I am almost numb with shame...

[Peacetrain]

I found out this week, that a favored uncle of mine is a tea party person. I can't believe someone in my own family is that delusional and I don't how else to put this..but stupid.

We are a large multi racial, multi cultural, multi religious family. We give the Obamas a run for their money on these things.. but in the heart of this family, a cancer has grown and I do not know how to address it.

I am embarrassed, I am hurt, I am shamed.. He hung up on his 81 year old sister (my mother) because she supports the Health Care Bill. I just found out about the bru ha ha .

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this uncle.. and now, I do not even think I know him.

I wonder how many other families are looking at this and dealing with it?

Thanks for listening..

[hedgehog]

1. It's poor consolation, but oftentimes an abrupt switch in political

views by an elderly person is a sign of dementia.

[Lifelong Protester]

2. That's a tough one, and I am sure quite a shock

I guess you just need to say, "Look, Uncle, your still a member of the family, and I love you, but we are way on the other side of some issues. Sorry I cannot get with your 'teabagger' thinking. Hope you can accept that."

Sorry to hear about this, and hope you find a way to make it through.

[tilsammans]

3. I feel your pain . . .

. . . several of my dearest relatives, very kind and generous to us, are teabag nutcases. Want to see Obama dead, etc.

I don't even want to talk with them anymore, as they always inject GOP talking points into every conversation, regardless of the subject matter. :puke:

[ShortnFiery]

4. That's nothing, I have about a dozen extended family members across the country who qualify ...

as "barking at the moon" right wing rabid. Most of them are secular right wingers but a few come from the religious right-wing nuttery.

How do I survive? I don't talk politics with them at family reunions. If they start talking about politics, I leave the room ... sometimes go outside and take a walk.

I pride myself at being a pushy broad, but attempting to change a right-winger's mind is a waste of energy. It isn't worth the effort and always leaves me feeling frustrated beyond belief.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. tell him there will special charges for Teabaggers

he will be charged $20 each way on every road and will not be allowed in public libraries.

[Jokerman]

6. My sister is a libertarian teabagger.

Claims to be an "independent voter" but unless there is a libertarian on the ticket she votes republican because she claims they are more fiscally responsible.

When she lived at home she was a liberal democrat like my parents. When she was in college she dated a communist and claimed to be one as well. After college she hooked up with a libertarian and went over to the dark side.

[LibDemAlways]

7. I have an aunt who went over to the dark side during the

Reagan years. She gets all of her "news" from FAUX and religiously listens to Rush and Hannity. She's thoroughly brainwashed. She's also in her 80's and not likely to see the error of her ways anytime soon. When she mentions that Obama is a socialist, we just ignore her and change the subject. Some battles aren't worth fighting.

[slackmaster]

8. It makes no sense for you to be ambarrassed, hurt, or shamed by your uncle's conduct

Everyone understands that you don't have any control over him.

(Yes, I'm saying your feelings are illogical.)

[Dappleganger]

9. I am sorry for your loss. nt

[Cha]

10. So, he's not only a misled teabagger..

who are fueled by hate..he's turning on his own family?

Wonder if those filling their heads are promoting that as well? One radiohatemonger is tellng employers to fire Obama voters.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=388x20323

I'm so sorry at your obvious distress, Peactrain. It would be nice to be able to talk some sense into at least one teabagger with volumns of logic.

[Mz Pip]

11. It happened to me

I reconnected with a cousin a number of years ago. his wife and I began exchanging emails. Most of the stuff she sent were pretty inocuous - jokes, inspirational bible quotes with flying angels. After 9/11 I started getting RW talking points in the form of those "concerned citizen" type that implied those who disagreed with Bush were treasonous bastards. BUt things really heated up during the 2008 election. she started forwsarding me every "Obama is a Muslim anti-Christ community organizer yada yada yada..."

After Obama won, it got even worse. In her opinion we were just doomed. And finally I just told her to stop sending me the crap. She did and I haven't heard from her since.

She lives in a very RW suburb of Phoenix and probably gets her opinions from Hannity, Rush and J.D. Hayworthless.

