Is Papa Bushie getting ready to cut Bushie off?

[Eraserhead]

It sounds like it to me.

I hope there's still enough space for him to fit into The Train Room™.

[WalterMitty]

Hopefully granny is ready to cut the whole clans off.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Sadly, no

[Indy Texas]

This is the man who more or less made his son quit what seemed to be a stable job out of state to come home and be more dependent on him and Mama.

There are some really twisted, interlocking rings of co-dependency in that family.

No, Bushie is not getting cut off and I doubt he ever will.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Not while they are still game-planning, no.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Seriously, people. If Papa Bushie was remotely responsible as a parent, he would have told Bushie "you're over 30 years old. Until you get your f**king act together and, preferably, seek a professional help, I won't give you a goddamn dime" ages ago.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Whatever is going on we don't know all of it so should be careful about what we assume.

[memphis]

It sounds like he might end up in the train room. I don't think that really counts as being cut off, and it sounds like Papa really doesn't want it to happen either. One would think that he would exert more pressure on Bushie to take a job at BigBoxMart, but whatever.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Just try not to forget that these are real people.

[politicus]

This is the man who more or less made his son quit what seemed to be a stable job out of state to come home and be more dependent on him and Mama.

There are some really twisted, interlocking rings of co-dependency in that family.

No, Bushie is not getting cut off and I doubt he ever will.

This.

[King]

IndyTexas is right. Bushie likely isn't getting cut off but being forced to come back. Much like Utah, Tulsa is a bit too far away, and Mama is probably getting naggy. They are going to force their nonworking houseboy back into their lives distracting them as so they won't have to entertain a divorce.

[Eraserhead]

Yeah, by being "cut off", I really meant that he would be forced to move back in with them again, not that he would be completely cut off.

I probably should have done a better job of clarifying that.

[memphis]

IndyTexas is right. Bushie likely isn't getting cut off but being forced to come back. Much like Utah, Tulsa is a bit too far away, and Mama is probably getting naggy. They are going to force their nonworking houseboy back into their lives distracting them as so they won't have to entertain a divorce.

It's pretty clear to me that Papa doesn't want him back. He turned Bushie's old room into a train room, makes Bushie stay with Granny when he visits OKC and has spent tens of thousands of dollars to keep Bushie at arm's length. Mama Bushie may want her Big Boy back but Papa definitively does not.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

IndyTexas is right. Bushie likely isn't getting cut off but being forced to come back. Much like Utah, Tulsa is a bit too far away, and Mama is probably getting naggy. They are going to force their nonworking houseboy back into their lives distracting them as so they won't have to entertain a divorce.

It's pretty clear to me that Papa doesn't want him back. He turned Bushie's old room into a train room, makes Bushie stay with Granny when he visits OKC and has spent tens of thousands of dollars to keep Bushie at arm's length. Mama Bushie may want her Big Boy back but Papa definitively does not.

There are many a dark and depressing thing one can surmise from reading Update about the true nature of ODF and his family. 

[© tweed]

Whatever is going on we don't know all of it so should be careful about what we assume.

ODF doesn't either... unreliable narrator

[WalterMitty]

i dont understand what all of the 'game planning' is about.  the game plan should be simple: get a job and get some professional mental help.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

get some professional mental help.

It's Oklahoma. The Japan of the United States in all the bad ways (hyperdeveloped in-group-out-group mentality, stigma against mental health problems, ossified gender roles) and none of the good ways.

[Lief 🗽]

yes, yes, we would all very much enjoy bushie becoming a thin man who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, eats nothing but raw fish, steals money from his parents to secretly spend at cuddle cafes, and lives to age 98, but alas

[© tweed]

get some professional mental help.

