6 ms·

People with reasonable answers probably would rather not respond, but politely excuse themselves and give it all a miss.

Technically 6y ago
There's nothing polite about a brush-off. It indicates a lack of respect.
happytoexplain 6y ago
Why? It sounds like you're making the assumption that the parent's topic of conversation is already automatically toxic, and therefore impossible for reasonable people to want to discuss.
- dumpsterdiver 6y ago
  A topic of conversation doesn't have to be toxic to cause reasonable people to avoid engaging with it. There is nuance in every subject, and pursuing those unknown details requires energy. Sometimes people don't have energy available to commit to a highly nuanced subject because they have other obligations. One way of excusing yourself from such a conversation in a (hopefully) unoffensive way would be to make an honest statement like, "Gosh, my brain is so overworked right now that I can't even begin to delve into the nuance of that subject, but I hear where you're coming from."
  - Technically 6y ago
    > A topic of conversation doesn't have to be toxic to cause reasonable people to avoid engaging with it. Sure, until people realize that politics have the capacity to impact their lives negatively, and then all of a sudden the rationality for discussing it is quite clear. > One way of excusing yourself from such a conversation in a (hopefully) unoffensive way would be to make an honest statement like, "Gosh, my brain is so overworked right now that I can't even begin to delve into the nuance of that subject, but I hear where you're coming from." I wouldn't characterize this as a polite excuse so much as an honest admittance—you clearly respect the other person enough to indicate an acknowledgement of the meaning of what they're saying and an incapacity to respond. That is, unless you're lying, which is clearly disrespectful. In that case a "I don't agree but I feel like it's unprofessional to engage in these conversations" would suffice.

Technically 6y ago

There's nothing polite about a brush-off. It indicates a lack of respect.

happytoexplain 6y ago

Why? It sounds like you're making the assumption that the parent's topic of conversation is already automatically toxic, and therefore impossible for reasonable people to want to discuss.

dumpsterdiver 6y ago
A topic of conversation doesn't have to be toxic to cause reasonable people to avoid engaging with it. There is nuance in every subject, and pursuing those unknown details requires energy. Sometimes people don't have energy available to commit to a highly nuanced subject because they have other obligations. One way of excusing yourself from such a conversation in a (hopefully) unoffensive way would be to make an honest statement like, "Gosh, my brain is so overworked right now that I can't even begin to delve into the nuance of that subject, but I hear where you're coming from."
- Technically 6y ago
  > A topic of conversation doesn't have to be toxic to cause reasonable people to avoid engaging with it. Sure, until people realize that politics have the capacity to impact their lives negatively, and then all of a sudden the rationality for discussing it is quite clear. > One way of excusing yourself from such a conversation in a (hopefully) unoffensive way would be to make an honest statement like, "Gosh, my brain is so overworked right now that I can't even begin to delve into the nuance of that subject, but I hear where you're coming from." I wouldn't characterize this as a polite excuse so much as an honest admittance—you clearly respect the other person enough to indicate an acknowledgement of the meaning of what they're saying and an incapacity to respond. That is, unless you're lying, which is clearly disrespectful. In that case a "I don't agree but I feel like it's unprofessional to engage in these conversations" would suffice.