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how we solved the talking-politics-at-dinner- problem


regentrude
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Dollar jar. Every time somebody got dangerously close, she or he had to put an IOU slip in the jar (my DD was vigilant), pledging to donate that amount to a certain organization. We had a lot of fun with this, all thought it a good idea, and we filled four hours of very lively conversation with other topics :) 

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Great idea! 

 

My FIL tried to turn every conversation last night to politics, but no one took the bait. Seriously, in every conversation, he would bring up a certain politican's name. After a while it was just ridiculously  funny and if Dh and I made eye contact, we'd burst out laughing.  

 

Nerf guns... politics. 

Black Friday shopping...politics

Fried turkey ...politics

Curried lima beans...politics

College basketball... politics

Cub Scouts...politics

Medical school applications...politics

Classical piano music... politics

 

 

 

 

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Great idea!

 

My FIL tried to turn every conversation last night to politics, but no one took the bait. Seriously, in every conversation, he would bring up a certain politican's name. After a while it was just ridiculously funny and if Dh and I made eye contact, we'd burst out laughing.

 

Nerf guns... politics.

Black Friday shopping...politics

Fried turkey ...politics

Curried lima beans...politics

College basketball... politics

Cub Scouts...politics

Medical school applications...politics

Classical piano music... politics

With a topic like Lima beans how on earth could you *not" expect politics to come up!?!?

 

;)

 

Op, fun idea!

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Was it a charity that people wouldn't want to give to? 

Because that's the only way it would work for me. It would have to have been a powerful aversive. I'm a poli sci grad. Pretty much everything is political to me.  

Curried lima beans.  Exactly happi duck, how could that not be political????  :lol:

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Was it a charity that people wouldn't want to give to? 

 

Because that's the only way it would work for me. It would have to have been a powerful aversive. I'm a poli sci grad. Pretty much everything is political to me.  

 

We actually discussed this. I know that the most effective deterrent would have been to select an organization we would detest giving to. But we decided not to (for one thing, selecting the abhorrent organization would have forced us to talk politics, LOL) and chose to keep it in light spirit and give to an organization we would like to support. It still worked. Some people put preemptive IOUs in when they felt the on the verge of saying something. The main effect, I think, was to keep us mindful of conversations drifting that way.

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My second best idea is to invite people who are on the same sort of spectrum generally, and discuss to our heart's content.

 

Oh, the bolded was totally the case. We all knew, and agreed with, each other's opinions. Still, some people had a very strong preference not to talk about it over dinner ;)

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â¤ï¸

My second best idea is to invite people who are on the same sort of spectrum generally, and discuss to our heart's content. I'm a close-minded libtard, but if you want to eat at my house....

That's what we did. Of course, same family had spent the night on election night to see the results come in, so we all know each others' thoughts, and have no problems discussing politics. We did not actually discuss at the dinner table or while playing games after, or cooking beforehand.

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I wish our Thanksgiving dinner table conversation could have been about politics.

 

Instead, we got detailed descriptions of stomach-turning illnesses and surgeries, lists of barely-known acquaintances who had lost pregnancies in the last decade,  hopes of admittance to a college because "they keep sending me email", long complaints about the failings of ex-spouses, and other subjects I have put out of my head.

 

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â¤ï¸

My second best idea is to invite people who are on the same sort of spectrum generally, and discuss to our heart's content. I'm a close-minded libtard, but if you want to eat at my house....

 

We did the same. For added enjoyment there was a pumpkin colored voodoo doll among the table decorations. So it was "Please pass the salt. Thank you. Please pass the voodoo doll..."    :smash:   :cheers2:

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â¤ï¸

My second best idea is to invite people who are on the same sort of spectrum generally, and discuss to our heart's content. I'm a close-minded libtard, but if you want to eat at my house....

What is a libtard?

 

Please tell me there is no actual form of the R-word in there.

Edited by DawnM
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The most controversial discussion we had yesterday was why my husband set the turkey to cook at 250 degrees resulting in it not being ready on time. LOL  Oh yeah...and if using the f.....art word or the poop word was more likely to get you kicked out of thanksgiving dinner. Neither did. And if the 7 yr old was worse than the 12 and 15 yr olds were at this age, he was not. The 12 and 15 yr olds did far worse. These were our debates. 

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No, it is not ok to use the R word in any form. Blaming me doesn't change the meaning.

Blaming you? I think you misunderstand. Madteaparty is, I assume, claiming the insult given to liberals in order to take away the power of the insult. Like women calling themselves b*itches so that word is less effective when hurled as an insult. The insult did not originate from liberals.

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Blaming you? I think you misunderstand. Madteaparty is, I assume, claiming the insult given to liberals in order to take away the power of the insult. Like women calling themselves b*itches so that word is less effective when hurled as an insult. The insult did not originate from liberals.

I misunderstood.

 

I still have a really hard time with this particular word. B*tch is not a clinical diagnosis. It can be helped. People make choices to behave in ways that give them this definition. Someone who is clinically mentally slow cannot help it, having words that make fun of them is just not ok, even in some sort of jest. Maybe I am extra sensitive, but I would rather be that way than the reverse.

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