Man Calling Himself a “Rabid Liberal” Doesn't Want to Attend His Trump-Supporting Nephew's Wedding

Photo byPolina Zimmerman

A man named Jae wrote to Newsweek, describing a difficult decision he must make. His nephew is getting married and he’s been invited to the event but he’s not sure he wants to attend.

He has several reasons for not wanting to go to the wedding. One, he’s not very close to his family to begin with. But the second reason is that his nephew and fiancée are Trump supporters.

He describes himself as a progressive Christian. Not only that but he says he’s also a "Rabid Liberal.”

Jae has more reasons not to like his nephew. Jae believes he is a spoiled boy.

Further, he describes himself as an introvert and thinks the wedding will stress him out.

He believes the wedding will also get in the way of his studies. He’s in Seminary and feels he's simply too busy with school to attend the event.

But the biggest thing steering him away from attending the wedding is his differing political beliefs from his nephew.

He explains:

I know if I go, it will turn out to be a session of biting my tongue and clenching my teeth.

He’d prefer to just send a gift and not attend in person, but he fears this will anger his brother, his nephew's dad.

It can be challenging when political differences strain family relationships. However, not attending a familial event, such as a wedding, can place even more strain on that relationship.

No, Jae isn't close with his family, but not attending this wedding can destroy the relationship altogether.

One option Jae has is to attend the wedding, and just ignore any discussion of politics that he doesn’t agree with. This would allow him to maintain a relationship with his nephew and show that family is more important than political differences.

Another option is to try to have a conversation with his nephew before the wedding. They could agree to disagree and find common ground or simply avoid discussing politics at the event.

Otherwise, the only other option is to decline the invitation. To try to salvage what remains of the relationship, Jae could express to his nephew that he still cares for him but he just can’t bear to attend the wedding without feeling uncomfortable.

But whether Jae can even do this is unclear as he isn't close to his family and doesn't seem to have much in common with them, even beyond politics. He doesn't even seem to like his nephew much as it is.

So it's unclear whether Jae will be able to make any choice that doesn't hurt his familial relationships.

What do you think Jae should do? Let me know in the comments.