Does your family discuss politics?

[Deleted]

The kids and I not so much, although older son has a lot of causes he believes in so if he finds out say a politician isn't green or wants to cut the space program he gets a little vocal.  But, with my extended family I cringe whenever conversations move in the direction of politics.  It almost always ends up in a big argument and people upset. 

[The Captain]

No.  Can't.

I can't stand a double standard and have to point it out when it becomes visible.  

Not safe at home, not safe at work.  Here is about the only place where I can discuss politics.

[Deleted]

Us here at home, yes. <br><br>My standard reaction to my father's baiting is "I will not engage you on that topic".<br><br>My mom we don't say much. 

[NastyWoman]

Only in Seattle while visiting DS2. He is libertarian and I am rather liberal (as is his wife) so we have some fun discussions

[Phoenix84]

I'll discuss politics with my parents on rare occasions, but that's about it.

I don't really discuss politics with anyone else except on this message board. That is especially true at work.

If politics come up at work I'll usually refrain from engaging in the conversation.

[Sunnyday]

Short answer: no

Long answer: I don't talk politics with anyone. It's hard, because what little I do believe in is often the opposite of what others believe in.

I have a multicultural background, and I have a lot of different world views. One from my native country, one from the States where I grew up, and other various points of views from the various places that I've lived in for extended periods of time, including the country that I currently live in. And my perspective is always of an outsider, which in my mind means that I'm impartial because my conclusions don't come from cultural baggage. Even the States which I identify with the most, I can take step back from and say, "that's stupid to think that" or "it's not fair that people paint Americans that way."

But most people are like fish who don't know that they are wet. There are issues in Canada that as an outsider that I wasn't familiar with, and I would ask questions and come to a conclusion, and people would just go cray cray and call me ignorant about the issues (when I wasn't really) because I didn't agree with them. It's why I won't touch the Quebec independence issue with a 10-foot pole. 

Sometimes, it's hard to keep my mouth shut because most people don't know that I'm American and people say so many unfair things about the States. and, even my in-laws occasionally slip the most stupidest comments.

And when I talk to some of my American friends (otherwise very intelligent), their lack of any perspective on world issues saddens me.

As for my siblings, i never talk politics. All of them are staunch conservatives, and it's a constant source of friction. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Short answer, no....not if I want to have a pleasant visit.

[Deleted]

I hate it.  I try to change the discussion to chickens whenever possible. 

It's very hard in my family with the ties to Gingrich.  We have half the family rallying to get him in the White house and the other half...well...trying to keep him out.   I just wish they would not talk about it at family stuff.

[giramomma]

DS will ask me questions about who I vote for and why. He'll ask about political commercials that come on tv. Or there will be discussions on the playground that won't sit well with him, like when he was 8, some of his classmates told him all public sector workers were lazy and overpaid. Dh and I are both public sector workers.

We try to use these as teaching moments to use some critical thinking skills.

DH is a complete bleeding heart democrat.

I'm more fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

We do talk politics, but we don't often agree.

We do talk politics at work. But, it's politics that controls the university system funding. It's politics that decides how/when my benefits will change. Politics decides if I get a raise, or furloughs.

ETA: It IS possible to talk about how the political climate affects us without bashing people. We do it. To ignore our lawmakers and the outcomes of their choices would be foolish.

[sesfw]

Short answer, no....not if I want to have a pleasant visit.

           

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

In our house with each other and with all four kids, yes. We encourage our children to be able to both form and defend their opinions.
Not generally with others. My mother is of the mindset that if someone disagrees with her, that person must dislike her. It makes for unpleasant visits, so politics are no longer anything we'll touch with was her. Right now, we live in a very conservative area. While boht DH and I have officially been Republicans, we changed teams when W re-elected. Because of the demographics of our local sub-culture, we don't currently discuss at work or socially.

[drivingaround]

Not at all.  Not with family or friends.  Neither one of us feels strongly on religion or politics so we're safe to invite to cocktail parties! It wasn't a topic either of us grew up discussing or even learning about except the required high school classes so, probably embarrassingly, we have little interest in it. Sometimes I wish I was more politically passionate and aware but then I realize Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert might be getting divorced and surely that is more important than learning we launched air strikes in Syria.

[Shooby]

DH and I discuss politics. But, for the most part, we don't talk about it all that much. When I do talk about it , it is usually with people whom I know we either agree, or with people whom I know we both can agree to disagree.

[happyhoix]

Never at work. Never with my family.

DH comes from a family of very far right conservatives, and my SIL is one of those who believes the world is going to hell because women work outside the home. She has advocated for a law requiring mothers to be SAHM's. Since I've always been a working mom, it can make for tense holiday moments, because she tends to get up on her soap box while DH and I stand quietly to the side and say nothing, gritting our teeth, because we don't want to ruin the holiday.

