Interesting Observation About Thanksgiving Politics
I've always found the family dynamics of discussing politics at Thanksgiving pretty fascinating, but this year I pretty much confirmed a theory I've had for a long time. My family is a very strong Democratic family. Most of my family, going back generations, has been almost exclusively Democrats, with just a few notable exceptions. Our family historian has even told me about old stories passed down of heated discussions about, "that bastard Taft" around the dinner table. So I come from a long line of Democrats. On the flip side of that coin, my wife's side of the family is almost exclusively Republicans, and my wife and I are about the only exceptions.
As most married couples, we had 2 Thanksgiving dinners again this year. Whenever there's a family gathering with my wife's family, we always have to remind ourselves to just keep our mouths shut, smile and nod, and whatever outrageous right-wing talking points get said, just ignore them and move on. Keep quiet and keep the peace. Don't make waves. So we do that, and then have the, "Can you believe what they said THIS year?" conversation in the car on the way home. Long story short, we know we're in the minority, so we have to keep our opinions to ourselves for the sake of keeping the peace.
Whenever there's a family gathering with my family, it's just the opposite. We are in the majority, and there's usually only one or two right-wingers there. So when the conversation turns to politics, the one right-winger in the family feels it's his duty to be the loudest, most boisterous, most obnoxious, most opinionated, and most hateful person in the room. And he won't stop trying to shout people down until the rest of family just gets sick of him and either walks away in disgust or the topic is changed to something more innocuous.
My question is this. Since my experience from both sides of the fence seems to be about in line with every other person's experience, as far as I can tell, why is it that WE are always the ones who feel the need to "keep the peace"? Why are WE the ones who always have to walk away or change the subject? Why are WE the ones who always have to smile and nod and not make waves? Why is it that right-wingers feel it's perfectly acceptable to be obnoxious and opinionated, regardless of whether they're in the overwhelming majority or whether they're the ONLY ONE present? And what's more, from what I can tell, everyone I've ever talked to says they can pretty much COUNT ON the one right-winger to be the obnoxious one? Why are THEY never the ones who feel the need to remain silent, or to just let things go, in order to keep the peace?
Honestly, I think it has something to do with the rise of right-wing hate radio in the late '80s. Rush Limbaugh and everyone who later adopted his style have made all right-wingers think that's the way they SHOULD act. And what's more, they think it's perfectly acceptable. In their minds, THEY'RE the victims, and by shouting everyone down, they're just "fighting for their rights," or some other such silliness. In my opinion, political discussion has devolved into the hateful state it's in now as a direct result of right-wing scream radio, and the advent of a 24-hour-a-day propaganda channel that constantly tells them that they're under assault in some form or another and it's OK to "fight back."
Think about it. When was the last time you heard a story about yet another Thanksgiving dinner ruined by political arguments, but it was some wild, shouting liberal who wouldn't shut up and alienated everyone at the dinner? I haven't heard of a single story like that. I've heard plenty that go the other way, though.
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