It’s that time of year where we wear pajamas, drink hot chocolate, and talk to our families about Donald Trump.
Let’s be honest: Trump supporters happen in even the best of families. I, myself, have in-laws who are supporting him. And I bet you do, too. Heck, some of my best friends are Trump supporters.
But it’s time for an intervention. A “great shlep,” if you will, for 2016. You’ll be seeing friends and family these next few days, so why not have the talk?
I know what you’re thinking: “How do I get started?”
There really is no right or wrong answer to this one. Every situation is unique. But one smart reader used Trump’s criticism of Hillary Clinton’s extended bathroom break to finally break the spell. Having obtained permission, here’s his email:
I turned my family on trump when I shamed them
I said, you think making fun of a women’s bathroom break is something YOU personally would do in public. You would stand at a Christmas party and if your wife had an issue you would make fun of her?
You think that is ok? You are proud of that? I am not. I would never stand for that and I know you wouldn’t either.
It changed their whole demeanor.
Point is, the talk of being a bully and a fraud only work when you actually get in someone’s face and ask them if that is really who THEY are. Problem is that you can not get in every voters face.
So long email short. You have to challenge them as a man who does the right things and as a leader is this really. REALLY what you believe because if it is, you are not the person I thought you were.
Again, this is just one model. Maybe you want to bring up the fact that he made fun of POWs. Maybe a chivalrous uncle will be compelled by the nasty thing he said about Megyn Kelly. Or maybe mentioning he mocked a reporter with a disability is the way to go. You know these people better than I do.
But here’s what I do know. We can’t count on the politicians to get this right. And even if they do, nobody can talk to your crazy uncle better—more persuasively—than you.
More from our reader:
If I look my father in law in the eye and say that his comments are something you would never say or do in public or private and you would never raise your boy to be that terrible of a man it strikes a nerve.
It’s like he came out of his daze.
It’s like I hit him with a 2 by 4
If it sounds like what our reader is describing is like deprogramming a former member of a cult, well that’s your observation.
The bottom line is that you and I have a personal responsibility to shame our friends and relatives who are supporting Donald Trump.
Normally I hate politicizing things (especially holidays!). What is more, I believe that family is more important than campaigns. But the stakes are so high that I’m making an exception. And I hope you will too.
#GetTalking
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