You see, there are people, mostly men, who feel life revolves around them. Our country's lovely Calvinist work ethic, where God shows his love to rich people because they were the "elect" whom God chose regardless of conduct, infected this country to the point where people can be utter psychopaths, but still feel that they are the entitled, the good people, and that everybody else is put there my God to be nothing but a means to their ends. It is why we embraces slavery, after all, those slaves were made Christian by us, right? It ios why despite Lincoln, we still have ways of slavery here, and the oligrachs in Beverly Hills and Park Avenue still feel that we should be hopnored that they abuse us, because that is the only reason God made us for. Of course, when you are at a certain level of psychopathy, you know that you can just sit on your ass, clog the gears, and know that the people you consider property will have to help you, because society favors them, and will allow them to sink the whole damned ship. You wind up having to feed them a loaf, just to get a crumb, and they will look at you with a straight face and say "You better thank me for that fucking crumb you fat pig!"
Of course, that sentiment is the conservative movement, which owns the elephant, and sadly, has dug deep into the donkey. It is the audicity of stupid, as you put it, but it is not stupid in terms of low brainpower, it is the willing stupid that says "I want what I want and I will force you to give it to me!" the sort that is willing to dig itself stright to Hell because it thinks that when they get to Hell, they will pull the same damn shit on the Devil! It reminds me when I worked for the Department of Corrections, where many of the people like this borther you wrote about end up. What was sad is that, even though they were locked up, they still were carrying on the same stupid shit that got them locked up, and had not one whit of insight. Imagine hearing a Rapist cry because he got raped in the cell, and then the next wekk go ahead an rape the fresh meat that arrived just to prove his manhood, and brag about it! Of course, in Jail, people can be labeled, whereas on the outside, the successful psychos, the Rush Limbaughs, the Jeb Bushes, the Bill Cosbys, know damned well that society will not hinder them, because in order to convict them society will need to convict itself, and no way the little boys who run socoety will aloow that. This relative of yours is like them, he knows that you are too good a person to tell him to get the fuck out, and that even if you do, he can do so much damage to your mind that he thinks you will limp back to him. All I can say to that is, if it ever gets to the point where he is going to crash you into the rocks to feed his disease, don't. No love, no blood, gives him the right to do that!
Thank you as usual for posting.