Politics & families
February 9th, 2011
I did my “Social Studies” segment on WGBH Radio yesterday on the topic of politics and families. It was a call-in segment, so it got rather entertaining. You can listen to it here.
For whatever it’s worth, I get more complaints from liberals about being teased/bullied by conservative relatives than the reverse. (The only person who’s ever ended a friendship with me over politics was to the left of me.)
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Cool! Something fun to throw on my iPod for the commute home. : )
–Bumper sticker, Not Funny! a little too permanent, too public, too messy to remove.
Give them a t-shirt they’re sure to disagree with, instead–much easier to laugh off, or hide: Just expect that they’ll save that one to clean out the gutters.
Remark of the day–BRILLIANT!:–
“Sometimes you simply have to say something, sometimes you can hold your peace. I can give people advice on _how_ to do one or the other, I can’t tell them which one to choose.”
Also great, about respectful discussion of differences: “What’s it like to be in your shoes? What are you hearing that makes sense to you?”
If you have the time, if you have the will to stay in the relationship, it can be so interesting to test your own assumptions about ‘what kind of people believe X.’
I don’t usually mind the challenging question, as long as people don’t blow off the seriousness of my answer.
I liked the observation that it’s not liberal vs conservative that can cause dispute; it’s wanting to discuss politics/ religion vs. not wanting to discuss those things.
Also very good points about what to do when these arguments are happening on-line as opposed to face-to-face.
I also loved the bit about being a good advertisement for your beliefs and telling people that constant bullying and badgering is hardly going to win others over to their side.
Ironically, one friend I’ve had to distance myself from a bit over the past couple of years is one whose beliefs I actually share. It’s just that every email from him seems to devolve into this angry rant about current events, and after a while I just found it so wearying that I’ve decided to give him some space and not respond to his political diatribes. We still keep in touch, but I just refuse to engage him in any discussion about current events. Which is sad, because I enjoy his intelligence and insight, but reading his emails lately has started feeling like listening to a left-wing version of Glen Beck, and that is something I don’t need in my life right now.
I agree with you on the bumper sticker thing. It’s too permanent, and it has an undertone of wanting or trying to convert them. If someone put a Sarah Palin bumper sticker on my car, I’d be pretty upset.
I think that sort of humor works much better when you share political beliefs, because you want the other person to know you’re laughing with them, not at them. For example, my very liberal dad keeps getting mail from the Republican National Convention, thanking him for his support. We all find this hilarious. So, one Christmas ago, I made up a Palin/[Dad's Last Name] 2012 campaign photo and had matching buttons made and wrapped them as part of his gift. I think they’re still prominently displayed in my parents’ dining room.