Surely it’s a misunderstanding and it has nothing to do with his politics? He’s MAGA in case anyone was wondering, a huge Trump defender. Anyway, whenever I tell Grandpa (who I live with) that I want to see the world or go to Germany or Norway on a school trip, or see Norway when I get older with my dad perhaps, he says “Why can’t you just stay here?” or “Why can’t you visit this country first?”
Then he goes on about how people speak English in America and in Germany and Norway, they speak other languages when I want to learn another language. I want to be fluent in my second and heritage language Norwegian and in German, which I will hopefully become a polyglot in English, Spanish, German, Norwegian and Toki Pona by 2029.
Also, I’ve told him that I know several monolingual English speakers who went to other non-English speaking countries like Mexico, but he still won’t listen and help me save up. (I don’t have a job yet and I’m only 15).
Not only this, as much as I love him due to him being family, I don’t love his views. He doesn’t really like immigrants due to his thinking they all can’t speak English. If they speak accented English, he still tells them to “speak English”. Maybe he doesn’t want to “BECOME the immigrant” (in quotes, because well… we’re not Native). Also, I will forever not understand people’s hatred towards immigrants and their desire to embrace their home culture in a better country.
First off, I want to tell you that this is OK, even if it’s hard. I know plenty of people who hold similar views to your grandpa. Some of them I love very much even though I strongly disagree with their politics.
I have family members who are MAGA. Some of their views are completely shameful and deserving of harsh criticism. Yet, sometimes those same people can be incredibly generous and do very good things for others.
People are complicated.
If your grandpa were honest with himself, he would be willing to admit that if he lived in a place where his family was dirt poor and in serious danger, he would probably do whatever it took to care for them, even if it meant illegally entering a country.
Immigration laws don’t mean shit when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from or if the cartel is going to murder your wife and kids tomorrow.
If he were really honest with himself, he would have to admit that he’s not all that different from some poor brown guy from Central America who has many the same problems that he does.
Edit: Thought grandpa but wrote dad. Fixed that
I think it’s important to emphasize this. People on the internet can be quick to demonize others. But OP is 15. What good is there in trying to create a divide between a 15 year old and his grandpa? There is none, not in this situation, anyway.
Besides, if we’re being honest, most of our grandparents have questionable views. There’s a massive generational gap there, and a lot of social progress has occurred since our grandparents were young. And in old age, people often just don’t have the cognitive flexibility required to adapt to these changes. And there comes a point when it might not even be worth trying to change them because they might literally just not be capable.