Interesting tags. I can see how someone might look at it that way but I was going to point out, too, that it is just a card. You have decided to place a great deal of meaning in something that cost $1.25 and took as many seconds to pick out as consideration of its appropriateness was given? Look at how much time and emotional effort you have put into it. Is that how you want to spend your time and energy?

In a sense, his parents "won" this contest because they may have wanted a rise from you and boy, have they gotten it! Think about the alternatives; what if you had acted "clueless" and not noticed their asides of "don't tell beauflow"? Perhaps they would have been disappointed? I would have felt good/liberated by that and would have thought/felt I had gotten one over on them when they were the ones trying to get one over on me. We can't know their true motives as it does not sound like they are very self-aware, thoughtful, or sharing sorts of people.

Let go, beauflow; there are so many other, better battles to fight and things to understand? You can't get anything you want from these particular people. Maybe your boyfriend has learned something, maybe not. It might take several other conversations about several other situations, hopefully situations with more meat/"meaning" to them?