Does your family talk about politics at your gatherings? Do you think politics will discussed this holiday season, and will there be disagreements?

11/16/2005 4:33:06 PM

yes, and yes, as it has been for the last upteenth time I've been around my family. You imply that this year will be different for some reason?

11/16/2005 4:34:39 PM

yes
and i'm rather looking forward to punching holes in their unresearched arguments...again.

11/16/2005 4:35:31 PM

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"Does your family talk about politics at your gatherings?"

very rarely.

Quote :

"Do you think politics will discussed this holiday season"

i doubt it.

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"will there be disagreements?"

when we do discuss any politics, there are a few very minor disagreements.

11/16/2005 4:35:42 PM

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"Does your family talk about politics at your gatherings"

Yes. My family is fairly well cultured and informed. The current administration (among other social trends) has actually re-radicalized my father and driven him to change his voter registration from Republican to Independent.

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"Do you think politics will discussed this holiday season?"

It is quite likely that a couple of articles from The Economist will be circulated over the break and we'll discuss the topics covered in the articles.

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"will there be disagreements?"

Yes. We're all distinct personalities with our own sets of values and ideas regarding how things should be done. There will be civil debate and cocktails... which is how I think things should be done.

11/16/2005 4:42:51 PM

Last year, my parents refused to talk politics over the holidays and it'lll probably be the same this year.

11/16/2005 4:52:39 PM

I can't really blame them

11/16/2005 5:02:38 PM

big religious talk planned this year - but typically politics come up also

11/16/2005 5:02:59 PM

make sure you categorize all your conservative relatives as simple, closeminded, homophone, biggots.

We can't support the stereotype without YOU!

11/16/2005 5:03:52 PM

11/16/2005 5:26:13 PM

unfortunately, yes. it goes like this:

-my grandmother says "i read an interesting article in x publication"
-my aunt responds with either "they always want favors", "they need to abolish the UN", or "they oughta lock x person up"
-either me or my one cousin who went to UNC and cares about this stuff will actually make her back up what she says
-ted kennedy, jesse jackson, france, gays, or a clinton will be mentioned disparigingly
-ill say "yeah, thats totally founded on fact", and then shut up, b/c i want to eat, not talk politics forever
-everyone shuts up and goes back to bitching about family members who didnt attend

last year my parents did all they could to steer the discussion away from politics, b/c they didnt want me to start a fight since i had just gotten involved in equal rights stuff, not that i would provoke arguments anyway (seriously, i dont)

[Edited on November 16, 2005 at 5:34 PM. Reason : .]

11/16/2005 5:32:42 PM

my family will celebrate anything

11/16/2005 7:25:53 PM

Quote :

"Does your family talk about politics at your gatherings?"

Depends on which of the 3 or 4 factions we are visiting. The biggest problem with the holidays is not talking politics, it's being expected to be at 5 different places that are not geographically close within a 2 day timespan. One year I will be old enough to guilt all the kids with their families into visiting us.

Quote :

"Do you think politics will discussed this holiday season, and will there be disagreements?"

Probably. Serioulsy, I'd rather not talk politics. The quickest and easiest way to deal with politics in a family setting is to just nod and say "Uh, huh" whether you agree or disagree. Trust me, most of our families wouldn't change their opinion with debate anyway. You can still walk away and believe what you believe. Why try to get in a fight? I really have to roll my eyes at any of you that feel like they have to confront their famiilies like they have something to prove.

Snewf. Dude, no offense but that sounds like a pretty boring (and pompous) family get-together. I guess if your family has fun doing it then I can't say anything.


This thanksgiving (like every thanksgiving) I'm going to the in-laws to shoot guns. I get to talk politics every day. When I'm with family it's nice to get a break from that and do something fun that I don't get to do all the time. I guess that makes us an uncultured and uninformed family but I can live with that. I guess I could interject some culture into this family get-together by making some politically suggestive targets to shoot at

11/17/2005 8:01:26 AM

not really, we are all rich as sin and have nothing to complain about

11/17/2005 8:24:52 AM

My family never talks about politics at gatherings.. they're too busy talking and laughing about old stories and that sort of thing..

and even if we did talk about politics, everyone has the same viewpoint anyway

11/17/2005 11:33:39 AM

i hope not.

my mom and aunt are the type of liberal that believe and regurgitate everything they read, without any independent thought or contribution, past political "discussions" have ended in tears.

11/17/2005 11:38:59 AM

usually when we get around my grandma there is some sort of political discussion...but it always ends up bad b/c she's not very well informed. she thinks she knows about tax reform and knows what she's talking about b/c she can repeat what is said on TV to you almost verbatem.

it ends up making most of my family mad b/c for the most part my family is fiscally conservative...but overall, with the exception of my family, they are all republicans so they're gonna be mad anyway.

it's the talks about religion that get out of hand...b/c of some of my family is from morehead city. so when the big uproar about the episcopal church there was going on, religion talks got kinda heated.

11/17/2005 11:44:20 AM

We'll be having a good time and then my grandmother will ask my mom

SO DO YOU STILL LIKE THAT ASSHOLE BILL CLINTON

hilarity ensues

11/17/2005 12:21:29 PM

^6 thats interesting that you find Snewf's family gathering to be "pompous and boring" but at least you respect his right to have it his way....

i dont know Snewf but i will go ahead and add my two cents that having a civilized debate over differences sounds a lot more appealing to me than "shooting guns" and just nodding and saying "uh, huh" whether i agree or not....but to each his own.

There is a reason i think the way i do, and i enjoy learning others perspectives and beliefs first hand and considering other options.

not judging, just commenting.

11/17/2005 2:29:51 PM

listening to my dad talk about politics is about like like listening to ppl on TWW talk about it. Yeah, it's that bad.

and both my dad and grandpa consistantly get hairbrained ideas and sbsequently think they figured out something REALLY big and they have to tell everyone. Like not hunting ducks will stop the flu completley.

11/17/2005 2:39:07 PM

Quote :

"...having a civilized debate over differences sounds a lot more appealing to me than "shooting guns" and just nodding and saying "uh, huh" whether i agree or not....but to each his own."

I see where you are coming from. To each his own. In my case:
1) I already know what they are going to say before they say it. I've heard it 100s of times before. You can only listen to a broken record for so long.
2) If I got to shoot guns 365 days a year then I'd be bored with doing that and want to talk politics. Turns out I get to shoot guns once a year, thanksgiving.

Everyone's variables are different. Like I said. My family isn't the kind to sip the champagne under the chandelier in the parlour while discussing the latest stock market trends on forbes. I'm still a seedling growing from redneck roots

11/17/2005 3:24:29 PM

My mom is good at talking about politics.

My dad, well, you just have to avoid the subject altogether.

11/17/2005 3:28:10 PM