Great advice for a man who killed another in self-defense, now dealing with judgmental in-laws

Got a problem? Ask “Dear Prudence.” She’ll advise on anything from sex, drugs to rock’n’roll.

In a weekly chat with online readers from WashingtonPost.com, Emily Yoffe, also known as “Dear Prudence,” talked with a man whose in-laws recently discovered that he had killed a man in self-defense 30 years ago. While some have turned the discovery into a joke, poking fun at the man, others have become “insanely judgmental.” Check out Prudence’s advice to the man below.

Q. A History of Violence: Some three decades ago, I killed a man. He had broken into my home, armed; we struggled, he died. It was clearly self-defense and, frankly, I have no regrets or remorse. A few months ago, my wife’s brother did an idle Google search and discovered a report on the incident, which he’s shared widely in the family. He’s also taken to calling me “Killer.” Normally, I’d be amused but some friends and family have reacted quite negatively, with one breaking all ties, another telling my wife that they’d rather not have me around their children, and a couple seemingly eager to either psychoanalyze me or get the gruesome details. How do I get people to understand that I am not interested in dredging up the past and that something that happened long ago has very little bearing on who I am today? I’d happily write off the rude and the stupid but these people are important to my wife.

A: Apparently these friends and family would prefer that you had been killed by the intruder, so they could then honor your memory as a tragic victim. I understand our country is divided over many issues, guns particularly among them, but surely even the most ardent gun-control activist can recognize that when an armed intruder is in your house, Robert’s Rules of Order do not apply. Since this nonsense appears to be going on in your wife’s family, I think the first line of defense should be that she step up and defend you—unarmed, preferably. She should say to her brother, and the others who are now giving you the cold shoulder, how disturbed she is at this dredging up of a terrible encounter from years ago and the blatant misunderstanding of what happened. She can briefly explain you encountered a gunman in your own home, defended yourself, and of course no charges were brought. She should say she hopes everyone can be grateful you’re alive and that neither of you want to discuss this incident further. When you encounter the psychoanalytic couple, just say it was a terrifying event you have no desire to relive. If after this the shunning continues, then you’re well rid of these insanely judgmental people.

What are your thoughts?

[Slate]