I just spent my birthday weekend being verbally abused by my boyfriend’s brother.  He mocks/mimics me, made fun of my disability, and belittled everything from what I ate (or didn’t eat) to the things I photographed.  My boyfriend told me to just ignore his brother’s ‘sense of humor’ and not be so sensitive.  He has learned to just accept this behavior over the years, and expects me to do the same.  While I don’t want to engage in conflict, neither am I willing to accept verbal and emotional abuse.  My boyfriend has made clear his unwillingness to speak up on my behalf. He has a lifelong pattern of ceding to his older siblings’ control tactics, and this sadly won’t change.  I let my boyfriend know I need to decide for myself the settings in which I’m willing to see his family, and to have a ‘plan B’ to excuse myself when I’ve had enough disrespectful behavior.  Our relationship, in general, is very positive and warm, so I’m choosing to find a way to minimize the impact of this negative situation.  I appreciate the suggestions on lovingkindness meditation, and also find meditations on equanimity to be helpful.