In short, you probably never will have "a good relationship" with your father. I'ld set the bar lower and shoot for one that is reasonably amicable. You can't keep worrying about it. It is what it is. The failure is his not yours. Don't hold yourself overly responsible.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for your kind and realistic words. I don't think it will ever be a flourishing father-son relationship either. I've thought about it a lot, and I think the reason why he chose me as his target rather than my sister is because he saw how terrible I was at sports growing up, or how I acted effeminate, and he probably saw me as a failure because of that, and subsequently saw himself as a failure to parent me correctly. In his mind a man should act a certain way, and I think that I embarrass him to a certain extent. Keep in mind, I'm not a failure. I already have a professional job and am working towards getting a bachelor's degree at the same time, but the fact that my humor and general personality is different than his is what turns him off of me.