If your Thanksgiving holiday went off without a hitch, then you can be thankful that none of your guests read GQ magazine…
In what amounts to another example of so-called liberal “tolerance”, GQ urges readers to ruin Thanksgiving for their Trump-supporting relieves in an article titled, “It’s Your Civic Duty to Ruin Thanksgiving by Bringing Up Trump”.
Far more than promoting the discussion of politics at Thanksgiving, this monumental contribution to political journalism encourages readers to throw full-out temper tantrums in protest of their relatives making their own decisions about who to vote for. Some advice the article dishes out for how Trump-protesting juveniles can get their point across at the Thanksgiving tables included the following:
“Don’t show up. For some parents, your absence will speak louder than any sodden arguments over the density of pumpkin pie. If you can’t even look them in the eye, they’ll know you mean business.”
“Not even a handshake; just stare, disgustedly, at their outstretched arms. Build a wall out of mashed potatoes…Refuse to be alone in a room with your mom, citing the Mike Pence rule. Call your parents by a Donald Trump nickname of your choosing—perhaps Little Rocket Mom or Liddle’ Dad. Insist on setting a place for Robert Mueller, the way Jews do for Elijah on Passover. Wear a coal miner hat for solidarity. Punch a cornucopia right in the mouth.”
If points such as these were actually funny, one might be able to write this article off as satire. If these points actually offered real advice on how to expand across party lines and discuss politics with those who may disagree with you, one might be able to take it seriously.
As it stands, though, the writer of this piece lands in an awkward no-man’s land between ridiculousness and an absurd sense of self-importance. Judging by the full context of the article, this writer really does believe that throwing a temper tantrum at Thanksgiving is the best path forward, and he would probably be giddy if a small army of infantile leftists did just that.
Of course, falling back on temper tantrums as a go-to political tactic is nothing new for those on the far-left. Just take a look at Antifa — a group who has become the new face of the far-left and one that would put a class of unruly kindergarteners to shame in a tantrum-throwing contest.
While it might be funny to picture a snowflake still so distraught by Trump’s electoral victory that they are crossing their arms and refusing to eat any turkey, the implications of the GQ’s article are concerning. The political divide in our country right now is arguably deeper and more harmful than it has been at any point in history since the Civil War.
Sure, it’s unclear what it will take to bring Americans together and get them started working for the good of all people and not just the good of their party again, but purposefully ruining holidays where we are supposed to be giving thanks isn’t going to do the trick.
To make matters even worse, the GQ writer wasn’t calling for political debates this Thanksgiving. Instead, he’s calling for nothing short of emotional pleas and fits of anger such as refusing to show up and calling your parents names.
If you still think these suggestions might be exaggerated satire, check out this quote from near the article’s end:
“Of course, this is about more than just spite—as satisfying as spite can be in these trying times. This is about potentially chipping away at the ~35 percent of un-budging Trump supporters. Sure, some of them are fully on board with every inexplicable decision, but others may be swayable…Having a son or daughter loathe everything you’ve become is easier long distance; it’s another thing when that kid is staring turkey-carving daggers at you from across the table.”
It’s difficult to imagine what good those on the left could hope to see from such antics. It’s almost as if, at least for this particular writer, the idea of swaying others with logic and reason has lost all appeal, and instead he hopes to see voters swayed by hate and spite.
While unlikely to do any good no matter what side of the political spectrum you are on, it’s easy to imagine the harm that is to come when mainstream journalism advising people to “loathe” their relatives during the holidays is now considered normal.
~ Conservative Zone
