Dad only Talks about Conspiracy Theories

[Metalcat]

There is a reason that gimmick hawkers target the elderly.  All that QVC garbage, voodoo medical cures and crystals.  They buy into it.  As a GenX, we never fell for that crap.

You think GenX don't fall for scams???

Lol. Part of my career was spent advising mostly GenX folks on their business and finance. Compared to the Boomers and Millenials, I actually found them the MOST susceptible to fraud and financial scams.

[Bateaux]

There is a reason that gimmick hawkers target the elderly.  All that QVC garbage, voodoo medical cures and crystals.  They buy into it.  As a GenX, we never fell for that crap.

You think GenX don't fall for scams???

Lol. Part of my career was spent advising mostly GenX folks on their business and finance. Compared to the Boomers and Millenials, I actually found them the MOST susceptible to fraud and financial scams.

At a minimum, we'll be the next targeted group.  When bored we'll sometimes go to Florida estate sales.  A lot of the clutter that's for sale is the stuff sold on trash TV.

[OtherJen]

There is a reason that gimmick hawkers target the elderly.  All that QVC garbage, voodoo medical cures and crystals.  They buy into it.  As a GenX, we never fell for that crap.

You think GenX don't fall for scams???

Lol. Part of my career was spent advising mostly GenX folks on their business and finance. Compared to the Boomers and Millenials, I actually found them the MOST susceptible to fraud and financial scams.

At a minimum, we'll be the next targeted group.  When bored we'll sometimes go to Florida estate sales.  A lot of the clutter that's for sale is the stuff sold on trash TV.

Yeah, we GenXers are equally susceptible to fraud. The tools used to reach and target us are different.

For example, we don't seem to have the same inherent level of trust in televised news sources as my parents' generation does (they're early Boomers). Most of the early to mid Boomers of my acquaintance have either Fox News or MSNBC on in the background all day long. I suspect it's a throwback to the 60s and 70s, when the nightly news was a trusted source of info and the Reagan administration hadn't yet revoked the FCC Fairness Doctrine.

I suspect my generation is more susceptible to internet scams (e.g., YouTube videos) due to increased comfort with the medium.

[Morning Glory]

There is a reason that gimmick hawkers target the elderly.  All that QVC garbage, voodoo medical cures and crystals.  They buy into it.  As a GenX, we never fell for that crap.

You think GenX don't fall for scams???

Lol. Part of my career was spent advising mostly GenX folks on their business and finance. Compared to the Boomers and Millenials, I actually found them the MOST susceptible to fraud and financial scams.

At a minimum, we'll be the next targeted group.  When bored we'll sometimes go to Florida estate sales.  A lot of the clutter that's for sale is the stuff sold on trash TV.

I thought you were being sarcastic. Almost everyone I know who has sold mlm crap is just a few years older than me, and I'm an "old millennial" (we need a better word for that). I had a coworker a couple years younger who was using doTERRA that she bought from her cousin, but she at least didn't get roped into selling it. There was another one about my age who was a Beachbody "coach", and a younger guy (might even be gen z) who was into some kind of Bitcoin mining share program that sounded an awful lot like a pyramid scheme. He would fly to Arizona to go to their "events".

 My mom has 3 colleagues who won't get vaccinated, one's a boomer and the other two are gen x. I don't think any one generation has the monopoly on stupid.

[Metalcat]

There is a reason that gimmick hawkers target the elderly.  All that QVC garbage, voodoo medical cures and crystals.  They buy into it.  As a GenX, we never fell for that crap.

You think GenX don't fall for scams???

Lol. Part of my career was spent advising mostly GenX folks on their business and finance. Compared to the Boomers and Millenials, I actually found them the MOST susceptible to fraud and financial scams.

At a minimum, we'll be the next targeted group.  When bored we'll sometimes go to Florida estate sales.  A lot of the clutter that's for sale is the stuff sold on trash TV.

Not next, current.

People get scammed from sources they don't see coming. From my experience, GenX get really, REALLY easily scammed by people they know. Hence why MLMs have done so well with that target demographic, because it's friends selling and recruiting friends.

Same with financial services, they like their professionals, so don't tend to question what they agree to because they "trust them". Also the same with staff, GenX clients of mine are the most clueless about the possibility of their staff committing fraud and theft, they know them so they trust them.

I can't tell you how many GenX clients have thought that it wasn't critical for us to have a contract in place before I access their personal information because they "trust" me.

So someone could argue that GenX might be less susceptible to phone scams that they see coming, but in my personal experience, among the GenXers I know, they are HORRIBLY susceptible to being scammed by people they know personally, and tend to be incredibly careless with information security.

Most of them are *just* up to date enough with technology to be fully using it, and *just* out of date enough to understand how to protect their information adequately.

[Morning Glory]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/boston.cbslocal.com/2020/04/14/personality-tests-quizzes-personal-info-police-warning-facebook/%3famp

[OtherJen]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/boston.cbslocal.com/2020/04/14/personality-tests-quizzes-personal-info-police-warning-facebook/%3famp

Yep. I cringe every time someone posts those in my feed. Seriously, people, you don't see any similarities between those quizzes/memory posts and your bank's security questions?

[ender]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/boston.cbslocal.com/2020/04/14/personality-tests-quizzes-personal-info-police-warning-facebook/%3famp

Yep. I cringe every time someone posts those in my feed. Seriously, people, you don't see any similarities between those quizzes/memory posts and your bank's security questions?

Hmm but if I answer the quiz honestly I think I'm fine.

