Do families have a "dark side" and a "light side?"?

It’s not so black and white.

Yes…..I think we all do…..I am on the side that is always right. :)

I suppose all families have a light and dark side….except for the Addams family and the Munsters who made light of their dark side and did so very successfully.

My family, unfortunately, did not get a sitcom so we basically have yet to make light of our dark side.

I disagree. My family doesn’t have any long lasting disagreements. Anything that we get mad about, we usually laugh about 5 minutes later. (sometimes for the rest of our lives)

We never get mad about anything serious, it is our place to be there for each other regardless of our opinion.

We bicker about little things, my older still thinks I eat too loudly for example. Honestly, I think I chew a little louder just for my own entertainment. But, unless there is a dark secret that I don’t know about as the little brother… we don’t have any.

Our family doesn’t seem to have any deep dark secrets or any long-standing disagreements. We may not like how every family member conducts their lives, but we simply agree to disagree.

I must admit that I question the sanity and intent of some of my in-laws, but since most of them live well-over 1000 miles away from me (and refuse to spring for plane tickets to where we live) I can happily ignore them.

oooooh…...yes!!! and I’m on both…of course the sides are forever changing!

and they wonder why mother-in-laws hate their son’s wives!!!!!!

As @Samurai noted, it’s more than one side or another. There are secrets, things that aren’t mentioned but understood by everyone, certain bipolar family members whose siblings ‘don’t want to talk about it’, certain pedophiles, certain suicides, fallings out. This is what I think of when you say ‘dark side’ – the unspoken aspects of us that threaten to undermine the ideal of familial harmony. The ‘light side’ meanwhile is genuine but one can’t help feeling it’s a farce sometimes.

But there are no real factions, thankfully.

Don’t let their negative traits blind you to their positive ones.

I don’t understand what dark side and light side mean? But yes there is some crap/dysfunction in my family. I’m perfect though. LOL.

Of course, some families want to show a false light, whilst living a completely opposite reality. Usually the human sin of pride is at the root, we always want to be held in esteem, even if the accolades hide the truth. A strange animal is the human and his family, a mirror can be the worst intrusion. But what would the neighbors and friends really think if they knew the truth?

I can’t answer for other families, but in my family the answer is a great bit no. I was raised in a very loving and supportive extended family that involved large family gatherings every year, and I was not aware of any “family feuds” at all. There were a couple of things people disagreed about, but it never got nasty.

I married into a similar family.

The deep dark secrets in my family will only go away when those people involved are all dead. As for the light side, well, some of us have a great sense of humor to mask our impenetrable darkness.

Not me though, I am all sunshine, rainbows and butterflies.~

typo above “bit” = big