too, but thankfully not at our house. My mother-in-law hosts it out at her vacation home (prefab, not fancy) in the hills near Yosemite, and my husband's cousin will barbecue lamb... and there will be pilafi, etc. Luckily, religion doesn't really enter in to it. Also, most of the Republicans have died off, so that's not the issue it once was.
Except... I just remembered I got really upset when one relative in his 70s started screaming "bullshit!" at me last year when I challenged his rather... creative (shall we say)... take on Jordan Peterson, as he helpfully explained that the only reason women don't reach the same heights men do is because we aren't as mean as men... but Peterson (bless his heart) is willing to solve that problem by teaching us to be meaner. When I happened to gently suggest that if HRC had acted "meaner" she would have been called out for being a b*tch (even more than she already was) because it doesn't actually work that way for women, he yelled "Bullshit!" right in my face-- and apparently considered that a sufficient argument. I pointed to a study where potential voters were given the exact same descriptions for two hypothetical politicians... and the politician identified as male was viewed positively, while the female was viewed negatively. (That also garnered a loud "Bullshit!) Finally, there was my comment about Republican state legislators helping coal companies under-diagnose Black Lung (so fewer qualify for benefits), while also underfunding benefits-- something I thought might be of interest since this is a family descended from Greek coal miners, and my husband's grandmother (this guy's aunt) received Black Lung benefits--but that got a loud "Bullshit!" too.
I removed myself from the interaction at that point, but I was pretty stunned. While he has always been a Republican, he wrote in somebody rather than vote for Trump... and he is well educated... and he has a gay son he adores... and he loved his (now deceased) Muslim, immigrant son-in-law... and he is devoted to his only two grandchildren, who are also Muslim (if not practicing) and dark skinned. He didn't use to be like this, so I'm assuming he's another Fox casualty, but it really shocked me, made me sad... and pissed me off. I had to shut up all those years when my husband's right wing step-father and uncles were dominating the scene... but this guy is only old enough to be my older brother! When do WE get to rant and rave with no consequences?! (Oh, here on DU, I guess; sorry for the hijack!)
Happy Easter! Hope you have a great day!
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