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How Estrangement Has Become an Epidemic in America
Time ^ | December 13, 2024 | JOSHUA COLEMAN AND WILL JOHNSON

Posted on 03/29/2025 6:54:15 PM PDT by DoodleBob

He’s a father of a 28-year-old son and he’s hurting. A retired police officer, he proudly voted for Donald Trump every time he ran and never hid his political beliefs from his family. “My son and his wife say that since I’m a fan of Trump they’re no fan of mine and cut me off,” he said. “Now I can’t see my only grandchild who I was so close to. It’s crazy and it’s tragic.”

Social psychologists have long understood that merely identifying with a group in competitive contexts can lead people to view those outside the group less favorably. Historically, those dividing lines were differences like religion, race and ethnicity, age, and gender. Today, political affiliation is the most significant determinant of this us-them division, research shows. Furthermore, affective polarization makes “belongers” feel justified in treating those in the opposing party with disdain, contempt, and even hostility.

… 

According to our research, today, 1 in 2 adults is estranged from a close relative. While the primary cause of these rifts is often tied to something a relative said or did, 1 in 5 directly cite political differences as the reason. Among those estranged over politics, nearly half report that the break occurred within the past year, with 1 in 7 stating it happened as recently as the month leading into the election…

Just over half of those who are estranged because of politics want to reconcile to some degree, and an apology from the relative or demonstrable change in their behavior may increase that potential. But most say reconnecting is unlikely, with 1 in 5 saying they never want to make up. Our survey shows that even a death in the family or an intervention by a relative isn’t enough to get most to resume contact.

(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: culture; estrangement; families; family; intolerance; politics; tds
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

To: Fuzz
Hey fuzzy, We’re a little short on trolls over it The DU Today please do us all a big favor and go over there and troll a little for us will you please? Leave this thread for the Trump fans. Thanks

781 posted on 1/19/2025, 6:06:29 PM by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4291048/posts?page=781#781


61 posted on 03/29/2025 9:08:39 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: DesertRhino

To: Fuzz
Hey fuzzy, We’re a little short on trolls over it The DU Today please do us all a big favor and go over there and troll a little for us will you please? Leave this thread for the Trump fans. Thanks

781 posted on 1/19/2025, 6:06:29 PM by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4291048/posts?page=781#781


62 posted on 03/29/2025 9:09:47 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC

I love your idea!


63 posted on 03/29/2025 9:11:13 PM PDT by TXBlair (We will not forget Benghazi.)
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To: Deaf Smith

To: Fuzz
Hey fuzzy, We’re a little short on trolls over it The DU Today please do us all a big favor and go over there and troll a little for us will you please? Leave this thread for the Trump fans. Thanks

781 posted on 1/19/2025, 6:06:29 PM by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4291048/posts?page=781#781


64 posted on 03/29/2025 9:12:16 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: dpetty121263

So many kids are suing the Parents for their inheritance any more, want it right now even if the parents still alive and well. During my time in the Court system I saw a dozen hearings where the kids demanded what the Parents had.


65 posted on 03/29/2025 9:12:17 PM PDT by dpetty121263
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To: A_perfect_lady

HE CAN GO TO COURT & CHALLENGE THIS


66 posted on 03/29/2025 9:16:14 PM PDT by ridesthemiles (not giving up on TRUMP---EVER)
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To: kiryandil; Fuzz

Seriously! What crawled up Fuzz’s fanny tonight? Must be that time of the month. 🤷‍♀️


67 posted on 03/29/2025 9:23:13 PM PDT by TXBlair (We will not forget Benghazi.)
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To: ponygirl
The easy way to deal with that is rewrite your will to skip over the ungrateful children and give every thing to the grands when they reach a certain age. Unless, of course, the grands turn out to be a bunch of jerks also.

The easiest way is to just take it with you when you go ....

68 posted on 03/29/2025 9:30:51 PM PDT by BlueLancer (Orchides Forum Trahite - Cordes Et Mentes Veniant)
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To: TXBlair

These Democrat Underground types on Free Republic have a predictable cycle on FR - they get the High Speed Lefty wobs and go off the rails, into the loving hands of the FR moderators, who give them a time-out to get their DemoCommie minds right.


69 posted on 03/29/2025 9:35:58 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: TexasGator

The administrator of the estate. I’m not sure how things are done today, but I’ve encountered many wills in my genealogy research where the children were skipped in favor of the grandchildren. The administrator or Executor had to submit accounts to the court every month until the children were of age, even if a parent was still living. My own grandparents were passed over by the in-laws in favor of the grandchildren. They never wanted my grandmother to marry my grandfather because he quit school in the 8th grade. So the farm they lived on was deeded to the grandchildren. My grandfather. who was the sweetest, most hardworking man you would ever meet, never owned a single square inch of property. He was a sharecropper first, and then moved onto the in-laws land that was deeded to his kids. He had a stroke at age 79 and fell off his tractor, which rolled over him.


70 posted on 03/29/2025 11:57:49 PM PDT by ponygirl (Stay gold.)
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To: DoodleBob
Just over half of those who are estranged because of politics want to reconcile to some degree, and an apology from the relative [...]

From WHICH relative? The one who was "shunned?!"

Regards,

71 posted on 03/30/2025 12:22:30 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: TexasGator
Who has control over the assets till they reach a certain age?

The person or entity (law firm, bank) whom YOU appoint in your Will to act as guardian.

Regards,

72 posted on 03/30/2025 12:26:34 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: DoodleBob

I’m gen X. Cut me off and I may not even notice. If I do notice I won’t care. Because if you’re willing to cut me out of your life over something like popular culture or politics then you weren’t really a good friend in the first place.

CC


73 posted on 03/30/2025 1:38:06 AM PDT by Celtic Conservative (My cats are more amusing than 200 channels worth of TV.)
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To: DoodleBob

To go “no contact” gives them power over somebody else. It’s what they want because it’s what they otherwise lack.


74 posted on 03/30/2025 4:19:32 AM PDT by equaviator (If 60 is the new 40 then 35 must be the new 15.)
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To: ladyjane

Everybody got a trophy 🏆


75 posted on 03/30/2025 4:29:36 AM PDT by bankwalker (Repeal the 19th ...)
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To: DoodleBob

Interesting that the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife have been on ice for more than a month and their bodies haven’t been claimed by any of his three children. That’s one kick-ass grudge.


76 posted on 03/30/2025 4:47:39 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (It's hard not to celebrate the fall of bad people. - Bongino)
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To: dp0622

“But the things she believed..why did she have to say them out loud?!”

They can’t help themselves. Seriously. “The devil made me do it.”


77 posted on 03/30/2025 4:49:56 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (It's hard not to celebrate the fall of bad people. - Bongino)
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I never tell anyone how I vote. I was raised that way. There is a good reason for the curtain on the voting booth.


78 posted on 03/30/2025 4:52:18 AM PDT by bankwalker (Repeal the 19th ...)
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To: ponygirl

“Unless, of course, the grands turn out to be a bunch of jerks also.”

I’ve heard reporting on polls that show the 18-to-29 age range is leaning pretty conservative. One report said they are the most conservative generation in several decades. Not sure if it’s true; you can make polls say anything.


79 posted on 03/30/2025 4:53:59 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (It's hard not to celebrate the fall of bad people. - Bongino)
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To: DoodleBob

I have several senior friends who are Trump supporters who have been disowned by friends and family because of it.


80 posted on 03/30/2025 4:54:30 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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