Challenging Holidays, Gratitude, and Resources
PLUS: Just in time for the holidays, a link to my updated WTL Bookshelf.
Dear #WhiteTooLong readers,
I’ve just returned from the American Academy of Religion meeting, which was the next to last of more than 30 events on the road this year. Given that pace, and the intensity of the election season, we’ve decided to spend Thanksgiving at home this year. I’m looking forward to some down time over the next few days—and then to seeing extended family for Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations.
I know many of you, like me, have politically divided extended families and are preparing to navigate potentially challenging family dynamics. Back in 2016, after Trump’s first electoral college win, PRRI fielded a post-election and post-Thanksgiving survey, asking about family dynamics. We found that Democrats were 1.5 times more likely than Republicans to report there were family disagreements about politics over the Thanksgiving holiday (18% vs. 12%). Similarly, Democrats were five times more likely than Republicans to say say they were planning on spending less time with certain family members because of their political views (10% vs. 2%).
We also found that the terrain was even more challenging online, especially for Democratic women. Democratic women (30%) were twice as likely as Democratic men (14%) and nearly four times as likely as Republican women (8%) to say that following the 2016 election they removed an individual from their online social network because of a political opinion they expressed.
PRRI is currently in the field with a post-election survey, where we’ve included this agree/disagree trend question: “This holiday season, I will be spending less time with certain family members because of their political views.” Given that Trump’s current victory came after running the most racist, xenophobic campaign since former Alabama Governor George Wallace’s in 1968, I’d wager these sentiments are more strongly felt today. We’ll release the public results of that survey on December 13, so stay tuned.
In this challenging environment, I don’t have any great advice other than to extend and ask to receive generosity and grace from family members at this moment when emotions are raw. The threats to our democracy and our most vulnerable neighbors, of course, are real, but we’ll all need our best emotional selves, intellectual clarity, and steadfast courage for the long road ahead. So my Thanksgiving wish for you all is that you’ll find some solace and space to fill the tanks for the journey.
I’m neither professional photographer nor poet, but this spent leaf caught my eye on a recent neighborhood walk. Even at the end of its life cycle, when its veins are no longer coursing with nutrients or even connected to its source, it is still gathering life-giving water on the final stop of its journey before it returns to the soil. Amid so much destruction here and abroad, I find something hopeful in that quietly defiant image.
This Thanksgiving, among so many other things, I remain grateful for thoughtful readers here at #WhiteTooLong. I’ll close out the newsletter by sharing some resources and some recent media appearances.
Gratefully,
Robby
P.S. If you have a friend who would like to receive these emails, please pass it along. And if you’re a paid subscriber already, please consider giving a paid annual subscription as a gift this season.
Two Resources
It’s been a while since I reminded readers that I’ve curated a “White Too Long” newsletter Bookshelf over at Bookshop. If I’ve written about a book or interviewed an author here, their book will be there. And, if you purchase a book there, part of the proceeds go to support this newsletter. It’s a great resource for holiday gift giving.
And here’s a link to The Convocation Unscripted, a collaborative multi-platform project I’m participating in with
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In addition to our Substack magazine here, you can also find our complete video archive of past events and webinars on The Convocation Unscripted YouTube Channel. And a reminder—we’ve now expanded The Convocation Unscripted to be available as a fully produced audio podcast. To make sure you get each new episode, you can listen and subscribe on your preferred platform using the buttons below:
Recent Media and Podcast Appearances
