Are you pumped to gorge yourself on both food and entertainment this upcoming National Native Day of Mourning even as hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their SNAP and food stamp benefits???!!! I sure am!!! I’m so glad you all found my last holiday article, in which I suggested some low-stress ways to keep conversations civil and nonpolitical, helpful. In fact, I hear that my tactics almost worked too well for many of you, accidentally causing a total hush as your entire family, overwhelmed with your wisdom, stopped speaking and silently meditated for the entirety of Thanksgiving dinner, striving for nirvana and completely ignoring both the big football game and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. If this situation sounds familiar, read on for my tried-and-true tips to turn any awkward silence into happy and zero-conflict family time!

Tip #1: Selecting a Topic 

The most important tip, of course, is to make sure you understand the balance between casual, low-stakes conversation and something that your family could be offended by or take personally. That’s why I always start with a pleasant, objectively true comment like, “Isn’t it beautiful weather? It’s so crisp and autumny outside!” or “Wow, isn’t it great that the Supreme Court declined to revisit Obergefell v. Hodges, protecting same-sex couples’ right to marriage?” Since these comments are both friendly remarks about things we all agree about, they are perfect for starting a lively conversation without disturbing the Thanksgiving peace.

Tip #2: Setting the Mood 

After making sure your conversation starter is noncontroversial, you have to deliver it correctly. Even the most banal comment could be taken the wrong way if you seem agitated or mean when you say it. Here’s a pro tip: Thanksgiving is about thankfulness (and colonization), so you already have a built-in socially acceptable way to make comments! Simply start your sentence with “I’m so thankful for,” expressing your gratitude and joy to ensure you are not seen as disruptive or unpleasant. For example, if I grabbed a greasy serving fork, rolled my eyes back in my head, and screamed, “People wanted Charlie Kirk’s assassin to pay the highest possible penalty when they blamed a trans person, but as soon as they realized a cis, white, religious man was responsible, they switched over to thoughts and prayers for the murderer!” this could be seen as aggressive, even though I followed Tip #1 and made a noncontroversial and obvious point. Instead, I would format my comment thus: “I’m so thankful for increasing awareness of gun violence in America!” using a calm, happy voice and only gritting my teeth a little bit. Try it! 

Tip #3: Knowing Your Audience 

Always make sure you understand where everyone’s coming from before starting a conversation! Notice the little moments, and remember things your family has expressed in the past so that your comments always land the way you want. Let’s say the table is awkwardly quiet and I want to start a conversation. I look around the table and see, probably, a lot of white people. I think back to things I know about white people, like how we participated in the transatlantic slave trade, the Trail of Tears and other forms of colonization and racism, including neocolonialist practices that are still occurring today. Eureka! “Did you know that calling people ‘illegal’ for not having the correct papers under a system that makes it extremely difficult to gain these documents legally is, in fact, racist and discriminatory, devaluing immigrants as people even though America is supposed to be a nation of immigrants and a melting pot for all cultures?” I would then say. Be sure to incorporate Tip #2 — I’ve found that raising your eyebrows very high, smiling as widely as possible, and looking at everyone at the table in quick succession is the most pleasant way to deliver this point. After about 30 seconds of looking around and grinning, remember to express your gratitude by adding, “I’m thankful that you agree with me here and are working not to carry on the legacy of the horrible things the U.S. has done in the past.” Then, you should quickly jump up from the table and open the front door, welcoming in the 47,964 immigrants who committed only minor offenses, like traffic violations, held in ICE detention centers as of 2025. Education about a certain people group is, of course, best done by members of that people group, so personal contact with the minorities persecuted by President Trump’s fascist regime will be a valuable opportunity for your family to ask questions and learn.

But What if an Argument Starts Anyway? 

Once you know how to find a noncontroversial point, deliver it in a pleasant way, and understand your audience, you’ll be able to create a warm environment that fosters great conversations and promotes familial community. Unfortunately, there’s always one person who doesn’t know these tips, and might even try to start something on purpose — what a faux pas! If anyone at the table says something that is bad etiquette and doesn’t follow the above tips, whether it’s a topic that could be offensive, a downright unpleasant delivery, or a lack of effort to understand where people are coming from, you can fix it! Simply read accurate and scholarly sources about political topics, speak to a wide variety of people and make a genuine effort to understand their experiences, remember the speaker’s shared humanity as you prepare to encounter their misguided attitude and hire a death metal vocalist to loudly growl out the famous political protest song “Bella Ciao” any time the problematic family member begins speaking. This uplifting, anti-fascist experience should help even the grumpiest relative see the error of their ways, after which you can take the opportunity to share my three tips for successful holiday conversation. 

