The Holidays are Coming: Should you give your racist family the time of day?
This Thanksgiving, I remember back to the 2016 election when I’d appallingly discovered half my family voted for Trump. They had different reasons — Whether it be the bull market, a poor understanding of Democracy, a limited knowledge of history, racism and hatred, or simply disliking Hillary Clinton. By this time, Trump had already implied that Mexicans were drug dealers and rapists, that mocking a disabled reporter is acceptable for a presidential candidate, and openly embracing conspiracy theories. Hell, he even gave Alex Jones an interview and frequently tweeted support for the fringe radio host. My family voted for a bigoted monster and this has granted me cause for reflection derived from my confusion and anger.
I never hated the Republican party growing up as a kid. They had different views than us liberals and that was fine. They cited personal responsibility. We wanted a larger social safety net. We were pro-abortion. They were anti-abortion. Boy, have my views changed! They say you’ll get more conservative as you age and I ran straight down the opposite track. Smaller government and lower taxes have morphed into a leviathan of excuses to support a tiny minority of wealthy Americans. “You’re a man, not a woman! You don’t deserve healthcare if you don’t work! Just ask your parents for money! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I did! I’m not racist, but…” OK Boomer. Your Trump-loving family is responsible for this great divide.
Their crime is hardly in daily microaggressions or misgendering, but in empowering nationalist bigots like Stephen Miller and Miller’s erection for white nationalism, who has actively worked to create policies to harm and create second class citizens of minority populations. Your relatives allowed this to happen and made a grave error. When you make mistakes, there are repercussions. At Thanksgiving this year, let them know that you don’t appreciate their ignorance, that their worldview is outdated and hateful and lacking morality. They won’t change without intervention — and who better to intervene than their own kin? In this dichotomy, you can also choose to disassociate with them entirely.
My relatives and I used to always joke about “Idiocracy”, Mike Judge’s fantastic satire of post-apocalyptic society. Surely, a country where a pro-wrestler was in charge could never happen, but it did. It’s summer and we’re out of electrolytes, folks. What else could the plants possibly crave? I’m sure your families are largely good people as are mine, but their behavior and voting patterns are unacceptable and incompatible with social progress. You are your own person and under no obligation to spend time with your families this holiday season. It’s up to you to make that call.
Dear Leader “President” Camacho. Idiocracy (2006).
Blog Photo Credit:
Creator:Tom Williams
Credit:AP
Copyright:2017 CQ-Roll Call, Inc.
