My aunt.
It’s not her politics (they’re awful, but she at least keeps them quiet). It’s more that she’s a combination of excessively chatty and dull.
She will talk about absolutely nothing for hours on end.
Myself
Probably my girlfriend’s mother. Her family lives in a remote part of Y’allistan kinda country. According to my gf they used to be quite moderate and intelligent but since moving (for better land to run their family business) her mom has become very isolated and feeds off nothing but Fox/OANN and whatever shit YouTube recommends. She’s become such an abortion hating, trans hating, gay hating person in only the last three or four years that even my girlfriend says she barely recognizes her sometimes.
This is my first Thanksgiving with her family after 2 years together, and depending on how it goes it might be close to the last, we’re not sure.
The best way to handle it is to laugh about it. She makes some remark about trans or gays, just laugh or smile as if it was a joke or as if she is drunk and stupid. :)
It feels much better for the soul. Don’t fight her. She will have those opinions either way.
Each person has their own development journey. You don’t blame a kid for throwing up on the floor. Just relax and accept whatever happens.
If you do this, you will grow as a person and realize there is another way to handle conflict that feels quite good. :)
Another way to handle it is the stoic stare. You just look at her quietly when she says things without saying anything. Just keep eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time to make a point, making the others around the table notice the bad vibes and get uncomfortable. Personally I think this is harder to pull off in a setting with many people, so I prefer the first one.
Except, she is not a child. She is a grown person who votes and supports opinions that will get vulnerable people killed. This are both very childish ways of handling conflict.
stares blankly at you for an uncomfortable long time without speaking
If you haven’t already seen it, watch The Brainwashing of My Dad. It is a short documentary about this kind of experience that’s worth the quick watch
Fortunately, my family all died off in the pandemic. We were all liberal, and they’d be horrified by the state of things. I’m grateful they don’t have to experience any of this.
My mom would be devastated to see that they let the orange fucker do it again.
None. We have made politics a taboo subject at dinner. We know we don’t agree (older generations vs younger) and would rather converse about things we enjoy like the grandkids etc.
It’s my house. Everyone in the family knows I’ll shut that shit down, so I look forward to seeing everyone 😁
My parents called tonight and asked if they could come on Thursday, I am NOT looking forward to seeing my hyper-christian Maga supporting white-Nationalist parents, and neither are my very sensible, LQTBQ+ supporting children and their partners, and spouses. Tomorrow, I have to call and tell them that any nonsense, or statements like the ones that were made at the last event we were at will be met by asking them to leave. Yay.
What did they say last time, spill the tea!
Report back soldier when its over!
What are the chances that they will actually be respectful do you think. Might there be a case for simply not inviting them?
I think it’s kind of like a last chance situation. One last chance to be civil and behave. If they mess up they are never invoted again. But I might be wrong.
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All of them. They are literally neonazis but with black and white switched. They would say “black lives matter” while beating up a black Jewish person. I hate my family.
Got to hang out with the hard-r racist uncle, my ‘pretends she a smart bible reader that hasn’t fallen for 4 different(in name) pyramid scams’ military sister, and my mentally disabled but violently aggressive brother that may have figured out that the cops will go easy on him every time.
These people wonder why I dread family gatherings and can’t function socially.
Be yourself, accept your family into your heart, and try to help them.
Show your racist uncle that whatever he dislikes about other races is also true for the supposed superior race, and that the things that make certain races seem inferior could be explained in other ways, like cultural issues (like racism).
Help your sister find passages in the Bible that speak to pyramid schemes, scams, gullibility, and remind her that her focus should not be on whatver these schemes are but on her Jesus and her salvation, and thank her for her service.
As much as you may hate dealing with people like this, I kinda think it’s the only way to help people. You have to build relationships with people that you dont agree with, search for good values in people and try to salvage them, pull them out of their tail spin.
My very imperfect father, whom I love and respect, has been a Trump supporter for a very long time and so any time a conversation can turn political, it does, and we all have to hear about the Democrat boogiemans and Trump the savior. As soon as it turns that way, even if I agree with his points or whatver, I just “oh shit here we go again” and what happens is, everyone in the room starts laughing because we all feel the same way. After a few of these I think he gets it, and I’ll talk with him about his ideas around Democrats and Trump, but in a curious way, and I’ll agree where we agree, and I’ll challenge him where I disagree. Sometimes we have to agree to disagree, I learn more about his perspective and we carry on.
Everyone on Earth is flawed and all we have is each other. I am so thankful for the people in my life that invested in me and I want to do the same for others.
Thank you for reading my TED talk.
I’m happy if the day ends with no violence or screaming where we pretend to be normal, and that’s not expected. It depends on if my brother is agitated that day and what shit that kicks off. I’m dipping the first elevated voice.
I feel you, but if you are only there when things are good, what’s the point?
If shit gets bad I’m out. I’m not risking safety for turkey.
You mean the people I was forced to experience my childhood and early adulthood with? Not seeing them at all.
They got themselves kicked to the curb long ago. Mom died 13 years ago, which greatly improved my life. Dad died this past May and I didn’t even go to the funeral. Middle brother came out as an Oathbreaker, keeper or whatever those idiots call themselves. Oldest brother has always been a narcissistic asshat and I haven’t spoken to him in almost a decade.
Nuclear war between nations is a terrible thing that should never happen.
Nuclear war on toxic relationships is the best thing ever.
Brazillian, but my uncle follows bolsonaro. 😭
Yo momma
A sister that is a traditional conservative and brother that is a centrist liberal, they argue in talking points and both of their solutions are usually unrealistic garbage. It’s a big family though so most just leave the room when they get going.
I’m skipping Thanksgiving because my whole family has become brainwashed magats.
Even the ones I thought could never be that fuckin stupid.
Avoiding most family this year, spending it with those I’m close with instead.
