and I applaud you trolling wife. wits’ end. How do we deal with Kansas City, MO 64127. CROSSWORD Get Fuzzy CURRENT PUZZLE ANSWERS Drabble Dailies Pearls Before Swine Garfield