Thanksgiving hosts should designate a specific room for all potentially heated political discussions and establish a moderator, according to a Los Angeles-based etiquette coach who spoke to the Associated Press (AP).
The AP spoke to etiquette coach Elaine Swann in an article titled “On the Thanksgiving menu: Turkey, with a side of impeachment.”
Swann does not necessarily recommend quashing the conversation, calling for hosts to “take a route to allow some sort of platform, but with guidelines.”
“I do think it’s healthy for people to express themselves and to have those conversations,” Swann said.
The AP offered one “tactic”: Designating a room for impeachment talk and selecting “a calm family member as a combination moderator-peacekeeper.”
One tactic: sequester the debates. She’ll have a room away from the dining table stocked with snacks for people who want to talk politics. She also suggests designating a calm family member as a combination moderator-peacekeeper.
[Alex] Triantafilou, a former judge, said that role often falls to him, although he wouldn’t mind taking a break from politics for the day.
“My preference would be to not have the conversations at Thanksgiving,” he said. “I’d rather watch football and leave politics behind.”
Swann also suggested that hosts should have something ready to distract everyone from the contentious conversation in the event that it escalates:
Swann, who will host around 30 people, said that if guests start tearing into one another like drumsticks, “make sure that in your arsenal as a host you have some family-building activity to get everybody out of it.”
Games can be a good diversion or, Swann suggested, invite people to bring family photos to share that will stir warm memories
If the debate starts getting out of hand Thursday, Wright said, someone will probably defuse things by asking: “How about those Bengals?”
Twitter users relentlessly mocked the advice and noted that impeachment is not as popular as the mainstream media would live everyone to believe – a trend which has been reflected in recent polls, showing opposition growing and support falling.
“Why do the press think all Americans are obsessed with this stuff? We just want our turkey and dressing! With a side of football,” one Twitter user wrote.
“No! Real! Human! Is! Talking! About! This! In! Everyday! Conversation!” another exclaimed.
“If you need a safe room and a moderator to talk politics with your uncle, maybe you aren’t mature enough to talk politics,” one Twitter user remarked.
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Nevertheless, Swann’s final word of advice seemed to be taken more seriously.
“Although we may not agree politically, the one thing we are is family,” Swann said, according to the AP.
“The big takeaway that I encourage everyone to have is that love for family, because tomorrow is not promised to us, and you never know who is going to wake up the next day and who is not,” she added.