It's funny, because SIL's DH is a salesman and good at smoosing people, and I know he must have told her to avoid the topics of religion and politics at family gatherings, in order to avoid hard feelings - when she starts onto one of her rants, her DH pops up at her side and tries to steer the conversation into less hostile waters, and he's usually successful.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Not really.  DH and I do sometimes but we're at odds on a bunch of issues.  General rule is that if one of us doesn't engage on a topic (religion falls in here too), the topic gets dropped but can be raised by either party later on.    I don't frame arguments well on the fly. 

I will NOT engage with any of DH's family.  Not only do I not agree with them, they're very strident when they discuss it. 

My family rarely talks politics.  And then it's more of a rueful "my candidate lost" type thing.  Although we are opening up to social issues some.

[movingforward]

My dad and I will talk politics from time to time.  I try to avoid talking politics with any of my extended family because their religion clouds their view of politics.  They make political decisions based on religion and say stupid shit like people are trying to kill Christmas.  My dad and I are both agnostic so typically we look at one another and start laughing and they will be like what are you laughing at? Then my cousin will go on a rant about how awful the government is while he is collecting welfare and food stamps   As I have gotten older I have grown to not really like my extended family very much.  I have one aunt (dad's sister) that I am close to but other than her I have really distanced myself from my extended family in the last 10 yrs or so.  I only see my cousins maybe once every 2-3 yrs and I have to limit that to no more than 3 days or I might stab myself with a fork. 

[Pants]

Dh and I yes, often. My family, sometimes. But we mostly agree and can generally have a civilized conversation when we don't. My DH's family, no. Well, rather, I don't. They are very conservative and very religious. I've decided the way to harmony here is to avoid those topics. However, DH and his family are the type that need to have deep, meaningful discussions in order to feel close. So we will go to his family's house, spend an afternoon talking about babies and work and life and I will leave and think "That was so nice," and he gets in the car and the first thing out of his mouth was "Ugh, that was so awkward!"

So every 3 months or so, they start talking politics or religion to "clear the air" which really just devolves into my mother-in-law crying because "You're smarter than me and you're usng your intelligence to win the argument and that's not fair," and then further devolves into both my in-laws and my husband sitting down and talking AGAIN about why we aren't christians or republicans.

I stay in the other room and continue my conversation about superficial stuff.

[Nazgul Girl]

   We can discuss politics with anyone in my family except for my brother and extremely conservative sister-in-law, who seems to believe everything she hears on Fox News.   However, she has every right to her viewpoint, and we just don't engage her in political discussions ( if we can avoid it ).   DH's family is deceased.

[Nazgul Girl]

Oct 1, 2014 8:32:48 GMT -5 Pants said:

Dh and I yes, often. My family, sometimes. But we mostly agree and can generally have a civilized conversation when we don't. My DH's family, no. Well, rather, I don't. They are very conservative and very religious. I've decided the way to harmony here is to avoid those topics. However, DH and his family are the type that need to have deep, meaningful discussions in order to feel close. So we will go to his family's house, spend an afternoon talking about babies and work and life and I will leave and think "That was so nice," and he gets in the car and the first thing out of his mouth was "Ugh, that was so awkward!"

So every 3 months or so, they start talking politics or religion to "clear the air" which really just devolves into my mother-in-law crying because "You're smarter than me and you're usng your intelligence to win the argument and that's not fair," and then further devolves into both my in-laws and my husband sitting down and talking AGAIN about why we aren't christians or republicans.

I stay in the other room and continue my conversation about superficial stuff.

 Oh brother !    Using your intelligence !    Being smarter !    Some nerve you and your husband have  .

[ArchietheDragon]

not much.   every so often with extended family. 

What is fun is talking about the Middle East with my mom's brother's family, who's wife is Lebanese... 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 30, 2014 20:38:29 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Short answer, no....not if I want to have a pleasant visit.

My family is waaaay more conservative than I am and I simply do not engage either my dad or my sister.  If they attempt it, I ignore as it winds up being better for all of us.

Things almost came to blows when I was in NY last Jan. with my sister and brother.  My sister said something, and I just pointed out another point of view.  She launched into this diatribe as to why I was wrong.  My brother (who has political leanings closer to my sister than me) pointed out that I had a point that maybe she ought to step back and think.  WWIII broke out between those 2.  My sister simply is not going to listen to any opinion other than her's and she is the only one who is right.  

