What have we come to?

dseag2

dseag2

Dallas, TX
Location
Dallas, TX
Let me first say that I don't condone any of this.

I have a good friend (70+ y/o) who lives in Seattle. She is very liberal. However, her brother and sister-in-law are very conservative Evangelicals. Why they got together for July 4th is beyond me. :unsure: Anyway, they all apparently had too much to drink. They didn't discuss politics at all, but all of a sudden the brother said "isn't it great to live in the Land of the Free"? My friend responded that we are not free and the argument ensued. The sister-in-law finally said "why don't you move somewhere else". That was the last straw. My friend said she was going home. The sister-in-law said there was no way she was driving in her condition and ran off with her purse!

My friend chased her, demanding to get her purse back, and ultimately slapped her in the face! The sister-in-law pulled her hair!

This all surprised me because my friend is very much an Empath, but I guess alcohol and strong beliefs do strange things. The division in our country is causing people to act like children, even people in the same family.:(
 

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I can't recall a time when our society was so divided, on so many issues. The "Blues" and the "Reds" are increasingly at each others throats. There appears to be no room for reasonable discussion or compromise, anymore....either among our leaders, or individuals. If this trend continues to grow, we won't need a "war" to destroy the nation...our society will rot from within.
 
Don M. said:
I can't recall a time when our society was so divided, on so many issues. The "Blues" and the "Reds" are increasingly at each others throats. There appears to be no room for reasonable discussion or compromise, anymore....either among our leaders, or individuals. If this trend continues to grow, we won't need a "war" to destroy the nation...our society will rot from within.
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That's already happening, unfortunately.
 

dseag2 said:
Let me first say that I don't condone any of this.

I have a good friend (70+ y/o) who lives in Seattle. She is very liberal. However, her brother and sister-in-law are very conservative Evangelicals. Why they got together for July 4th is beyond me. :unsure: Anyway, they all apparently had too much to drink. They didn't discuss politics at all, but all of a sudden the brother said "isn't it great to live in the Land of the Free"? My friend responded that we are not free and the argument ensued. The sister-in-law finally said "why don't you move somewhere else". That was the last straw. My friend said she was going home. The sister-in-law said there was no way she was driving in her condition and ran off with her purse!

My friend chased her, demanding to get her purse back, and ultimately slapped her in the face! The sister-in-law pulled her hair!

This all surprised me because my friend is very much an Empath, but I guess alcohol and strong beliefs does strange things. The division in our country is causing people to act like children, even people in the same family.:(
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Extremists on the opposite extremes shouldn't try to socialize, in my opinion. We had a similar (although non-violent) occurrence at a family gathering. Since then, my grand-daughter (who is strongly opinionated and probably goaded a contrary response) just avoided these events - until they threw her a baby shower! The rest of us try to practice tolerance by keeping our mouths shut. It's supposed to be a party, a social event. Why bring up subjects that will inevitably create problems, eh?
 
Not to say anything bad about the friend or the SIL, there is no excuse for physical violence, but the SIL was right. If they were all drinking, she knew your friend should not be driving. No need to put herself in danger or anyone on the road. I see it as a gesture of love by the SIL. I would have tried to calm the situation. Have your friend lie down in a spare room. She would have probably fallen asleep. The next morning, everything would be fine. I have had many a person spend the night to keep them and everyone safe.

Most were my husband and my son's friends. Came over for a football watching party that went a little to far. They were always happy to wake up to coffee and a home cooked breakfast. Some would even go back to sleep after breakfast.

I think of this as the good old days. Nothing better than seeing my husband and son having a good time with all their friends. I was always in the background keeping the food available and keeping an eye on things. I was always the one bringing out the pillows and blankets for those that needed to stay put.
 
It's sad, many decent-intelligent people have slowly had their good sense clouded by slanted 'news' media. The "us vs them" mentality has become the norm, in some circles. I've been a registered voter in both the major parties, am an avowed "middle-of-the-roader", and just refuse to give validity to the extremists.
We've been fortunate, haven't [yet] had any ideological conflict within the combined family, although the potential is there...
 
SIL shouldn't have told her to move somewhere else. Them's fightin' words. What an interesting July 4th you had. Mine was boring and I was with family. There's this old fellow they always invite who makes sure the men are ready for civil war, but I stayed inside with the women folk where I belong. Blah.
 
I think that both Canada and the US are divided on several issues. However, I believe that we are lucky to be born in those countries. No, I don't mean to be in LA or New York but there are lots of good places in the US with decent people working hard and just trying to get along and do their best. Ditto: for Canada. Maybe I would never want to live in Toronto but Toronto is not all of Canada. There are hundreds of small towns with good descent people working hard for a living.

If you don't love the US and you don't love Canada, then where you gonna go buddy or sister? China, Russia, Columbia, Sri Lanka? Not for me! You might bitch and complain about the USA or Canada, but when the day is done, there is no place like home. We just don't know how luck we are to live here in North America.
 

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Nathan said:
It's sad, many decent-intelligent people have slowly had their good sense clouded by slanted 'news' media. The "us vs them" mentality has become the norm, in some circles. I've been a registered voter in both the major parties, am an avowed "middle-of-the-roader", and just refuse to give validity to the extremists.
We've been fortunate, haven't [yet] had any ideological conflict within the combined family, although the potential is there...
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Yes, you're right., Not the best results when people fall for the divide and conquer mentality.
 
