Most “alternative thinkers" will have a few family members, friends or colleagues who are less “alternative”. Sometimes the ideological chasms that open up in the course of communications can be, well…..
On these occasions, we can choose our reactions: we can be frustrated or laugh that person off - it's up to us.
But yesterday, a friend into alternative topics was offloading. She'd returned from visiting a relative she described as “completely unawake”. After a few glasses of wine she'd exploded, splurging out alternative truths and conspiracy theories all over the dinner table.
I cheered her up with my most extreme “Grand Canyon” story. It's nothing to do with being alternative or not (I hope) but we ended up howling with laughter. We're both similar middle agers raised in the UK so others might not find it funny and I hope no one will find it offensive. But it is true.
After a couple of glasses of Cava at the family Christmas dinner table, my brother-in-law:
said all unemployed people should be bussed to the "gas chambers" (even though he'd been unemployed all his life), then;
gave a rude imitation of a (Down's Syndrome) assistant at the Catholic church at which he was a volunteer official, then;
played each one of his 36 new ringtones. Consecutively.
Our family is so not like that. There were relatives at our table looking desperately for a job and one was a support worker for disabled people!
That has to be one of the most gaping ever Grand Canyon situations.
I'm not levelling or whipping up any criticism of my bro-in-law, I promise - we are who we are and we all have our individual journeys. This was ten years ago and I roasted his chestnuts at the time. Loud. THEY WERE CRACKLING IN MY FIRE:-)
For more great ecoTrain posts and highlights from last week please visit:
https://steemit.com/life/@eco-alex/eco-train-highlights-27th-july-2nd-august-2017-great-original-content-here