The news lately is rife with all sorts of political offerings:
(1) Ed Stelmach elected leader of provincial PC Party, and by extension, Premier of Alberta
(2) Stephane Dion elected leader of federal Liberal Party, and by extension Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
(3) Iraq report presented to President George W. Bush
Normally, not such a bad thing. It gets the region talking about politics, about policies that affect them, about how they want the future to take shape. But here's the problem: Family Christmas Gatherings. I may be generalizing here, but the older generation just laps this stuff up. It's like gasoline on a fire. If you let them follow-up on their own political topic introduction, your Christmas meal is in peril.
Here's my recommended course of action taken from a childcare technique called passive discipline through redirection. They introduce the topic, you use this technique to redirect the conversation, and thus save Christmas for your family.
Introduction: "So Ed Stelmach is our new Premier, eh?"
Diversion: "That race was pretty darn close, about as close as the NorthEast division. Those Flames are almost in first place! Think this is the year?"
Technique synopsis: As this is Canada, you can never go wrong with diverting to the topic of Hockey. The key is to draw the parallel between the competition from the leadership race to the competition of the NHL regular season.
Introduction: "Dumb Liberals anyway, voting in that Frenchman! Those guys won't be happy until they ruin this country!"
Diversion: "No more than this warm weather is ruining the ski season. We've had quite a few Christmases without snow, eh?"
Technique synopsis: Weather is the one topic that its virtually impossible to get a political angle on. Given the fact that Calgary December winters are relatively mild, you're diverting the conversation to a positive tone.
Introduction: "Those ungrateful Arabs! We're over there trying to help them, and those bleeding hearts are going to make that report to say we should get out of the Mid-East."
Diversion: "I think our soldiers over there will be concentrating too much on watching the World Junior Tournament. Must be tough on those kids to be away from home for Christmas!"
Technique synopsis: Here is the 'fork in the road' technique. You are presenting the participant with a choice to either pursue the hockey thread, or the family thread, either one presents a positive tone.
(1) Ed Stelmach elected leader of provincial PC Party, and by extension, Premier of Alberta
(2) Stephane Dion elected leader of federal Liberal Party, and by extension Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
(3) Iraq report presented to President George W. Bush
Normally, not such a bad thing. It gets the region talking about politics, about policies that affect them, about how they want the future to take shape. But here's the problem: Family Christmas Gatherings. I may be generalizing here, but the older generation just laps this stuff up. It's like gasoline on a fire. If you let them follow-up on their own political topic introduction, your Christmas meal is in peril.
Here's my recommended course of action taken from a childcare technique called passive discipline through redirection. They introduce the topic, you use this technique to redirect the conversation, and thus save Christmas for your family.
Introduction: "So Ed Stelmach is our new Premier, eh?"
Diversion: "That race was pretty darn close, about as close as the NorthEast division. Those Flames are almost in first place! Think this is the year?"
Technique synopsis: As this is Canada, you can never go wrong with diverting to the topic of Hockey. The key is to draw the parallel between the competition from the leadership race to the competition of the NHL regular season.
Introduction: "Dumb Liberals anyway, voting in that Frenchman! Those guys won't be happy until they ruin this country!"
Diversion: "No more than this warm weather is ruining the ski season. We've had quite a few Christmases without snow, eh?"
Technique synopsis: Weather is the one topic that its virtually impossible to get a political angle on. Given the fact that Calgary December winters are relatively mild, you're diverting the conversation to a positive tone.
Introduction: "Those ungrateful Arabs! We're over there trying to help them, and those bleeding hearts are going to make that report to say we should get out of the Mid-East."
Diversion: "I think our soldiers over there will be concentrating too much on watching the World Junior Tournament. Must be tough on those kids to be away from home for Christmas!"
Technique synopsis: Here is the 'fork in the road' technique. You are presenting the participant with a choice to either pursue the hockey thread, or the family thread, either one presents a positive tone.
It is crucial to employ the diversionary technique immediately, the success of which is diminished with time as the conversation progresses. The older generation loves to pick up the sword and ramble on about politics, even at Christmas. So be ready. Be prepared. Be agile. Be the hero.
2 comments:
You forgot one:
Introduction: Gerry, how'd that lobotomy go?
Gerry: ssssssshhhhhhhh babble babble babble...drool... drool.
Hey, who's the one driving 18 straight hours to Winnipeg? Who's the insane one now?
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