Dear Blake,
I have been with my husband for 20 years, married for eight of them. He thinks his mother can do no wrong. She takes pictures of me when I least expect it, and then posts the worst ones on Facebook. She laughs and thinks it’s funny, but I am really hurt by it.
To make it worse, his sister does the same to me now. They constantly have their phones pointed toward me, and when confronted, they deny taking pictures or insist all pictures have been deleted.
I have always supported my husband’s relationship with his family, but I don’t feel like they support us being together. I have deleted his mother as a friend on Facebook and no longer go to family functions. My husband agrees that what she’s doing is wrong, but offers no support. His family prides themselves on class, but this is anything but classy.
Signed, Lola
From Baltimore, Maryland
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Dear Lola,
What your mother-in-law is doing is reprehensible. The only thing I can recommend, is that you start using your camera phone is a weapon, and launch a “take no prisoners” attack. Here are some options you should consider. Take a picture of your mother-in-law while she’s sleeping, and post it on her Facebook page captioned with “Here is the latest arrival at the city morgue, with 2 days of decomposition.” Take pictures of your sister-in-law and post them in the classified section of Craig’s List with her phone number, suggesting that she is lonely and is seeking “hourly” companionship. If you want people to protest outside their homes, anonymously send their pictures to PETA, and tell them that they regularly drown puppies, and they enjoy tossing firecrackers on top of eggs that are in bird nests. But if you want to take the high road, then maybe you should sit them down during a meal at your house, and pour your heart out, telling them how you feel. You should then snatch their cell phones out of their hands and drop them in the garbage disposal, but don’t turn it on. And when they emphatically promise to stop disrespecting you, let them reach into the filthy garbage disposal to retrieve their cell phones… as you simultaneously turn it on. I hope this helps.
Blake