A Situation From a Reader Just Like You! 

I did also want to address a quick reader question. Unfortunately, after reading my first Thanksgiving article, someone let me know that every year they have to share a Thanksgiving table with — the essence of medical malpractice and ableism itself? What a sticky situation! My advice is to just read RFK Jr. a peer-reviewed article about honestly any scientific topic. This will probably take him out; if not, I think a flamethrower is what you’re supposed to use for zombies.

Now that you know how to start productive conversations over the Thanksgiving holiday, you should be totally prepared for the big day! I hope my tips help you celebrate without having to worry about awkward silences or those annoying moments when your family somehow starts saying things that they clearly can’t actually believe. Happy Tofurkey Day, and enjoy the benefits of capitalist exploitation that you greedily benefit from with no concern or empathy for the less fortunate!!! God bless America!!

Turkey has been forcing Saudi Arabia to go on the defensive in relation to the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Following two weeks of denials by the Saudi government, they admitted that Khashoggi was killed within the consulate. Officials of Saudi Arabia have called it a “rogue operation” and vowed to find and bring penalties to those involved. However, President Trump stated in an interview with The Washington Post that “there’s been deception and there’s been lies” from the Saudi government.

Jamal Khashoggi was a prominent journalist in Saudi Arabia who came to be exiled by the royal family after writing a monthly column criticizing the Crown Prince’s policies. After his first article was published, he said that many people were being detained by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in an evident suppression on dissidents. This crackdown was a result of the ambitious social and economic reforms in Saudi Arabia.

The journalist entered the consulate Oct. 2 to receive the necessary documents to marry his Turkish fiancee. His fiancee waited for him outside of the building for hours without him ever re-emerging.

The Turkish authorities were quick to state that Khashoggi had been murdered, gruesomely, and had hard evidence to prove such an accusation. For about two weeks, the Saudi government claimed that he had left the building alive but after the weeks of global outcry and pressure from the west, Saudi Arabia had admitted to Khashoggi being killed inside the consulate.

Turkey began using this case of wrongful death by the Saudi government to repair relations with the United States by releasing the U.S. pastor, Andrew Brunson. The pastor was being held prisoner in Turkey for nearly two years under charges for helping with the attempted coup in 2016 to overthrow President Erdogan. President Trump told reporters “[we] feel much different about Turkey today than we did yesterday” and that he had great hope of having “a very, very good relationship.”

Since the Arab Spring in 2010, Turkey has been emerging as a rival Middle Eastern power when it supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt whereas Saudi Arabia harshly did not. Erdogan is an Islamist and many parties in the region that are as well, look to him for leadership and guidance. The Saudi Crown Prince had accused Erdogan as attempting to “reinstate the Islamic Caliphate” of the previous Ottoman Empire.

The Crown Prince is a vital piece of the coalition in rejecting the ideas of the Islamist coalition in the Middle East. By revealing the details of the murder of journalist Khashoggi, Erdogan is sending a wave of anxiety towards the Crown Prince and his hopes of suppressing the Islamists.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have worked closely together to outlaw the Islamic Brotherhood type of political parties and terrorist groups. And last year, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates worked to isolate Qatar due to the country’s support for the Brotherhood Islamists.

There has been evident hostility between Turkey and the Emirates and Saudi Arabia since the Arab Spring. Some have noted that Turkey may be using the Khashoggi affair to get Saudi Arabia to rethink current deals that have helped to crash the Turkish currency.

The Saudi government has spent the last year positioning itself to be the key ally in the Middle East to the U.S. and other Western nations. During this time, Erdogan and Trump were having staunching disagreements and attacks over the jailing of an American pastor which concluded with strong sanctions and a horrible relationship with the U.S.

For Ankara, the death of Khashoggi came at a great time, being that it was the day after Erdogan speech stating his ambition for regional leadership. He used the murder of the Saudi journalist to prove that the U.S.-Saudi relationship was morally unjustified. Because Turkey took it under their power to release key information and hype up the gruesome death, the public and media of the West were outraged, thus affecting the alliance between the West and the Saudi’s.

It is important to note that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are both authoritarian regimes where gruesome murders committed by the government are a regular occurrence. Saudi Arabia still beheads people as punishment for crimes against the state. Turkey is known for suppressing the media and holding many journalists hostage, much like the Saudi government did with Khashoggi.

It is ironic that Erdogan, who strongly opposes the media, could find himself to be the greatest beneficiary of the Western outcry over the death of a journalist.

Photo courtesy of apnews.com.