you know i'm of questionable and bad ideas, but have you considered dosing your dad with say, LSD, and then getting him vaccinated? or perhaps just dropkicking him?I'm dealing with the reverse pretty badly. Up until last year, I talked to my Mom near daily, even if only for 10min and my Dad every weekend. My Dad has been beating the drum that it's fake, that the risk is super low, etc. In July we went to ID to see my grandparents for my Grandpa's 90th bday. (For context, neither of my girls are vaccinated as until last week, they were too young. We've been diligent about wearing masks and only really go without when we're around people who we know are vaccinated. We still wear them even though our county doesn't require it.) Just after we got off the plane my Dad called me to tell me that he wasn't vaccinated. In 40 years, while my Dad and I have had disagreements, we've never really gone "all-in" on a fight. I was yelling at him while we were standing in line at Avis. I don't know if I've ever been that mad at him before or since. We didn't speak a lot during the trip, though I did let me Mom know I was pretty upset with her for not making sure we knew in advance.
That whole shit show was in July. My Mom emailed me about 2 weeks ago asking our plans for Christmas. It was maybe the second time I've heard from them in any form.simce July. I made it damn clear that until he gets or the girls get vaccinated, he's not coming, especially because he refuses to wear a mask in general. She's totally welcome, as she is vaccinated. It took another 8 days to respond to me saying that not getting the vaccination "isn't political; it's about concern regarding efficiency and risk." I still haven't heard back after 5-days when I pointed out that if it was a risk issue, he'd be wearing masks otherwise. Again, I used to talk with her almost daily.
It also makes me furious that his refusal to acknowledge being incorrect is a molehill he's willing to die on. Even if in his head he's figured out that he's wrong, he'll never validate it and get a shot accordingly.
@Avy I go through this whole story because I crossed the threshold of where you are sitting now a few months ago. I finally got to the "tough shit", our priority is under this roof and if you can't accept that then you aren't coming to visit. Tell them it's black or white - test or not coming. It was to be absolutely clear - that if she gets it, she will likely die (sorry to phrase it so harshly). He has to get it through his skull.
I don't know how close you guys are in general, but you might be able to lever that if you are. There are no in betweens with us at this point; I am no longer compromising around the safety of my girls. He has been told as much and my Mom is starting to give him pressure. Tell him it's get it (vaccination or test) or don't come and that is your permanent position. Where does his loyalty lie? To his mom or to political media and what he hears around work? Her life is more important that time spent - end of conversation.