A gay man living in Washington state has been branded a “spoiled brat” after demanding that his entire family stop voting Republican and forcing his father out of the Republican Party.
Ryan Short, 42, was talking with his father Richard, an 80-year veteran living in Dallas, Texas, when he found out that his father was a Republican.
“We were having one of our random meetings and he casually said, ‘I’m still a Republican,'” Short said, his father reaffirming his stance after Ryan pointed out what he sees as the GOP’s rhetoric against LGBTQ people. .
The next day, Short sent an email to dozens of family members saying “you can’t vote Republican and still have a relationship with me.” Without exceptions.’
She added: ‘The safety and peace of myself, my husband and my community is basic, non-negotiable and unrelated to politics. To vote for the Republican Party is to divide the family.’
Ryan Short (pictured left), 42, was chatting with his father, Richard (pictured right), 80, a veteran living in Dallas, Texas. When his father said that he was a Republican, he asked his entire family to stop voting Republican.
He also stated that he was not “inviting dialogue” and had “no interest in nuance”.
short said Well-informed person that at the age of 42 he did not want to ‘waste more time on things that are not giving me light in life’.
“This letter was a limit, not a persuasion,” he added. He had no intention of persuading anyone.
He tweeted the email, as well as a backlash from a family member, and it garnered more than 15,000 likes.
However, not everyone saw it as Short, with one user saying ‘you’re an ungrateful disrespectful brat and I’m sure your parents regret having you after that hateful letter’.
Another called it “narcissistic and painful to read.” I had to write a letter when I was younger because my family was aggressively trying to ‘not be gay’ for several years. I wish our biggest dispute was over politics. He feels like a whole generation has no idea what real discrimination looks like.
Short, however, has seen positives in posting the letter, noting that young people of various identities have been asking if they could use it themselves.
‘I was like, ‘go ahead man, open source that s**t! We are only free if we are all free.”
Short wrote this email to dozens of family members saying “you can’t vote Republican and still have a relationship with me.” Without exceptions.’
He wanted people to know that he has several LGBTQ relatives and even those who are not support him, but he just thinks his political beliefs don’t support them.
“We don’t have anyone in my family who doesn’t like family queer, or who doesn’t support the issues, it’s just a specific action of voting for people who do.”
Short, whose Twitter account is currently suspended, said he received mostly positive responses and claims that family members would no longer vote Republican.
She even eventually got her father on her side, despite an initial reaction she described as “quickly, without thinking.”
“Family is family,” said Richard Short. “Being a thickhead, I’m a bit hard to understand,” Richard Short said. “But then I’m one of those people, I’ll sit down and reflect and think about what I said, and I’ll apologize real quick.”
Not only did he agree to no longer vote GOP, he resigned from the Collin County Republican club to which he belongs.
“I was so worried that I had lost my son.” Richard Short said. “And luckily, I have a son in Ryan who accepted my sincere, open and honest apology.”