A couple of years ago, I went on a weekend thing with my wife, her sister and her sister’s son.
Nice kid, art major, but like many kids, kind of clueless about certain things. We were going out to eat one night, and he comes down wearing a Che shirt.
We had the following conversation:
- ME: “Do you know who that guy is on your shirt?”
- NEPHEW:“Ummm...he’s a revolutionary guy?”
- ME: “Yeah. That's right. Do you know what kind of “revolutionary guy”?”
- NEPHEW: Umm...no.
- ME: “It was his job to have people who disagreed with Castro dragged out of their homes in the middle of the night and murdered in front of their families, and then the families were sometimes murdered. This guy was the one who did it.”
- NEPHEW: “Um...I just kind of like the shirt.”
- ME: “Ah.”
My wife didn’t give me the evil eye because she understood my point, but I am the mean conservative in my wife’s family. My mother-in-law used to goad me once in a while (she was EXTREMELY liberal) but when I made it known that I would express my views regardless of the company, she stopped.
I don’t talk politics around people whose politics I am unsure of because I do believe it is rude to do so, but if someone brings it up first, I’m not going to just sit there.
I take the joyfull warrior approach w young heads of mush when they initiate on these topics. “Ok, I’m happy to discuss with you. Here is what will happen tho. At some point my logic, facts and reason will overwhelm your emotional conclusions such that you storm off swearing and calling me names” Usually thats all it takes.