chat

8179 readers

197 users here now

Chat is a text only community for casual conversation, please keep shitposting to the absolute minimum. This is intended to be a separate space from c/chapotraphouse or the daily megathread. Chat does this by being a long-form community where topics will remain from day to day unlike the megathread, and it is distinct from c/chapotraphouse in that we ask you to engage in this community in a genuine way. Please keep shitposting, bits, and irony to a minimum.

As with all communities posts need to abide by the code of conduct, additionally moderators will remove any posts or comments deemed to be inappropriate.

Thank you and happy chatting!

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Did anyone else have very limited acceptable family convo topics (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In my house the only proper conversation topics were local sports and current TV shows. My dad waxing that our team not doing well could take up half a dinner. Sitcoms would take up the other half. My brother could quote the Office for, I'm not exaggerating, 30 minutes or more.

As little kids, we were put down for using potty humour in the strongest possible terms, which I guess is sorta fine but I don't think the intensity was needed. My brother and I got told to stop convo as adults were talking about Big Things. As a got older and started to care about social justice issues, I was told that I'm being too political. My brother in law complaining that his workers had no drive was always acceptable.

I half get it. My parents were prole, albeit settler white prole, and TV was their mental health support. I do wish my parents did therapy, we were expected to do it at an early age (I started at 9!), and a lot of it was just dealing with an imperfect home environment.

Anyhow, I stopped going to family holidays really early, like from 19 onwards. For a long time I thought I was a dick for not getting involved.

Sorry to rant. Honestly I'm not upset now, I'm just wondering if anyone has a similar story.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

I don't know if my family was intentionally "limited", maybe a little, but damn is conversation with my cousins boring now as adults. They just know and care about the most mainstream, dumb shit. They wouldn't read a book or watch an interesting film to save their lives. Yet they somehow have full conversations about random pop culture shit all night. I'm not exactly quiet or totally alienated but it's just so boring. We're not kids anymore but they have the intellectual and social maturity of teens.

I even have the one token fascist cousin who would be interesting albeit torturous to talk with about politics but refuses to talk with me about politics or elaborate on any political points they'll make in passing, like 'infamous slumlord Trump will make renting affordable' or 'vaxx bad'. I think that they know they'll just get exposed as an idiot and are insecure about it.