For UF professor Stephen Craig, Thanksgiving dinner provided more than a whiff of homemade food — it was a breath of fresh air following a divisive election cycle.
The weeks following the election of Donald Trump as president have been marked, in some circles, by apprehension and public outcry — some of which carried over onto Gainesville’s streets and onto UF’s campus.
But at Craig’s dinner, like many others, politicking was a no-go, an ironic circumstance considering Craig teaches politics, voting behavior and public opinion at UF.
“My brother, who was hosting, posted a sign saying that anyone who started talking about either politics or religion would be banished from the house and forced to eat outside,” Craig, who celebrated Thanksgiving with family in St. Petersburg, Florida, wrote in an email. “I was definitely ok with that.”
UF psychology and Spanish senior McLaine Pleasants, whose house is often divided by political ideology, managed to dodge uncomfortable post-election discussion, too.
“We have some die hard conservatives and some die hard liberals,” the 21-year-old wrote in an email. “But what we have in common is that family comes first.”
Pleasants, who does not affiliate with any political party, said she finds it hard to change other people’s minds, especially when debating politics.
“A lot of times people have extremely strong opinions, but are completely closed-minded to actually hearing the facts or doing their own research,” Pleasants said.
Yousef Alghawi, a UF political science junior, avoided political banter for different reasons.
The 21-year-old said discussing the election with his predominately Muslim family is difficult because he said Trump’s campaign rhetoric has incited hate and fear toward Muslims living in America.
Alghawi, although not religious himself, said he is frustrated that his 16-year-old brother is treated with disrespect by peers simply because of his faith.
“It’s something that we don’t talk about, and we didn’t talk about at Thanksgiving, but it’s there — and it honestly impacts almost every moment of our lives,” Alghawi said.
Instead of banishing post-election talk, UF marketing junior Emily Fodor embraced it. In the end, as her mostly conservative family members spoke in oddly calming tones about it all, the 20-year-old said she was pleasantly surprised.
Instead of getting offended by divisive remarks, especially those with misogynistic undertones, Fodor said she listened and learned from what her loved ones shared.
“Besides a few comments surrounding the credibility of the women who spoke out against Trump (for sexual assault), it was a productive conversation,” she said.
