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Political beliefs affecting family relationships

People around the Internet have told horror stories of how their families have been split by the election and differing political ideologies.

“I’ve heard stories of a lot of different families, where the son’s a Trump supporter and mom and dad are all for Hillary, or maybe Bernie,” MCCC student Joshua Taylor says. “They don’t talk to each other.”

It’s a story that’s all too common in recent months, with many publications running articles on how relationships have ended over the election.

But around MCCC’s campus, it appears that things are mostly alright.

“I did not have a falling out,” says Lisa Scarpelli, a professor of Geosciences. “We just decided not to discuss politics anymore.”

“We all voted Trump,” Taylor says, and mentions no family strife whatsoever.

Student LaKeisha Walker has an admittedly very diverse family where political divides weren’t an issue. She says they simply don’t discuss politics or religion.

There was one thing that she said bothered her.

“A lot of people didn’t vote,” she says. “They didn’t see that it was going to make a difference, I suppose. It wasn’t who they were looking at. It wasn’t their perfect candidate.”

Some on campus have not been as fortunate as Walker, Taylor, and Scarpelli.

One MCCC professor with views on the subject asked to remain anonymous so their political beliefs will not make students uncomfortable in their class.

“Most of my family probably voted for Donald Trump,” the professor said.

While there were no issues of relatives not speaking, some strong words were exchanged.

“I did have a conversation where my mother told me, after she and my father had filed their absentee ballots, that my father had voted for Donald Trump. This was after I had said that anyone who voted for Donald Trump and has female children should feel a great sense of guilt.”

The professor’s concern centered around their father’s morality, or lack thereof.

“My mother pointed out that my father is a good man,” the professor said. “And I said, ‘I have reasons to doubt that now.’ So there was quite a bit of tension there.

“I’ve argued continually with them over politics. Simply put, I keep pointing out that they raised me to be a better human being and stand up to bullies, then they went and voted for a bully.”

So what can be done to mend bridges in families that are divided?

“You need to come back together,” Taylor says. “Family’s too important to let something as stupid as who our president is split your family. You should stick together whoever it is.”

“I can have perfectly good discussions with my relatives and we can love each other and have dinner and stuff,” Scarpelli says. “We just don’t talk about politics. So that’s what I would recommend.”

“Get over it,” Walker says. “Everybody has their day. Eight years ago, people were feeling the way you’re feeling today. Everybody gets their turn.”