You might be on to something. Maybe you should write a letter to the Pope suggesting that he let Richard Dawkins give the Easter sermon in vatican square this year.

On a more serious note, I would suggest that you abandon the cliche belief that 'you can't pick your family'

You absolutely, totally can.

My parents have their act together, my brother and sister have their shit together. Nuclear families, jobs, own their own home, etc.

My extended family....scum.

Drugs, crime, drama. Who needs that shit in their life? A cousin called me up one day in tears asking to borrow money. He gave me some bullshit story about his ATV being repossessed, but I knew enough about his life to know that was bullshit. My cousin was a dealer, and he had to pay a drug supplier or he was going to face the consequences of not paying a drug supplier. He wouldn't be crying over an ATV.

I declined. And after that, i just decided that none of these people do anything good for my life. We used to have christmas eve all together, and every year there were more and more people that I didn't recognize. Certain family members were putting up real money for shrimp and lobsters, and other ass hole family members would invite their girlfriend, and her two kids, and her sister who lives with her, etc etc etc.

So one day I just said, FUCK this. Fuck these people. Fuck their bullshit. I'm gonna buy shrimp and lobsters and bring them to MY HOUSE. I'm going to invite my immediate family only, and we're going to enjoy the holidays ONLY with people we like.

Epilogue to that story, karma caught up with my drug dealing cousin and he got cancer at age 30. Actually, I'm not sure if that was karma, it might have been mercy. If I was facing 15 years in federal prison for interstate trafficking, I might wish for cancer to take me.

Anyway, as he neared death he began to reach out more to family and tried to strengthen the relationships. I spent a night with him near the end and I'm not sure what compelled it, but he pretty much made confession. He told me so much about his life, how he made a living, the criminal acts he committed, the actions he took against his rivals, etc etc etc. Let me just say....the world is better without him.

the point of this, is that my conscience didn't bother me at all. I pretty much disowned my family, which is something alot of people regret and reverse when something catastrophic happens. I didn't feel that way. I thought he was an ass hole before he got cancer, and he died an ass hole.

So if you're reluctant to put distance between yourself and blood relatives, don't be. Ass holes are ass holes, and you don't need them in your life. Let them go be ass holes far far away from you, and hope that nature sorts them out.