The black sheep or the castaway is the usual term for family members that do little to redeem themselves or do not seem to care that their actions greatly affect others.

Most of us have that family member that we are not so proud of. Many of us have more than one of those. I am one who can lay claim to the multiple family members. Whether in-laws or blood related, these people tend to drive us crazy and make us question whose genes they received.

My family and I have been through a lot in the past 3 years with both sets of families. It is hard for some family members to realize that people grow up and have their own families. Attention is taken away from their selfish acts and they raise the level of their antics.

What they don’t realize is their behavior only pushes people away. Pride and selfishness are the main cause of the family rifts. The especially sad cases are when the children act more like parents than the parents themselves. Parents demeaning their own children to make themselves feel better about their own shortcomings.

I’m not saying to completely shutoff family, because family is there when others are not. Redefining roles and who is in the family is probably the best course.

Letting your actions build your reputation and character is the way it should be. One should not be defined by the actions of a selfish fool.

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