Thanksgiving and Political Discussion

[Saphire]

Is anyone a bit apprehensive about Thanksgiving conversation this year? I think I may say something to my guests at the start of the day. It has been a very contentious season, and for the first time, I really don't want any political discussion on Thanksgiving Day.

How will you handle it, if you have diverse family/friends like me?

May we all have a Peaceful Thanksgiving!

 

[lifesavacation]

Ugh! We have family with extreme views on both sides. Our holiday meal is going to be a disaster.

 

[js]

We all agree so all good lol

Maybe sound like your joking and say "no religion or politics today" it's about family, friends and the bird.

 

[RedAngie]

Bring all political discussion to a halt immediately.

 

[MataHari22]

Bring all political discussion to a halt immediately.

I totally need one of those for my crazy family. My step grandfather likes to break chops, he purposely starts with people. He just wants to get a rise out of people and keeps pushing until he succeeds. Ugh

 

[Hikergirl]

No, I am only having one guest and we all voted the same way. There won't be any arguing.

 

[hereyago]

How about Rock em Sock em matches,lol.

 

[Disneylover99]

Just say, pass the turkey please.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you have differing opinions in the group, it would probably be best to agree to disagree and moveonto other topics. I would like to think that adults could do that and if they can't I probably wouldn't want to spend the day with them anyway.

 

[DawnM]

Yup! I am very worried. The family we have Thanksgiving with likes to talk politics. They assume we all agree. We don't. But I also don't want to rock the boat or cause waves, so I just smile, nod in my "I'm listening" nod, and then change the subject OR talk about one aspect of politics I know we agree on.

The problem is, most people are one or two issue voters. I am a big picture person. Of course there are some issues that are more important to me than others, but when I step back and look at the entire picture, I realize that if I voted because of X issues, then I am not voting my conscience on P,Q,R, or S issue.

But I don't want to get into it with them.

I have decided this year to just ignore, go downstairs for a bit, or politely state that I am not discussing politics at all.

 

[kmb584]

Thankfully, no. Everyone who will be at our Thanksgiving table this year have similar views. Our Christmas Eve dinner, on the other hand, is going to be a complete disaster.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

We all voted the same way, so it should be a very nice Thanksgiving for us all. I feel bad for those who might end up having politics creep into the conversation and make people feel uneasy. Good luck, and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[lovin'fl]

Yeah, it could be interesting. But we are going to SIL's this year and that should be better than if we had been with my family. We usually host Thanksgiving for my family which is just my five and my mom... all the same politically pretty much... and then my brother and SIL who are very extreme opposites of us. But my brother told me he thought it best to skip Thanksgiving this year, he is in mourning.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have already argued with family before the election many times. If they want half of the guests to stay, people need to keep their trap shut. It is NOT a good subject for us.

My sister put out a "warning text" that politics is off the table.

We will see....

 

[Jennasis]

Our guests voted the same way we did so it should be all good.

 

[tvguy]

Well, my DDIL married into a family that votes, something she has never done in her 28 years, until this year. She also married into a family that doesn't celebrate when "our" candidate wins or "mourn" when our candidate loses. So it may be discussed at Thanksgiving, but without any issue. Elections are pretty straight forward, you vote, you have a winner, your have a loser.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I was raised that politics and religion are not polite dinner topics. Unfrotunately, we're visiting my in-laws this year, so there's absolutely no guarantee that the various attendees' differing political leanings won't get brought up. It could be disastrous, but hopefully nothing will happen. Sometimes the best thing you can hope for is to not start anything yourself

Luckily, we all support the same football team, so we won't argue about that.

 

[ronandannette]

Just say, pass the turkey please.

^^This. Although trying to stay out of it can only take you so far. I ended up excusing myself early from a lunch out with friends last week because I simply could not tolerate listening to them for one more second (and this wasn't even our election... )

 

[BunsenH]

Ask everyone to postpone the "airing of grievances" until the proper time, Festivus!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wouldn't only one side have 'grievances'.
That might be a bit one sided, directed at those with only one viewpoint.

If I were hosting, I do think I would find a way to say something, like "It is THANKSGIVING, so in the interest of everyone enjoying being together, having a nice time ,and being thankful, I would be very very thankful if we could not use this time to bring up any political, religious, or otherwise touchy conversations.... CHEERS!!!!"