I sort of felt bad at first because my cousin was the last connection I had with my mother's side of the family. But there comes a point where even family ties aren't strong enough to weather hateful bullshit.

[DevonRex]

12. Join the club. All my sisters are teabaggers. And they post tea party shit on FB.

They talked proudly last summer about their "quiet and patriotic" tea party events, which they attend regularly.

We're supposed to get together this summer and I don't know if I can handle it.

[Change Happens]

13. Yesterday, I went to look at an empty lot for sale. We are thinking about for building a home

over the next two years. Noticed the people in the house next to this lot had few cars out in the driveway, all had the yellow tea party flags, anti-Obama bumper stickers, and of course a HUGE American flag out in the back...etc. I did not even get out of the car, turned around and left, just called my realtor and told him we are interested! made sure he knew why: I HATE THE MOTHER FUCKERS!

[FrenchieCat]

14. Sounds like 60% of Americans are now Teabaggers......

the way I hear it told here......although I doubt it.

I think at this point, we are helping grow the movement,
as we talk about these folks constantly.

I'd say we declare them as crazies and call it a day.

[MadMaddie]

30. No but I would say that there are a lot of racist out there.

They had no issue with the * crimes during the previous 8 years.

[queenjane]

15. Me, My Mom, and ONE cousin

Are the only NON-teabaggers in our very large family. Young and old, married and single, college-educated and dropped-out-of-high school. Doesn't matter. They're Sarah Palin fans, Rush Limbaugh devotees, fundamentalists, belong to FB pages like "Al Gore is Full of Shit". Hate "Big Government", yet have their hands out for anything that personally benefits THEM.

I should be used to this. I think everyone in my small town, 99% of my high school classmates, and a goodly portion of my co-workers are also Teabaggers. I keep my distance, avoid 'em like the plague, and watch them carefully for trending signs of potential violence.

I'm sorry about the uncle you obviously love.

[nenagh]

16. As a USA/Canadian dual citizen living in Ontario,Canada..

I think you can thank MSM media bias against Obama for contributing to the TeaPartiers/baggers.

Not only is their propaganda sophisticated but greater than ever deviation from the truth is acceptable practice.

Today eg. a CNN anchor asked for responses to her question... should Obama be spending as much time on the Nuclear situation when so many people have trouble affording their homes, let us know what you think...

CBC, tv in Canada, is all over what a great plan this is of Obama's.

I'm not technically smart enough to post these myself, and rarely watch CNN, but if some DU'er catches CNN anchors asking for responses to duplicitious questions, formulated to get a biased response from their viewers,if someone posts the questions on DU then wise DU'ers could be emailing our own responses back to CNN while enjoying reading DU!

CNN's question is designed to get the response ... 'Yes my home is more NB than nuclear safety'.. perhaps a valid response if you are losing your home as so many are..

But CNN viewers are left thinking Obama doesn't give a damn about their wallet or home..So it's really a set up and an invalid question.. but does the trick to downplay Obama's presidency.

TeaPartiers are swilling from the Fox trough, I'm afraid to even go there..

[Arugula Latte]

17. Could senior dementia be setting in?

[handmade34]

18. sorry...

I understand... I found out I rented out my small farm to them

[barbtries]

20. ouch.

that would hurt.

[barbtries]

19. i don't think you should feel shame

you can't control him. apparently he prefers to be controlled by fox news. so be it. i'm sorry about the brouhaha with your mother and her brother however, that is sad.
i don't know if my brother is a tea party person. we had to stop talking politics years ago after he informed me that iraq was responsible for 911. other brother reports that fox is on at his house 24/7. so, we just keep the politics off the table and that way we can still be close.

[tranche]

21. You should feel for him. He's going to spend the next 7 years angry.

And those should be good years for him too. It's too bad that we (can) get so worked up about politics these days that we can waste nearly a decade angry at an image created by another political party. In cases like this I would just hope he becomes a bit non-political and just enjoy life. It's too short to spend convinced the world is coming to and end. It never does.