Em in Ohio said:
Extremists on the opposite extremes shouldn't try to socialize, in my opinion. We had a similar (although non-violent) occurrence at a family gathering. Since then, my grand-daughter (who is strongly opinionated and probably goaded a contrary response) just avoided these events - until they threw her a baby shower! The rest of us try to practice tolerance by keeping our mouths shut. It's supposed to be a party, a social event. Why bring up subjects that will inevitably create problems, eh?
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Very true. I have a nephew who isn't speaking to me. Not much of a loss, though. (-8
 
dseag2 said:
Let me first say that I don't condone any of this.

I have a good friend (70+ y/o) who lives in Seattle. She is very liberal. However, her brother and sister-in-law are very conservative Evangelicals. Why they got together for July 4th is beyond me. :unsure: Anyway, they all apparently had too much to drink. They didn't discuss politics at all, but all of a sudden the brother said "isn't it great to live in the Land of the Free"? My friend responded that we are not free and the argument ensued. The sister-in-law finally said "why don't you move somewhere else". That was the last straw. My friend said she was going home. The sister-in-law said there was no way she was driving in her condition and ran off with her purse!

My friend chased her, demanding to get her purse back, and ultimately slapped her in the face! The sister-in-law pulled her hair!

This all surprised me because my friend is very much an Empath, but I guess alcohol and strong beliefs do strange things. The division in our country is causing people to act like children, even people in the same family.:(
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Ha! Drama! I guess at least they don't suffer from apathy yet.
 
ElCastor said:
Very true. I have a nephew who isn't speaking to me. Not much of a loss, though. (-8
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There are a few people I know not to mention my thoughts on issues, but most with different opinions seem easy enough to have a conversation. The entire big picture seems overwhelming these days. How does anyone know where to start?
 
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dseag2 said:
they all apparently had too much to drink
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Some folks get quite mellow when they drink too much
wanna hug and kiss everyone

Some get less mellow....tend to say what they think
and when they say it, it's rather loud
and when they surmise no one is listening to them,
they get a bit pointed, and in yer face, and louder

If you've ever hung out in bars, you know these people

Sounds like yer folks

Bottom line;
when drinking, it's best to sip
Makes the next day less embarrassing
 
Gary O' said:
Some folks get quite mellow when they drink too much
wanna hug and kiss everyone

Some get less mellow....tend to say what they think
and when they say it, it's rather loud
and when they surmise no one is listening to them,
they get a bit pointed, and in yer face, and louder

If you've ever hung out in bars, you know these people

Sounds like yer folks

Bottom line;
when drinking, it's best to sip
Makes the next day less embarrassing
Click to expand...
I hadn't heard about any holiday drama in a while. Yes, it sounds like drinking was a bad idea. No memory of ever seeing any 70 year old ladies having a physical altercation.
 
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dseag2 said:
Let me first say that I don't condone any of this.

I have a good friend (70+ y/o) who lives in Seattle. She is very liberal. However, her brother and sister-in-law are very conservative Evangelicals. Why they got together for July 4th is beyond me. :unsure: Anyway, they all apparently had too much to drink. They didn't discuss politics at all, but all of a sudden the brother said "isn't it great to live in the Land of the Free"? My friend responded that we are not free and the argument ensued. The sister-in-law finally said "why don't you move somewhere else". That was the last straw. My friend said she was going home. The sister-in-law said there was no way she was driving in her condition and ran off with her purse!

My friend chased her, demanding to get her purse back, and ultimately slapped her in the face! The sister-in-law pulled her hair!

This all surprised me because my friend is very much an Empath, but I guess alcohol and strong beliefs do strange things. The division in our country is causing people to act like children, even people in the same family.:(
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Aunt Bea said:
IMO we all control the amount of drama in our lives.

I wouldn’t engage a guest in my home, but next year I would change the guest list.
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Home is a good place to rest, dine, spa and recharge, but not a good place to entertain.
 
An outsider looking in. So, so many conversations contain Leftist and Radical Right.
I have been watching this situation deteriorate for so long now, can there be no Political discussions without going to the extreme?
We have Labor and Liberal but by no means is there the hatred between the two as displayed in US Politics.
 
Bretrick said:
An outsider looking in. So, so many conversations contain Leftist and Radical Right.
I have been watching this situation deteriorate for so long now, can there be no Political discussions without going to the extreme?
We have Labor and Liberal but by no means is there the hatred between the two as displayed in US Politics.
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Regardless, I have faith in Americans.
 
Bretrick said:
An outsider looking in. So, so many conversations contain Leftist and Radical Right.
I have been watching this situation deteriorate for so long now, can there be no Political discussions without going to the extreme?
We have Labor and Liberal but by no means is there the hatred between the two as displayed in US Politics.
Click to expand...
That may be true, but an Australian by the name of Rupert Murdoch is responsible for much of the polarization in our country, beginning in the 1990s and increasing dramatically ever since. Without him, America wouldn't be in the mess it's in right now. Or maybe something else would have done us in... another propaganda outlet and outrage manufacturer.
 

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