Letters – Episode 12 2012

Below are the letters from Episode 12 2012. Click Here to Watch our Panel discuss these topics and share your thoughts on the letters below.

Hello Mitch and Panellists,

I am so incensed! My sister died seven months ago and her widower husband, for whom I felt an enormous amount of sorrow, has turned into a selfish pig.

I invited him and his 2 teenage kids to my place for Mothers’ Day so that they would spend it with family and not feel lonely. Lonely my foot!!! He called and asked if he could bring a friend and of course, I said that it would be fine.

When they walked in on the day, the friend turned out to be a girl friend…who has already, shamelessly, shacked up with him. I composed myself on the day for the sake of the kids, who are still grieving so much for their mother.

I just don’t know what to do. I’ve picked up the phone to blast him at least 6 times and hung up before connecting each time. I just can’t believe how callous he is to the memory of my sister and the feelings of his kids and all of us, her family. My parents haven’t seen him since the funeral and I can’t bring myself to tell them.

This whole thing is just surreal and I can’t figure what is the appropriate course of behaviour for all concerned here. The most recent insult to her memory is that he has asked his kids not to mention their deceased mum in front of the girlfriend. Please advise!

Karen, Mile End, SA

Hi Panel,

The farce that is the Olympics is about to start! I never accept that China should ever have been awarded the last Games given the atrocious human rights record of the Chinese Government, plus the fact that they still have 70 percent of their population is still living in poverty. And I just can’t believe how horribly commercial the games have become.

Those who win medals and become heroes, rather than working for their country, will come home from London and milk the system for their own pocket. Not one red cent do these athletes put back, even though it is the taxpayer spending millions for years supporting them. Television stations make billions and spend almost just as much to gain the rights to broadcast in the first place. And the only people that really profit apart from the winners are the growing number of Olympic fat cat administrators.

The whole Olympic System has grown into an out of proportion, corporate monster sponge. Please get the message out that the games suck us in, and it is time to rethink the Olympic approach and commitment. Especially when our entire world is in the grips of a huge economic decline.

Stan, Balcatta, WA

Dear Gary and Panel,

How do you deal with free loaders? We’ve always been a hospitable family and I’ve always welcomed my children’s friends. My children are in their twenties now and they mostly fend for themselves. I work fulltime and my daughters are fulltime students. We certainly try to have quality time around the dinner table, as that is when we all manage to sit together.

The growing problem is that some of their friends, who have been living overseas for the past few years, have returned home. Though it is lovely to see them, they don’t seem to realise that our life style has changed and quickened. They drop in strategically before dinner and expect to be fed. On top of that, they ruin the little family time that we have. I’ve tried to drop hints but so far they remain oblivious.

How can we deal with this situation? What’s a tactful way of throwing them out and maintaining the bonds of my children’s friendships?

Elizabeth, Albert Park, VIC

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