Sometimes, finding common ground with family members is difficult or even impossible to do. This is why, often times, it’s important to set boundaries instead of simply putting up with hateful family. A conservative Missouri woman decided she would try to give other conservatives advice on what to say to your liberal family members at Thanksgiving. However, while she thought she was being clever, she’s simply out of touch in a whole new way.
Erica (@politicsforher) posted a TikTok video titled, “Responding to liberal family members this Thanksgiving.” In the video, she responds to things liberals apparently say and “how to shut down your liberal cousin.” However, as she makes her points, she fails to see that the things liberals apparently say are actually very truthful and even empathetic toward others.
Here’s an example: She says liberal family will state, “We really shouldn’t celebrate a holiday rooted in colonial violence.” Erica tries to say that Thanksgiving isn’t a celebration of violence, but instead a “celebration of gratitude.” But, quite frankly, she would be wrong about this. It’s a prime example of a conservative white woman trying to cover up Thanksgiving’s problematic origins. These include both oppression and genocide of indigenous people. She then goes on to call liberals “chronically offended” and thinks we need to hang onto our traditions in America, like celebrating Thanksgiving. Methinks Erica is the one who’s offended here.
She then points out another thing a liberal relative might say at the Thanksgiving dinner table: “No human being is illegal. We shouldn’t even have ICE, it’s cruel.” But Erica thinks it’s even more cruel to pretend that a “country can survive without enforcing its own laws.” In the most out-of-touch way, she completely avoids the fact that our country only chooses to enforce harsh immigration laws. They do this so they can control job competition and deny people from other cultures access to our country.
Some other silly ideas Erica shares in her video are that Trump isn’t to blame for price inflation and that women aren’t really “losing rights.” She also bashes Zohran Mamdani for his socialist ideas and says she thinks liberals want more “government control.” If she really thinks this way, then I think Erica needs some proper political education. Her grasp on what’s really happening in America is quite alarming. If she’s just rage baiting, well then, congratulations, I guess.
One individual commented on Erica’s video, “So glad most of my family is liberal so the conservatives are the ones that have to watch what they say.” Another pointed out, “For many white Americans, Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude and celebration. For many Native Americans, it is a day of mourning and reflection on centuries of colonization and loss. Because both groups share this land, it’s important to recognize that not everyone experiences or celebrates Thanksgiving in the same way.” They continue to point out we shouldn’t focus on the good, only to “deliberately ignore the bad.”