Most of my security questions are random strings stored in 1pass since I get weary of trying to remember security questions. I've started just making shit up.

[Cool Friend]

Update.  He texted me once today about cheating in the election.  I replied back to him via text that I will not talk politics with him and that if he tries to start a conversation about politics i will end the conversation without warning.  He replied "good just don't talk to me at all".  I don't think he means it and the boundaries are now set.  We will see...

I'm sorry you have to deal with this but I'm glad you hopefully have a sense of closure here.

Sadly, that's a typical response the emotionally stunted make regarding when presented with boundaries.

An old friend of mine did this once. I asked her for space for a few days and she said, "you need space? have as much as you want, we're no longer friends." Of course, she was full of shit and contacted me a couple days later--not to apologize, but to spin the boundary I set as "aggression" towards her. The emotionally immature and narcissistic really do experience boundaries as a kind of violence against them. Anyway, I took her up on the "we're no longer friends" line and ended the friendship. Life is too short to indulge this behavior.

[OtherJen]

Update.  He texted me once today about cheating in the election.  I replied back to him via text that I will not talk politics with him and that if he tries to start a conversation about politics i will end the conversation without warning.  He replied "good just don't talk to me at all".  I don't think he means it and the boundaries are now set.  We will see...

I'm sorry you have to deal with this but I'm glad you hopefully have a sense of closure here.

Sadly, that's a typical response the emotionally stunted make regarding when presented with boundaries.

An old friend of mine did this once. I asked her for space for a few days and she said, "you need space? have as much as you want, we're no longer friends." Of course, she was full of shit and contacted me a couple days later--not to apologize, but to spin the boundary I set as "aggression" towards her. The emotionally immature and narcissistic really do experience boundaries as a kind of violence against them. Anyway, I took her up on the "we're no longer friends" line and ended the friendship. Life is too short to indulge this behavior.

Yes, or they make up a manipulative sob story or three as a reason to override your repeatedly stated boundaries: "I know you said you needed space a few days ago, but I reeeally neeeeeed you..." I ended a highly and repeatedly manipulative "friendship" over that.

[Metalcat]

Update.  He texted me once today about cheating in the election.  I replied back to him via text that I will not talk politics with him and that if he tries to start a conversation about politics i will end the conversation without warning.  He replied "good just don't talk to me at all".  I don't think he means it and the boundaries are now set.  We will see...

I'm sorry you have to deal with this but I'm glad you hopefully have a sense of closure here.

Sadly, that's a typical response the emotionally stunted make regarding when presented with boundaries.

An old friend of mine did this once. I asked her for space for a few days and she said, "you need space? have as much as you want, we're no longer friends." Of course, she was full of shit and contacted me a couple days later--not to apologize, but to spin the boundary I set as "aggression" towards her. The emotionally immature and narcissistic really do experience boundaries as a kind of violence against them. Anyway, I took her up on the "we're no longer friends" line and ended the friendship. Life is too short to indulge this behavior.

But it's heartbreaking when it's a parent.

[Bateaux]

You know I have purchased more than one extended warranty on a new car.  Glad I no longer buy new cars or warranties.

[Cool Friend]

Update.  He texted me once today about cheating in the election.  I replied back to him via text that I will not talk politics with him and that if he tries to start a conversation about politics i will end the conversation without warning.  He replied "good just don't talk to me at all".  I don't think he means it and the boundaries are now set.  We will see...

I'm sorry you have to deal with this but I'm glad you hopefully have a sense of closure here.

Sadly, that's a typical response the emotionally stunted make regarding when presented with boundaries.

An old friend of mine did this once. I asked her for space for a few days and she said, "you need space? have as much as you want, we're no longer friends." Of course, she was full of shit and contacted me a couple days later--not to apologize, but to spin the boundary I set as "aggression" towards her. The emotionally immature and narcissistic really do experience boundaries as a kind of violence against them. Anyway, I took her up on the "we're no longer friends" line and ended the friendship. Life is too short to indulge this behavior.

But it's heartbreaking when it's a parent.

It was heartbreaking with my friend. But also, I had to do this with a parent as well. It's never easy.

[Fish Sweet]

Others have covered the NO CONSPIRACY TALK/setting boundaries, so I'm going take a different tack here.

Are there any other topics you can regularly engage and connect with your dad about?  Certain sports or teams, watch a game together? A TV show you both enjoy with minimal politics - or involving fantasy politics with no real bearing on reality?  Car talk?  Building tiny miniatures?  Some kind of skill your dad has that you ask him to teach you via Facetime?  A project compiling old family photos? A dream vacation for the both of you that you can talk about planning and give him things to research?

The goal is to:

• Give you a way to engage with your dad in a low-stakes, pleasant way.
• Give your dad low-stakes, consistent exposure to something outside of his world of conspiracies, even if it's only once a week or twice a month or what have you
• Always give you a topic to redirect your conversations to - "...ANYWAY, so how about those Seahawks?"  Doesn't matter if it's obvious as hell, you've already told your dad you don't want to talk about his conspiracies.

It also has something of a carrot-and-stick effect.  IF your dad can behave and watch a whole episode of Game of Thrones with you without once talking about how delta is a hoax, you both can spend some quality parent-child time together and have a good talk ragging on the characters or cheering them on.  If your dad tries to rope you back into crazytown, disengage calmly and evenly - that's enough TV for today, good night, we'll pick up next time.  Ideally, he'll learn to recognize that engaging with you about ANYTHING ELSE = a pleasant enough chat and time spent with you, and his conspiracy talk = his choice to end that good time.