After they left, I got to listen to Fox news for 5-6 hours/day.  When I pointed things out to my dad that were discrepancies from things that THEY said, he actually conceded the point but I don't know if he was placating me or was actually hearing me.

So now, if I want a pleasant visit I avoid any sort of political conversation like the plague!

[siralynn]

My Dad and I discuss politics quite a bit. But we have similar views. My Dad was a life-long Republican (single-issue taxes voter) who has become essentially a flaming liberal in the last 15 years or so. So we get along great. Even though he's amassed "starter wealth" and benefited immensely from fiscal policies in recent history, he's of the strong opinion that the greed and corruption of the rich is driving the country into the ground. "It all started to go south with Reagan."

[zibazinski]

I love watching DF because traditionally Jews are liberal and he isn't. But his family is and it's interesting.

[raeoflyte]

I do with my folks and sister a bit.  Dh and I agree on most everything but he even pisses me off with the way he delivers the message so I try not to talk to him about it much.  

My in-laws, no.  Not that they don't still try to engage, but I very loudly and rudely come up with reasons why the kids and I need to be else where even if we're in the middle of dinner.  We've tried being polite, and being direct, but rude is the only thing that they listen to unfortunately.  I had an uncle who just loved to debate politics and ruined over a decade of family get together's growing up and I'm not going to spend my kids childhood putting up with the same.  

[flamingo]

My DH and I discuss politics all the time. We mostly agree and when we don't it's usually just one of us playing devils advocate. My parents and I, yes. Mostly because my dad has become what I call a Fox News republican-meaning he watches Fox News day in and day and spouts their opinion as fact. Therefore, I feel a need to point out to him all the inconsistencies and non-facts in his arguments. I do this very calmly and politely and I swear if he could leave on the side of the road he would. It cracks my mom and I up, and she pushes me to engage him because she doesn't feel smart enough to. Right now, his current cause is hating the ACA. in the next breath though, he encourages my brother to sign up for it since he can't get insurance through his job and applauded me for using it earlier this year because "well, you guys need insurance and this is a good way to get it."    I engage in good cheer, though it pisses him off. When he complains, I just remind him how he supported me in college when I got a BA in political science. 

The rest of my family-they don't know what politics is, so we talk about more superficial stuff. 

[Abby Normal]

I don't talk with certain family members.  They are very close minded and have a "I'm right and your wrong" philosophy if we happen to disagree on a topic. I don't engage in that because I think it make them look stupid.

I have a good friend who is a more liberal (whereas I'm more conservative, especially fiscally) and we discuss politics a lot.  It's quite amazing how many things we agree on and those that we don't we can usually say " I can see your point, but"


With DS, I always tell him to look at the facts, not the hype, and form his own opinion on each topic. 

[MN-Investor]

My parents were long time Republicans. I think Dad thought he had died and gone to heaven when Fox News came on the air. However, ironically, my parents were strongly pro-choice (Dad was a doctor). They firmly believed in equality of the sexes - with six daughters and one son, they better had! And, while my Dad frowned on the idea of homosexuality, my parents treated my sister's partner like a daughter-in-law.

My siblings mostly lean right, and my DH loves listening to talk radio. Sigh. I am very, very liberal. I think DH realizes that it's best if we just don't discuss politics. DH will discuss politics with those of my siblings and their spouses who share his beliefs.

My cousin brought her mom to town to visit my mom this weekend. I mentioned something to my DH about seeing the relatives tomorrow. DH commented that my cousin's husband is a know-it-all. I was puzzled, then I realized what the problem was. My DH is very opinionated and vocal on the right, my cousin's husband is very opinionated and vocal on the left. Ergo, my DH perceives him as a know-it-all. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! I didn't point that out.

[Deleted]

It's another avoid the family weekend.    Callista is in town for her class reunion and Newt is going to be doing some appearances of course. 

[jeffreymo]

I try not to discuss my personal politics or religion with anyone outside of my wife. Even the relatives I share common beliefs with I feel that they sometimes take things to extremes.
Sometimes I'll join in and bash the president or past president but it feels awkward.

[Peace Of Mind]

Does receiving insane emails with conspiracy theories and bizarre and very inaccurate information count?  Then yes. 

DH was freaking out the other day because he heard another politician of his party saying insane stuff.  He said "I have GOT to get my party changed/corrected.  I'm embarrassed to even be listed as this party and want nothing to do with them."   And the phone calls we get!  8-10 a day.  I hope those go away when he changes his party affiliation.  He tried to change it years ago but for some reason it never went through.  Now he's embarrassed by it.  LOL!

He and I always have political conversations but lately it's been more of a comedy hour.  We have some real whackadoodles running here in Florida.  We're scared to vote these days!