A holiday guide to arguing with your right-wing relatives

Salon.com ^ | Thursday, Nov 22, 2012 08:00 AM EST | Alex Pareene

[skinkinthegrass]

Explaining voter fraud, Benghazi and the fiscal cliff to Fox-watching family members..
“The Holidays” are now officially here, and all Americans will soon have to face their extended families and listen to them talk. For many young Americans — specifically young Americans related to old white Americans — Thanksgiving and our various Winter Holidays are extra stressful, because young Americans are largely a liberal, Obama-voting bunch, and old white Americans are mostly not. Unfortunately, old white Americans spend a lot of their time being lied to by conservatives on TV, the radio and the Internet, and while that is not their fault, it can be hard to talk about politics with people who believe an elaborate series of fictions and distortions.

If you actually want to engage your right-wing relatives — and let me be clear, you really should not do this, you are going to ruin Thanksgiving — it’s best to come prepared. Below, you’ll find a series of talking points designed to address some of the most popular current trending topics in the alternate conservative media world.

[Michael.SF.]

ACORN - No longer exists.

These people are delusional.

[ProfoundMan]

— specifically young Americans related to old white Americans —

Two things about phrase this bug me. First, are not young people related to old white people also white? Wouldn't whatever racial issues involved here for the old white people also involve young white people? By phrasing it this way, aren't the writers suggesting that young white people are somehow racially different than old white people?

Second - "old white people". Perhaps I'm being sensitive as I am an "old white people" myself but I am seeing this phrase or meme more often since the election. Kinda smacks of Alinsky's rule 13 - "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." I can think of nothing good that comes from this tactic when used against the majority of people in this country (we are still a majority demographically, right?). Will we soon be forced to drink from separate water fountains?

The whole thing gives me heartburn...

[CityCenter]

What an idiotic article. I’m at my liberal family’s house for Thanksiving. I love them even though we disagree on all kinds of issues. It’s called being a grown up.

[SamAdams76]

I always host Thanksgiving at my house and in fact, I host all holidays at my home, where I set the rules. All family members and friends are welcome but any discussion of politics is verboten and I am not shy about making them aware of that. They know my political inclinations - all they have to do is scan the book titles in my library to know that I am no liberal. So they can come or not come but if they come, they are going to have to leave their politics at the front door.

If I want to discuss or hear about politics, I will come here to the Free Republic or listen to the talk radio.

On a side note, this might be my last Thanksgiving in New England. I applied for a job in the Midwest and made the final cut - my final interview is second week in December. I've had it with Massachusetts - I want out!

[ALPAPilot]

Know your foes talking points

One word: DETROIT?

[jboot]

It's not a liberal game, it is a principled game. And a survival game.

Let them get their food, companionship and inheritance from the State that they love.

[ALPAPilot]

Not all federal employees are brain dead libs.

Okay - a bunch of military guys aren't and neither is Clarence Thomas. Other than that . . . .

[dagogo redux]

“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.” Thomas Paine.

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Winston Churchill

[jboot]

On November 8 I made a decision to never share anything with Leftists again. This includes food, time, friendship and inheritances.

But if the final hand gets played in my time I will let them have all the steel, lead and rope that they can absorb.

[Zeppo]

Below, you’ll find a series of talking points...

This perfectly encapsulates and illustrates the bankruptcy of typical leftist "thought" patterns - they do not presume (nor could they tolerate) that younger people are capable of independent thinking, nor can they take the risk that younger people might be convinced by logic and reason, because logic and reason will always torpedo leftist tropes.

Rather they believe that it is necessary to program young people with leftist propaganda so that they will spout the party line. Leftists can not tolerate any dissent, and so they must promulgate 'talking points' for young people to regurgitate by rote, no thinking required.

[squarebarb]

Why should liberals argue at all? they have everything they want.

Soon young people will just shrug off left-wing propaganda because they don’t have to think at all. Everything is taken care of.

I have very little hope for conservatism because of the lighted screen that rays out at them 24/7, lberal, liberal, liberal and soon communism/communism/communism. TV can convince a population of absolutely anything, anything at all.

I predict young people will become very apolitical because there will be nothing to be political about. They will be nested in the low-grade comfort of The State, The State will talk to them all day on TV.

There will be no history. the Constitution will be a rumor of something unfair that happened a long time ago. Fathers will be some grumpy relative that occasionally visits, or not. Food will be boiled grains but it’s ‘free’. there will be no reason to go to college so there will be very few colleges and universities. No need for indoctrination, it’s already happend by the time you’re 14.

I could go on and on but it would turn into a dystopian novel.

[loveliberty2]

The very idea of celebrating "Thanksgiving" as an American Holiday presupposes a Source higher than government for the "Blessings" we enjoy.

Such an occasion should not be marred by discussions which redirect attention to petty notions of a coercive human authority, based on counterfeit ideas, which seeks to impose itself upon a once free people.

A discussion focused on America's founding ideas is "foolishness" to those who have not studied the ideas of liberty, or who have not recognized the ideas of tyranny which have prevailed in most nations throughout history, and have failed "the People" wherever they have gained hold.

[SVTCobra03]

I find it best to never discuss politics with relatives or in-laws. It creates hard feelings and animosity. And if you make your liberal mother-in-law mad, your wife will get mad and you will be sleeping on the couch. Just take your bourbon and coke and the dogs for a walk if your relatives or in-laws start spouting liberal talking points.

[rockrr]

I mostly see this as boo-bait for bubbas (and I say this as someone who won’t read the article because I won’t give salon.com the hit).

It is some lefty mouth-breather showing his contempt for opinions or attitudes foreign to himself and fishing for opportunities to insult his enemies.

While I don’t doubt that a few of these sorts of “reach across the aisle....to slap your opponent” discussions will take place I submit that they are few and far in between. And the reason is simple - this country has become balkanized. We have stopped talking to one another.

The reason why we stopped having discussions can be resolved to the lefts agenda. Moderates, libertarians, and conservatives all (to varying degrees) have a “live and let live” attitude towards their neighbors. Leftists do not. Instead they believe in “the better good” of the community. They are all about devising cultural policies that demand the participation of their neighbors. There is no “agree to disagree” with them (no matter how many times they tell your otherwise).

This article presupposes the pretense that anyone on the left wants to enlighten the right - we know that they don’t. Consequently, any talking points from them are merely varying shades of bullsh!t. Personally I don’t know anyone who is interested in taking any crap from any leftists right now - family or not.

[rockrr]

Best of luck!

[cripplecreek]

Destruction of the family is a stated progressive goal and anyone who plays it is an idiot not bright enough to figure out a smarter way to win.

[SoDak]

There won’t be any lobs at my house for Thanksgiving this year. Obummer converted my sister and brother-in-law into at least the category of RINO this year.They may be dems but they aren’t in for the Obama freakshow.

[BlatherNaut]

“I’ve had it with Massachusetts - I want out!”

I wonder if the midwest has aged hippies in berets who “Walk With Those Who Suffer Because of War”.

[Dr. Pritchett]

The NERVE that they should plan to come to OUR tables and SIMULTANEOUSLY disparage us and plot against us!!!

I sometimes wish that we were all as passionate about our values as they are about theirs. What are we? Suckers or what?!?

[jboot]

When an individual becomes progressive he places himself outside of the bonds of family. No one throws him out, he goes of his own free will. The people I know who try to "keep it together" for the sake of prog children and in-laws have utterly miserable family gatherings complements of the progs. The progs simply cannot wait to get something started even if it ruins it for everyone else.

So they aren't welcome anymore.