In my house the only proper conversation topics were local sports and current TV shows. My dad waxing that our team not doing well could take up half a dinner. Sitcoms would take up the other half. My brother could quote the Office for, I’m not exaggerating, 30 minutes or more.
As little kids, we were put down for using potty humour in the strongest possible terms, which I guess is sorta fine but I don’t think the intensity was needed. My brother and I got told to stop convo as adults were talking about Big Things. As a got older and started to care about social justice issues, I was told that I’m being too political. My brother in law complaining that his workers had no drive was always acceptable.
I half get it. My parents were prole, albeit settler white prole, and TV was their mental health support. I do wish my parents did therapy, we were expected to do it at an early age (I started at 9!), and a lot of it was just dealing with an imperfect home environment.
Anyhow, I stopped going to family holidays really early, like from 19 onwards. For a long time I thought I was a dick for not getting involved.
Sorry to rant. Honestly I’m not upset now, I’m just wondering if anyone has a similar story.
Things have never been explicitly “off limits,” but there was also this expectation to tiptoe around conservative feelings. I just got sick of it. Why am I having to cater to their unhinged racism? Why aren’t they catering instead to my race (I’m mixed)? So now I hide behind “”““irony””“” (when really I’m just saying my actual commie opinions) and playing “devil’s advocate.”
“We should use the second ammendment to shoot scabs.”
“Maybe China had the right idea when Mao was in charge.”
“Banning conservatives opinions in the work place is probably a good thing.”
“Borders should be abolished.”
All of these are just “hypotheticals,” of course. I would never actually suggest we should kill people for crossing a picket line (since I’m against the death penalty). Still, this sends some of them into a frenzy and now I’m not allowed at my sister’s house anymore.