In this thread, DUmmies revisit a common topic: The arguments they provoke with relatives who have escaped the loser mentality of Stalinist DUmpmonkeydom. Their envy of their more successful family members always results in political tirades that destroy family togetherness. It's a funny thread, but becomes sad when you think of how these DUmmies have allowed their political lunacy to wreck their lives:
Darth_Kitten (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 10:47 AM
Original message
How do you cope when family members are married to right-wingers?
Now think my niece "may" be married to one. Is it bad enough my sister married a holier-than-thou hypocrite who essentially kept their kids from having regular relationships with extended family?
They come across as regular, home-loving guys to the world, but...
Oh, well, I'm so sick of this.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x795656 MineralMan (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 10:51 AM
Response to Original message
1. Nothing much you can do. In my extended family, we
have an unwritten rule that politics and religion are not discussed at family gatherings. It works pretty well. There are other topics, so we stick to them. Fishing, kids, cars, school, old times. That sort of thing. It keeps things civil.
MineralMan is just about the only DUmmy on this thread who doesn't sound crazy.
northoftheborder (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 10:56 AM
Response to Original message
2. My son converted his wife from a rabid rightwinger family.
Her mother and family make fun of Obama all the time, my son tells me, but they refrain from saying anything when I am around. My grandaughter is being brainwashed by her other grandmother, I can tell! But she and I have a good relationship and I'm sure I and her father can keep her schooled in our philosophy. I know where their viewpoint came from; the other grandparents were employed by a large prominent company from a dominant industry. However, they are of humble means, and the Repub. policies are not good for any of them, if they could just realize it.
William769 (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 10:58 AM
Response to Original message
3. The same way I do with family members that are right wingers.
I don't cope with it at all I tell them what I think and if they don't like it they can get the **** away from me. But thats just me.
And DUmmy Williamnumbers is probably one of those many DUmmies who whine about not being invited to family events.
Darth_Kitten (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:09 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. Well, I put slightly disguised postings on my Facebook....
I wouldn't out and out confront them, as now that they are older, I at least have some kind of contact with them (Facebook is good for something) I just hope they don't love their spouses for their political outlook THAT would really be disappointing.
It's also good that there's an election coming up (in my country) so what I write wouldn't be so out of line. I always know how to get a dig or two in.
babsbunny (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:16 AM
Response to Reply #3
7. Loves it!
My Son is a Righty, loves Glenn Beckkk. His Wife removed me from her list of Facebook Friends because of stuff I post. I haven't talked to her for a year, and really wish it could last forever. But I miss my Grandkids so much!
Typical DUmmy family.
Scuba (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:55 AM
Response to Reply #3
13. A polite "with all due respect, bullshit" works for me.
iamtechus (733 posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:03 AM
Response to Original message
4. My oldest son has gone right-wing
And his two daughters, my grown grand-daughters, have asked me what to do about him. I hate to take sides in such matters but this really puts me on the spot. I've just told them that he's crazier than a bedbug and not to take him seriously.
Iggo (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 12:31 PM
Response to Reply #8
21. Yep. And it's sad.
I do that with my brother-in-law, and he and my sister have noticed that I talk to him as either a stranger or a customer. All smiles and no substance. It bothers them and it bothers me more than I think they know. And it's sad. But I'm not going to war with him in my kitchen (again), and that's that.
PassingFair (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
10. My brother married a religious woman.
He was pretty a-political when we were growing up.
My brother has become increasingly right-wing,
speaking out against "entitlements" and unions,
even though he works FOR THE CITY AND IS IN A UNION.
He's pretty much a selfish bastard with it comes
to his worldview.
My family does NOT tone it down when he or his wife
are around, because they are a minority of ONE family
in our big, liberal bunch.
His children are given no special consideration when
they try to spout right-wing-isms at family gatherings.
They have learned to keep their mouths shut, or face
looking like dumbasses.
It used to amuse me that they would spout THEIR PARENT'S
opinions at family gatherings, and then look to them
for backup when someone took them up on their gibberish.
Their parents looks would say "You're on your own", because
they knew their positions were INDEFENSIBLE when exposed to
sunlight and other viewpoints.
TheKentuckian (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 11:53 AM
Response to Original message
12. I don't believe in letting their stupidity go unchallenged. Peace but not at any cost.
The price of "polite" conversation is letting horseshit stand as valid and unchecked school of thought.
The not speaking of politics and religion is a purposeful prescription to softly maintain the status quo and allows ****wits to think everyone believes as they are instructed by Rush and Beck. Bubbles are allowed to remain intact with as little cognitive dissonance as possible.
People are allowed to live in a tight, self contained environment of ideas to the point that any bit of nonsense is allowed to masquerade as fact.
Shandris (462 posts) Sat Apr-02-11 12:08 PM
Response to Original message
17. As one of three (2 married to each other) liberals in my entire family...
...(that I know of...I have a huge family and have literally never met 1/2 of them), the general rule is simple. "Don't bring it if you can't back it up." Given that part of my 'wake up' routine is DU every morning, I can always back it up. Given that they have half-remembered things from FAUX News, they can ~never~ back it up. Makes for short conversations of awkward asskicking.
Of course, the only one who does that is my grandfather, but even he's gotten really reticent about engaging me with much more than something about Van Jones. I suspect at some time I'll actually have to bother looking into what the hell it is he's hearing, but for now I still don't know anything more than the guy's name.
On the other hand, it does get a bit strange sometime having to give history lessons to someone who lived through it (referring to his constant Beck-inspired failure to grasp the differences between socialism and communism and so forth). For example, his whole theory of McCarthyism is that 'Joe was right, after all, they did find a couple'. What a poor metric for what all that imbecile put America through in the Red Scare.
RebelOne (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-02-11 12:22 PM
Response to Original message
19. My two sisters are right wingers.
I just avoid talking politics with them. Thankfully, one of them lives in Florida, so I don't see her very often.