[Beacool]

22. Why are you so upset?

If you love your uncle so much, then just avoid talking politics and keep the peace. Family is much more important than political disagreements. He is an elderly man and who knows how much longer you'll have him around. Enjoy his company and stay away from the hot issues.

I have family members who I love very much and are great people, but they are conservative. It doesn't affect my relationship with them at all. Except if they start dissing my girl Hil, then the fur flies. LOL!!.

:D

[SemiCharmedQuark]

23. My cousin is in love with a Glenn Beck dumbfuck and his views switched because of it

He claims to be a moderate but joined "One Big Ass Mistake America" on FB and spouts off RW talking points on FB. But when he's not on FB (where she can't see him) he softens his stances. Still, we were raised together as brother and sister from the time I was 3 and it is sad to see.

[CreekDog]

24. My grandparents told me years ago there was "going to be a race war"

I asked them which side they were going to take.

[kjackson227]

25. It's okay, Peacetrain. Our family isn't diverse like yours...

but just last week I had an OLDER relative remark to me, and I quote, "I don't know about OUR president". Of course they only hear what is spewed from the corporate-owned msm in reference to HCR and their Medicare benefits. Another OLDER relative voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary. When comments are made like this I just correct them and move on. It makes me hot as a firecracker for a day or so, then I shrug it off. Some people are set in a certain mentality and there's no changing their minds, even when they're wrong.

[Clio the Leo]

26. Politics and family are two things that should never mix....

... 'cause your family is your family and you have to love and live with them regardless.

My father skipped a trip with my mother to visit the in-laws in 2008 to AVOID talking about politics (my Dad is a hard core socialist from WAY back.)

My mother came back with the news that my white Alabama aunts and uncles, aged 70 and up ... were all voting for Obama.

My father was sad he missed the trip. :)

[Kaleva]

28. +1

[Raine1967]

32. It's hard when your family was raised on politics- as mine was.

As a result my 2 sisters became totally disinterested, and I became a democrat. ;)

[cherokeeprogressive]

27. "I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this uncle.." Real love is not subjective.

You either love him or you don't. If you love him, then you always have. If you now do not because of his opinion on a particular issue, then you never did.

I'm wondering... Is he really a "tea party person", as you say, or is it just his opinion on your mom's support for the Health Care Bill causing you to saying that about him? You do know, of course, that a whole bunch of people right here at DU not only disagree with the term "Health Care Bill", but consider it no kind of health care reform whatsoever, rather "insurance reform".

It truly makes me sad when I read about family members or lifelong friends whose relationships end or become something other than what they were over a disagreement about politics. The bill passed already. Maybe he or your mom should get on with things and put this behind them.

But like I said in the subject of my post, love is not subjective. You either still love him regardless of his opinions, or you never did.

JMHO

[Peacetrain]

29. how anal retentive can you get?

[Cha]

33. Apparently there's

no limit.

[Raine1967]

31. I understand the disappointment. I have a dad.

:hug: There is nothing to be ashamed of, Peacetrain.

You didn't cause it and you cannot control it. I don;t know how to deal with it either -- my father is getting near impossible to talk to -- even tho I have asked him to please respect that I have a point of view, and that unless he is willing to listen to mine, then I would prefer he not call the president a n*gger socialist pig.

*sigh* it is causing riffs. He refused to let me talk during the past 8 years, and now he expects me to listen to his hyperbolic ranting --

We have always been on different ends of the political spectrum, and for a while we were able to talk out our differences, but not since a year ago-- Tax day time.

I don;t how to talk to people who will not listen. When they are people you love it makes it far more difficult.

[Joe Bacon]

34. Almost all of my family support teabaggers

in 1980, they all supported Jimmy Carter. Then, one by one, they got sucked into the ASSemblies of Gawd and by 1984, all but myself, a cousin and a brother in law were hard core Republicans spitting out the right wing talking points the ASSemblies of Gawd Preachers spit out every Sunday. Yes, I get the birther shit from them, I ignore it, just as I ignore that Gawd's party is the GOP!

[johan helge]

35. Relax, and remember this thing called tolerance!

I'm sure there are lots of tea party people that are nice & descent persons. They just have other opinions than us.