The views expressed in this article are opinion.Â
Thanksgiving and the holiday season are supposed to be about gratitude and family, but mostly, they’re about avoiding certain topics that will set your relatives off. We’ve had a politically catastrophic year, and political debates in such a tumultuous climate typically devolve into ad hominem insults and embarrassment tactics.
If you want to avoid that this Thanksgiving, here’s a list of things not to say at the table — political and otherwise.
- “HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE LATEST EPSTEIN FILE RELEASE?“
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Honestly, this one might cause the least amount of argument out of everything listed.Â
For the last month, the government has been frantically deciding exactly how transparent it wants to be about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and affiliations. On November 12, House Democrats released three emails that hinted that Trump was aware of the sex trafficking. In response, House Republicans released over 23,000 pages of documents, including correspondence between Epstein and Bill Clinton, former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers, and billionaire Peter Thiel.Â
As more information is released or leaked, remember to stay grounded in reality, not in conspiracy theories or internet ragebait. The survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse deserve for their suffering to be culminate with justice, not sensation.
- “THIS GUY ON TIKTOK SAID…“
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Nobody over the age of 50 wants to hear a thing about TikTok. You’ll be met with, “TikTok? I think it’s corroding the minds of the young…” Granted, they have a point; social media echo chambers can exacerbate closed-mindedness and political extremism, but that’s not unique to any one app. Grandpa, however, might not understand.
If the topic does come up, tell Grandpa that if someone’s feed is filled with nastiness, it says more about them than it does about TikTok’s algorithm.Â
- “DO YOU GUYS LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT? WHAT ABOUT HER LATEST ALBUM?”
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You’d think it’s a pretty tame question, especially since celebrities are typically a frivolous topic of conversation. But since the beginning of the Eras Tour, conversations about Taylor — is her music actually any good? Is her relationship with Travis Kelce a crazy PR stunt? Are her politics nuanced or purely performative? — have skyrocketed.Â
Statistically, (and I’m making this statistic up), there will be at least one Swiftie at the Thanksgiving table. It’s best that Swifties keep any Taylor-related thoughts to themselves to avoid misogynistic comments from Uncle Gary. Even asking if her latest album is worth listening to could end in trouble. People tend to feel pretty strongly about Taylor Swift, and if they don’t, there’s a good chance they’ll ragebait for fun.
Stewart Cook/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. - “CAN YOU BELIEVE ICE HAS BEEN ARRESTING WORKERS EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE VALID DOCUMENTATION?“
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According to the Harvard Crimson, six of the nine workers arrested by ICE from Allston Car Wash this month were granted bail by an immigration judge on November 20. The other three are waiting for their bond hearing.Â
Many of the workers detained had valid green cards or work visas, but could not immediately produce them, nor were they allowed to retrieve them. According to the workers’ attorney, Todd Pomerleau, some of their IDs were just in their lockers.Â
Documentation aside, ICE’s actions are inhumane and violent, both in this raid and in the countless raids across the country since the beginning of the Trump administration. According to Pomerleau, the enforcement action was illegally conducted without due process. It also didn’t just impact the individuals detained; it rippled through the broader community.
It triggered multiple campus protests at Boston University after a student claimed credit for tipping off ICE, with students calling for action from the university to ensure students and the BU community as a whole are safe from community members looking to label them as criminals.Â
If your goal is to avoid fighting with your family and crying into your mashed potatoes, maybe it’s best to steer clear of these four statements. It’s important to speak up for your values and against injustice, but nobody can blame you for valuing your mental health during a stressful post-midterm pre-final Thanksgiving season.
Especially when Grandpa and Uncle Gary are both a beer away from flipping the table.Â
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