“What do we owe our tormentors? It’s a question that haunts those who had childhoods marked by years of neglect and deprivation, or of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of one or both parents.
“Despite this terrible beginning, many people make it out successfully and go on to build satisfying lives. Now their mother or father is old, maybe ailing, possibly broke.
“With a sense of guilt and dread, these adults are grappling with whether and how to care for those who didn’t care for them.”*
“Slate asks an interesting question: do adults who were abused by their parents owe those parents anything? Is there a line between physical or emotional abuse? Should adult kids be the bigger person? Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss with examples.” – YT
