Posted on 11/18/2017 9:34:31 PM PST by Kaslin
With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought you would enjoy this family story.
Everyone has tales of trauma from attending a family event. If you are a Jewish Republican, you may have a few more especially if you have family on the East Coast. Though we had an overall joyful experience (just travelling with our two grown children was rewarding enough), we had what most would consider a challenge because of the clash of cultures.
We arrived for Friday night Shabbat services and then went to a family dinner immediately after. We were seated randomly at a table of older family members who are bred as quintessential East Coast liberals. They would be bereft if their children did not go to the right college and get a proper advanced degree. Though they had spent eight years belittling George W. Bush, they have special venom for the heathen Trump.
My wife and I would never start a political conversation. But the others could not help themselves. Partially this is because interacting with a Republican is a rare occurrence for them and they want to explore the mind of these unique beings.
They first went after my wife for Trump’s comments on the Access Hollywood Tape. They were chastising her for not properly denouncing Trump. Of course, short of disembowelment, nothing would be proper treatment in their eyes. The sad thing is they really did not know who they were addressing.
My wife was previously awarded the Young Leadership Award for the Women’s Division of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation. After starting her own business, she then went on to become president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-LA). From there she became president of an even higher tiered women’s business group, Organization of Women’s Executives (OWE). She is a model of a modern woman and raised two wonderful children.
Yet somehow, because she did not light her hair on fire because during the presidential campaign someone released a tape of a deplorable remark Trump made in private about a potential interaction with a woman, these old liberal men had a better perspective on the matter than my wife.
Next they lurched into every liberal’s favorite – Trump embracing Nazis. While they were attacking my wife about Trump not properly denouncing Nazis, I jumped in. I calmly stated they should watch their step because they were going after the wife of a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. I added I think I was a little more well-versed on the subject. Oh, no, I wasn’t because one of them had left Austria in 1938 with their family.
A couple things I learned while being on the Council was that some people think they have a special ownership of the Holocaust. The only ones who do are the ones who personally were in the death camps. For everyone else, we all own the horrors of the Holocaust. In fact, that is what the entire idea of the museum in D.C. is about -- having everyone own it. I have told people for years that my favorite thing to do in D.C. is watch non-Jews stream into the museum because I know when they come out they will also own part of the Holocaust.
The liberals then went into psycho-analyzing Trump. I know this is the hobby of the Left. Many think they are professional psychoanalysts. On the airplane to the event we had some fun watching all the amateur analysts on CNN and MSNBC telling all the phobias of Trump. The interesting aspect here was the one doing it is a psychiatrist.
I calmly reminded him that his professional rules preclude him from analyzing anyone without having met that person and done proper procedures. That one really set him in a tizzy. He called that horse dung, saying the rule exists only for avoiding legal liability --even though I was left trying to pinpoint the liability that one would be exposed to. I wanted to ask if he would then do a free analysis of some of the people at the table. Since he was performing his profession for free on Trump, why not do the same for the others?
My uncle then jumped in and castigated me for not attacking Trump. He neglected to comment that I have not actually written anything favorable, other than liking him a lot more than Hillary. I don’t write on that topic. I write about what is occurring in our society and public policy, but that was not good enough for him. My columns were not any good if I was not attacking Trump.
My first thought was why did he need me to write something attacking Trump. He reads people attacking Trump all day; why did he also need it from me? Then he did what every liberal does these days: He invoked a never-Trumper and asked why I wasn’t more like him. In this case, it was Bret Stephens (formerly of the Wall Street Journal) because he is now writing for the only real newspaper – the New York Times. I wanted to say “Gosh, mom, I will try to be more like Bret in the future,” but I held my tongue.
Last, one of the younger set joined the table and started to try and go after me. That is not easy as my wife always warns those on the other side “He knows your arguments better than you do.” We ended up having a civil conversation mainly about the struggles of the Black Community and then I educated him about particular challenges of the American Indians.
