My mother, while irresponsible, remains a good person at heart. She came from a worse off household herself so I've always sympathized with her, even though she's a bit crazy haha. I feel like I've done more raising her than the latter growing up, to be honest. The men she surrounds herself with, however, are not good people. I can only assume it's some kind coping mechanism from her childhood trauma.

I think I can have sympathy for any one of them being raised the way they were, but ultimately can still despise them for having made the choices that led them to being victimizers themselves. I'd grown to have intense trust issues that I've had to work on, assuming the worst in people because of them. Now, having life experience with many more genuine people, I've become more objective.