So, my immediate reaction to this is to fill in the "your wife" variable, and then realize that disliking her is a statistically improbability and your parent in question should get their brain checked out.
Instead, I guess I'll think about situations where I have disliked a friend's spouse. It's rare, but it happens. Thing is, I know that I am not going to accomplish anything productive by telling the friend that I dislike their spouse, unless I have an excellent reason for it, like I think the spouse in question is horribly abusive or a criminal or something. Because I know that unless I have an amazing pile of evidence to back up my claim, going up to a friend and saying "I don't like your wife because I think she is a meany-head" will only get that friend annoyed at me.
So, yeah. Unless your parents have a really good reason for their dislike, I think you're following agraitear or kumir_k9's suggestions. "Forever" is a long time, but "until they find a convenient trash can for their attitude" is hopefully less long.
If this isn't a hypothetical but actually a situation you're in, I'm so sorry. That sucks.
To answer the question literally, no, I don't think that's the answer you should give. However, I would do some version of "This is not a topic I am going to talk to you about and if it comes up again I am not going to speak with you." And then stick with it. I had a long rocky relationship with my mother that only started to mend when I told her "Mom, if you want to have a relationship with me than XYZ topic is no longer on the table." It was the start of us being able to have a conversation that didn't end in a big fight.
Yeah, we're in this situation with the lad's parents. It has taken a few years of emotional and physical distancing, which involved his parents hearing, "I don't want you in my life right now, and I don't know if that will ever change" from their son. And then no contact whatsoever for a few years. It's been hard but, in a lot of ways, the estrangement has helped everyone realize things about themselves and how they foster relationships. Having been through/going through this situation, I completely get how painful it can be (having been the "disliked wife").
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Instead, I guess I'll think about situations where I have disliked a friend's spouse. It's rare, but it happens. Thing is, I know that I am not going to accomplish anything productive by telling the friend that I dislike their spouse, unless I have an excellent reason for it, like I think the spouse in question is horribly abusive or a criminal or something. Because I know that unless I have an amazing pile of evidence to back up my claim, going up to a friend and saying "I don't like your wife because I think she is a meany-head" will only get that friend annoyed at me.
So, yeah. Unless your parents have a really good reason for their dislike, I think you're following agraitear or kumir_k9's suggestions. "Forever" is a long time, but "until they find a convenient trash can for their attitude" is hopefully less long.
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Sometimes people need a sharp wake-up call that what they're saying is not ok.
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To answer the question literally, no, I don't think that's the answer you should give. However, I would do some version of "This is not a topic I am going to talk to you about and if it comes up again I am not going to speak with you." And then stick with it. I had a long rocky relationship with my mother that only started to mend when I told her "Mom, if you want to have a relationship with me than XYZ topic is no longer on the table." It was the start of us being able to have a conversation that didn't end in a big fight.
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