politics

This is what we're going through with my in laws right now.

Not too strange of a phenomenon if one considers what populism focuses on, the fabrication of divides in order to drive tribal responses from it's followers.Trump's rhetoric is only one variety of it that happens to be very effective at creating that divide, those that are swayed shouldn't really be seen as people that support all of his nastiest views, but as people that have been taken in by that sense of tribalism.

The loss of community is increasingly problematic for individuals in this day in age. There exists too many groups vying for our attention, many of which being communities that span across the globe. And with all these options, local communities may not always seem preferential to these global ones due to comparative size or accessibility. However, they still generally offer much more, and can prevent people from feeling isolated in their lives. Populist campaigns seek to take these people that are divorced from a community, often socially isolated people, and give them a group that seemingly supports them. So long as it's welcoming, it doesn't really matter who's at the head of it, nor it's beliefs.

I feel the fact that older people that aren't quite retirement age and younger men being the people that are most likely to vote for Trump kinda speaks to this theory. I feel like these groups are the most at risk when it comes to developing rewarding communities, so a group like MAGA could be appealing to them.

I'm skipping Thanksgiving

Just in time for the holidays.

Maybe they should have voted

Write them off.

And if they need care in later life, put them in the shittiest home you can find.

They are increasingly seen as moral judgements when people use their assumed morality as a platform from which to take rights away from people. Rights away from women and lgbtq at the forefront, but we’re also facing worker’s rights, your rights when encountering police as a minority, the law being more meaningless the more money someone has, your right to life in an increasingly gun-infested country where just standing in the wrong driveway will get you shot.

So it’s pretty easy to see why you don’t want to be around them.

I'm still trying to have a relationship with my parents despite their love of Trump. My mother, she'll go out of her way to avoid politics with me and my husband, and I asked for a family photo with my nieces and nephews for Christmas, and she made sure all their Trump paraphernalia was removed. I still havent talked to her since the election as I'm still processing the fact that she voted for that fucker.

My dad on the other hand...the last time I spoke to him ended in a screaming match that he initiated, where he hung up on me because I called him racist due to him UNIRONICALLY believing that immigrants ate dogs and cats.

They want to homeschool my niece and nephew, and that terrifies me. That was ANOTHER huge argument that we had over the 2021-2022 Christmas period. I really didnt think Id ever go back after that. But Im so scared that if I dont try, those kids will never be exposed to ANYTHING other than my parents hateful views. I grew up in that environment. I had some views that Im not proud of today until I left home @ 19. I know how fucking convincing they are/how much they push the "fAmIlY oVeR eVeRyThInG" narrative.

That being said, I dont live anywhere near them, and I only see them once, maybe twice in a year, so Im not sure exactly how much affect I can even have on my niece and nephew. But I feel guilty not trying.