I cut my parents off nearly two years ago now. Actually,
the straw the broke the camel's back is what I posted about here when I was a newbie on EHell.
I've heard various things from the "flying monkeys" (friends and relatives, who, like the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz, do the witch's bidding).
Mainly, I've said nothing in my own defense because I feel like they are not the judge and jury. I agree with this:
I refused to discuss the situation with others. The way I see it, it’s not the business of outsiders.
But I have so many responses in my mind, like to:
And so from my cousin last year I heard "Well they're hurting..."
I'd be like "What about me? When I'm with them, *I* am hurting. They are abusive. Whose feelings should I care about more? Theirs or mine? I've spent 3 decades prioritizing their feelings above mine. But now, I realized that I should not give a darn about the feelings of those who don't give a darn about mine.
To the few family members whose opinions I still value, I'm prepared to say "You know me. Am I impulsive? Do I take things lightly? Do I strike you as the kind of person who makes rash decisions about serious matters? No? Then, I didn't about this either."
But to the rational family members (and in my huge family, there are very few of these), I haven't had to explain myself. They know my parents well enough to have pretty much cut them off already too.