The fascinating thing is I invoked some right-of-center blacks and he, of course, had no clue who they were. These are not minor people. Thomas Sowell and Walt Williams are true giants. I threw in Jason Riley who writes for the Wall Street Journal and he still did not know any of them. I shouldn’t be surprised; he lives in a bubble.
And that was just the first night.
Publication date is November 19, 2017
He should have stayed home.
There’s no getting along with these people. It’s a waste of time trying to.
L
Why are liberals always so miserable? They’re never happy, even when they’re lecturing and nagging and carping and virtue-signaling everyone in sight. And, really, who cares what they think?
>There’s no getting along with these people. It’s a waste of time trying to.
This is an intentional tactic of the left; by being obnoxiously brash, they intend to appear to be the majority opinion when normal people shut up, stay home, or are simply bullied.
They absolutely count on others obeying social norms like not getting into bitter arguments at family gatherings or religious events in order to effect a monologue of leftist speech.
The last several years, progressive publications have advocated taking over family holidays as a means to preach to their captive audiences. I haven't seen that this year. In fact I have seen a little of the opposite. I don't mind someone from our side, or nearly so, fighting back, because maybe people will just give up and have a family get together like it is supposed to be.
Where’s the Thanksgiving Brisket? Turkey I can get any day, but a well done, tender, moist brisket is worth “giving thanks” for.
Cranberries - America’s version of sweet beets.
The best thing about a family Thanksgiving dinner is, if you feed them enough, they can’t talk with their mouths full.
After dessert, all bets are off.
L’Chaim!
Poor guy....
...unfortunately we’ve all been there
Being Jewish is not a prerequisite.....Evangelicals can be equal opportunity and curiously use some of the same arguments
Thanksgiving is at my house this year
10 people
5 NeverTrumpers
5 Solid Trumpers
Oh vey!
Don't dare think that they're becoming less PITA. salon.com is on the job again this year.
There’s the problem in a nutshell -— liberals live in a bubble. But what’s really sad, is that, while the older folks HAVE had access to the truth, and are simply being ideologues, the younger ones simply DON’T know the truth, because it’s not only deliberately been kept from them, but they’ve also deliberately been given a pack of lies.
We all voted for Trump, the kids are excellent students, and all have part time jobs {even though my son and his wife are very well off}.
Kids learn at an early age, and it's not what you say it's what you do that counts.
I'm in the late innings of my life but I am grateful to God for being born in the USA, to Catholic parents {a man and a woman}, for having my mother beat the hell out of me when I deserved it {I always earned a beating}, for being praised when I did right.
Thanksgiving is a special time for my family and I hope all FReepers have many things to be thankful for.
Special Thanks to Jim and John and please donate so we can get this FReepathon over and done with.
God Bless our Founders.
So true. This is my biggest irritation discussing politics with liberals. They have never even heard of the basic arguments on the other side. It's like trying to bring a fourth grader along, not to settle an argument but simply to get to the place at which you can begin it.
I’m lucky, everyone in my family are republicans......This Thanksgiving will likely be an emotional venting of our hatred for democrats......
I’ll be attending Thanksgiving at my brother-in-law’s with 70 extended and blended family members, all strong Christians and solid conservatives. It’s gonna be great!
Here, where I work, we honor Dr. Carson. Literally—we have named things after him.
There is a huge disconnect between the black “leaders” the left lionizes v. the ones the right supports. The leftist “leaders” are all about exacerbating racism, promoting victimhood, and otherwise doing everything they can to make as many blacks bitter and unsuccessful as they can. Meanwhile, conservative black leaders are role models for success, who push people to excel regardless of their backgrounds.
Liberal motto: We’re not happy till you’re not happy.
Thanksgiving is at my house this year
16 people
9 adults:
8 Solid Trumpers
1 Bernie Lover
7 kids:
1 Solid Trumper (11 yr old)
5 G.I Joe and Moana Lovers
1 diaper charger, Cookie Lover
The Bernie Lover will be treated with love and respect despite her kooky ideas. Like the Prodigal Son, we watch and pray daily she will stop eating seed pods with the pigs and return to sanity some day.
Your house sounds like fun!
Do you have room for one more:)
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