There's only one question for Thanksgiving this year. To fight or not to fight?
I argued that in 2023, it is your “patriotic duty” to go to war with members of the Rib tribe. The idea was that rather than just meek submission, we needed to reclaim liberal claims to truth and the moral high ground, even though confrontations might be painful during the holidays. After all, it might be the only day a year that your non-binary nephew or self-righteous sister in Brooklyn is bothered by dissenting opinions. Every other day, those in power affirm them.
As I wrote at that time,
Freed from their oppressive homelands, millions of young cosmopolitan liberals will soon return home, proudly taking on their unique morals, and believing it will be their turn to share an annual meal with their once-beloved families. may feel that they are not responsible. It is wrong for conservatives to indulge in delusions. This Thanksgiving, let's flip the social shame system on its head. If you know from past experience that your liberal family is ready to fight, launch a pre-emptive strike. Put them on the defensive. Make them feel ashamed of believing in what they do. Find the confidence to criticize their morals with the same sense of entitlement they feel towards you. Casually talk about their worst views as if they were freak perverts, as if no one of sound mind and conscience could disagree. To be crude, arrogant, and completely uninhibited.
Breaking the “social shaming system” was crucial in an election year. More than any policy or idea or even Donald Trump's personal actions, that was the biggest obstacle to MAGA's rise. Respectable ordinary people, even non-political people, implicitly took being on the wrong side as a sign of shame. Poking holes in this story, even on a scale as small as our dinner table, became a priority. We may not be able to change the minds of our liberal families, but we can plant seeds of doubt. And all canons can be informed that perhaps this story is not so simple. (Related: America needs more drunk MAGA uncles telling risqué jokes)
Joy Reid says it's okay to be afraid of family members who support Trump
Joy Reid: Stay away from the families of Trump supporters who ended democracy. I might hand you over 😂 pic.twitter.com/6Sa9LkDkNr
— PapaJ (@JeffnClownWorld) November 23, 2024
But I think this year I can give my family a break. Now that the prison of social shame has broken down, we can afford to be a little more forgiving.
Trump arguably won easily by breaking the cultural taboos meant to constrain him. By the time he survived the assassination attempt, he was no longer contaminated with radioactive material. He has cultivated relationships with major cultural figures, from Elon Musk to a variety of influential podcast buddies. Celebrities, athletes, porn stars, and even American icons like Buzz Aldrin felt comfortable support to him without fear of losing their career or legacy. Maxim gave a sexy endorsement, and Turbo Lib's Mark Zuckerberg couldn't help but do it admit Trump was the “bad guy” and a generation of confident young people rallied to his side. Trump is not only non-toxic, he's also downright cool.
This makes his policy agenda even stronger. People hate the Biden economy, the majority are in favor of mass deportations, and they are tired of the gender insanity being shoved down their throats. Just a few years ago, questioning the dominant discourse on these issues was enough to get you ostracized from polite society. Now, they're just talking water coolers. The social shame system is broken.
Being a competitive loser is bad, but there's nothing worse than being a winner. Our pugilist master is perfectly capable of delivering strikes of his own when the moment calls for it. But while the public is largely on Trump's side on this issue, and even for those who still need convincing, it's up to you whether President Trump embodies what he means when he says, “My retribution will be successful.” It depends.
Besides, it's not worth fighting for. There is much to be thankful for this year.