It's Oklahoma. The Japan of the United States in all the bad ways (hyperdeveloped in-group-out-group mentality, stigma against mental health problems, ossified gender roles) and none of the good ways.

yeah.  even on LI here most of the 'help' is worthless, 12-step pushing hacks and airheads (mostly women) who picked the career because it was likely to pan out in terms of job prospects.  in Ithaca I found the situation, especially the university system, to be much better.  (and the 12-step groups weren't entirely full of slogan-crowing, braindead cultists).   I can't imagine what it's like in the Heartland... though B_____ does have access to a large urban area, so he would have a shot.

odds are the only therapy he'd have a tolerance for is sunshiney, unconditionally positive circlejerking.  the type that wouldn't challenge him to actually change his behavior.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Just try not to forget that these are real people.

That's what appears to be a problem for most of the Updaters.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

yes, yes, we would all very much enjoy bushie becoming a thin man who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, eats nothing but raw fish, steals money from his parents to secretly spend at cuddle cafes, and lives to age 98, but alas

Bolded the Japanese stereotypes that are still bad things, but would, amazingly, be steps up for Bushie.

[King]

yes, yes, we would all very much enjoy bushie becoming a thin man who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, eats nothing but raw fish, steals money from his parents to secretly spend at cuddle cafes, and lives to age 98, but alas

Bolded the Japanese stereotypes that are still bad things, but would, amazingly, be steps up for Bushie.

Thanks.

[memphis]

get some professional mental help.

It's Oklahoma. The Japan of the United States in all the bad ways (hyperdeveloped in-group-out-group mentality, stigma against mental health problems, ossified gender roles) and none of the good ways.

yeah.  even on LI here most of the 'help' is worthless, 12-step pushing hacks and airheads (mostly women) who picked the career because it was likely to pan out in terms of job prospects.  in Ithaca I found the situation, especially the university system, to be much better.  (and the 12-step groups weren't entirely full of slogan-crowing, braindead cultists).   I can't imagine what it's like in the Heartland... though B_____ does have access to a large urban area, so he would have a shot.

odds are the only therapy he'd have a tolerance for is sunshiney, unconditionally positive circlejerking.  the type that wouldn't challenge him to actually change his behavior.

I agree mental health people do tend to be female, but I very strongly disagree with your claim that it's about women tryng to make a career move. I don't think many counselors (or teachers, another nurturing female dominated profession) in the history of the field have ever selected their job purely for financial reasons.

[© tweed]

get some professional mental help.

It's Oklahoma. The Japan of the United States in all the bad ways (hyperdeveloped in-group-out-group mentality, stigma against mental health problems, ossified gender roles) and none of the good ways.

yeah.  even on LI here most of the 'help' is worthless, 12-step pushing hacks and airheads (mostly women) who picked the career because it was likely to pan out in terms of job prospects.  in Ithaca I found the situation, especially the university system, to be much better.  (and the 12-step groups weren't entirely full of slogan-crowing, braindead cultists).   I can't imagine what it's like in the Heartland... though B_____ does have access to a large urban area, so he would have a shot.

odds are the only therapy he'd have a tolerance for is sunshiney, unconditionally positive circlejerking.  the type that wouldn't challenge him to actually change his behavior.

I agree mental health people do tend to be female, but I very strongly disagree with your claim that it's about women tryng to make a career move. I don't think many counselors (or teachers, another nurturing female dominated profession) in the history of the field have ever selected their job purely for financial reasons.

I wasn't implying that women are more likely to choose a career based on potential employment prospects.  men and women both do  -- though, what, 4 of 7 undergrads nowadays are women?

university has degenerated into technical training. so people can learn skills that make them more attractive wage slaves.  or, increase their "human capital", euphemistically.  this is of course heavily subsidized by the public and paid for by the students, while the private sector has access to an abundance of talent that they didn't have to pay a dime to create.

the mental health field, and healthcare in general, is a good route to go if you want to sell your labor, because the US spends close to 20% of GDP on healthcare, the population is aging, etc.

there's also the illusion, particularly in addiction counseling, but throughout the health care industry, that you're "helping people".  though I'm sure even insurance salesmen can convince themselves that they're contributing to society.