My Dad's sister is an elderly widow, late 70s. She recently got in touch with me, as I did not know her growing up. My Dad was not in contact with her for many years. I was at first glad to talk to her, as we didn't know each other when I was growing up but once my sister gave her # to my Aunt, she has been calling almost every day and she has been telling me offensive sexual jokes and some that are racist and she thinks they are funny. I just don't want to be mean to her. I have told her before I am busy witth work, family, etc and she says she will not call for a while and a few weeks later she is back calling every few days even as late as 10pm.. Besides blocking her # I am not sure what else to do? She is a nice person, she may just be lonely and I don't want to hurt her feelings. She has been calling other family members the same way also and they have been avoiding her calls.
Has anyone dealt with this situation? Any advice helpful. Thanks!
I think this person got the message when I got up and walked out of the house, which was awkward for me because I love my friend. A few others did it too. My friend soon saw how offensive he was and eventually spoke to him.
My friend accepts him as he is and is patient with him, okay fine, but he was crossing all kinds of lines for me and I seriously couldn’t stomach his comments or jokes. Let me just say that I would never give any credence to him by repeating them.
I would either say point blank that you do not consider the joke to be funny or not even bother to pick up the phone.
You would think in the year of 2021, these things would be gone. Sadly, they aren’t.
I appreciate the fact that you don’t find them funny.
I feel ‘prejudice’ is a learned behavior.
Fortunately, my family did not set bad examples regarding prejudice attitudes so I didn’t grow up learning this behavior.
You might also be able to break up her calling pattern by taking the initiative and ringing her for a good old chinwag, regularly and at a time that suits you, like every Sunday afternoon or something. Have interesting topics of conversation handy and talk to her as you would to any other lively-minded person you didn't (yet, God willing) know very well.
It is *fine* to tell her if you find something she says offensive. You don't have to be mean back at her or anything, just be truthful. She's a grown-up, she can take it.
Lots of people are like that with the dirty jokes or racial remarks. So you have to be prepared for what I now hear - I know you don't like this word, but. . . So my new reply is if you know it's something I don't like to hear, don't do it.
A NICE person does not call people repeatably telling off colour jokes.
Stop her in her tracks. "Auntie, it appears you have different beliefs than I do. I have no interest at all in hearing jokes that are racist or of a sexual nature. I will hang up if you repeat these sorts of jokes.
What do you have to lose by stopping her?
Since you have not had a longterm relationship with her, I would imagine that not having her in your life would really not be much of a loss. She might have something going on like dementia, etc. But that's not your problem either.
If you prefer not to confront her, go ahead and block her number. You don't need this in your life.
Tell her you think it’s a rotten place, really off color, and doesn’t hit your sense of humor at all. Make the discussion about the source of the jokes, not about her, or the jokes themselves. Suggest a new place to find jokes. For example, once I found a website of ‘knock knock who’s there’ jokes that would last the rest of her life. Tedious, but not offensive. Once I found a site with simply hundreds on the lines of 'How many xyz's does it take to change a light bulb'. (My favorite is social workers - 'one, but the light bulb has to want to change'.) Even put a couple of joke books in the post!
Remember that many older people with dementia get hyper-sexy. This may be the way she is showing it. Perhaps you could check with other people who see her regularly. Even just understanding might help you to tolerate a phone relationship that may be important to her, without it offending you.
I assume she's lonely and/or trying to find an opening to start a conversation. However, you need to set some clear boundaries -- no offensive jokes, and she can call on X days between the hours of X and X. All these can be conveyed kindly without sounding like you're being rude or don't want to talk to her, but you have a busy life and can't talk on the phone a great deal. It's also a very different world than it used to be when people communicated primarily by phone and letters. You could also surprise her and call her first once in a while.
You could say that you have enjoyed getting acquainted but you can no longer tolerate her jokes. They are not appropriate. No problem her calling you just can't tolerate the jokes.
I would wonder why Dad had not seen her in years and you didn't know her. Maybe there was a reason.
1 - She has always been this way and that is why you never heard from her. She won't change. Let her calls go to voicemail (and delete!) and call her when it is convenient to you.
2 - She is lonely and desperate for socialization. Talk with family about calling her throughout the week - everybody gets a day and/or time slot. With others calling her and directing the conversations, she may stop being as rude.
3 - She may have a mental health issue - especially if this has been ongoing for a long time. Talk with family about somebody checking in on her weekly (everybody takes a turn?). If she appears to be in unsafe conditions or a threat to self or others, she may be involuntarily admitted for psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
4 - She may have dementia. The time of phone calls, frequency, and loss of social filters may mean that she requires to be cared for by others. An appointment with her usual doctor (or a competent family doctor if she doesn't have one) would be the first thing to do, Don't be surprised if the doctor makes referrals to a neurologist (for dementia evaluation and treatment) and a geriatric psychiatrist.
I'll never understand why people think a ringing phone must be answered, especially since caller id has been a thing for decades.
How's the weather. Really hot, rainy here.
I made Grandma's meatloaf the other night. Did you ever make it?
What's your favorite recipe?
My grandson plays first base on his team
And so on.
Your Aunt may just want to talk to someone and doesn't know what else to say, rather than tell jokes.
Hope this helps.
Avoiding her calls or being busy postpones the discomfort, but does not discourage her from trying to use that humor to make a connection the next time.
After a couple of months, he stopped using bad words at my house, although I sometimes heard them floating over the fence.
If your aunt is capable of learning and remembering, simply tell her, politely, that you don't like those jokes and you will end the call every time she tells one. Then when she tells you an offensive joke, tell her that you don't like the joke and are hanging up now, but she is welcome to call back tomorrow, or next week, or whatever you feel is an appropriate time between calls.
If she gets angry, she can find another communication partner.
Otherwise, tell her bluntly that you find her sense of humor offensive and to please stop sharing those "jokes."
Something to think about: If she were not your aunt and if she were not in her late 70s, how would you react? - How would you treat the person if she were a contemporary of yours? That's what you do in this case as well.