People who make me feel like crap or worse off then when I encountered them consistently are written off and out of my life
Doesn’t matter if its family, nobody is entitled to your attention and suffering and it does nobody any real good for you to succumb to the inevitable dysfunction it creates in your life and relationships and also material conditions.
You could have just taken your own advice and asked for further explanation, but whatever. Being a jerk is fine too, I guess.
I just very much don’t like that there are people who claim there’s never a good lie, even white lies. Look at a less extreme example, your buddy is shot and bleeding out as you hold his hand. “Don’t worry, you’re going to make it.” Is a perfectly okay lie.
Lying about many subjects is acceptable as well. Do you like my haircut? Isn’t my baby adorable? Why do you want to work here? Did you like my lasagna?
Being honest is cruel sometimes, it doesn’t make anyone a better person.
There are situations where telling a lie is the moral thing to do. Physical violence / murder is a worse offence than lying, so if by not telling the truth you can avoid a bigger harm, then it’s the right thing to do.