Peter Schweizer has come out strongly against “kimmeling.” That’s his new verb for shunning your own family members at the Thanksgiving table for their crime of voting for President Donald Trump.
On The Drill Down podcast, Schweizer and co-host Eric Eggers set the table for their own inevitable political discussions. These days, Eggers says, “people on the left really seem to internalize this.”
Take, for instance, the wife (and also executive producer) of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Molly McNearney admitted on a podcast recently to ending relationships with multiple members of her own family because they ignored her impassioned emails and voted for Trump. Bill Maher, host of his own talk show, dismissed what he called McNearney’s “ultimatum” to her family members, saying “ultimatums don’t make people rethink their politics. They make them rethink you.”
In these politically divided times, Thanksgiving tables can become war zones when politics becomes the oyster stuffing of the conversation. But does everyone really hate it?
A new survey by Scripps news service on Americans’ attitudes about the holiday feast found most people think it’s at least entertaining when it does happen, and they don’t think it’s inappropriate or disrespectful, despite the horror stories. However, and this may be significant, 37 percent of Americans who responded said they will need one or two moments alone during the holiday chaos, whether that means hiding out in a bedroom or going for a walk.
Schweizer believes political discussions are healthy and natural, provided they remain about ideas, not personalities. “The problem today is we no longer know how to have conversations. We’re all siloed,” he says. But those who say that the current president represents a unique provocation for left-leaning people are just making excuses.
“The same people who are triggered by Trump are going to be triggered by the next person,” he says.
It is hard to ignore the amount of left-wing pot-stirring that shakes the Thanksgiving table. The American Civil Liberties Union offers its fans several helpful ways to “Decolonize Thanksgiving.” They suggest starting the meal with a “land acknowledgment,” and perhaps waiting until dessert to introduce point #5: “Actively affirm that anti-racism and decolonization work is the responsibility of everyone not only during Thanksgiving, but always.” With whipped cream, or without?
As the hosts describe, it tends to be liberals who start it. Dan Pfeiffer, a liberal podcast host, usually tells his listeners not to get into political discussions with “their MAGA uncle,” but for those who can’t resist he counsels: “If you’re looking for a persuasion target because small talk is unbearable, look for your cousin who’s checked out of politics or the relative who voted for Trump but is disappointed by his performance.” There really is no “prepper” tradition on the conservative side to match this kind of coaching.
A USATODAY columnist wrote, “I’ve been going to a therapist since Trump got elected. My biggest problem was how I reacted to hateful people, and how I don’t want to be around people with those beliefs. I’m feeling my intolerance toward them. And I’m feeling guilty over my own thoughts.”
There’s guilt, but there’s also football. It comes on at noon.
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