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Yep. My grandmother, born in the first decade of the 20th century, had some pretty racist ideas. But when she lived in the UK, she always voted Labour and when she emigrated to the U.S. and became a citizen, she always voted Democrat. And she died before Obama was elected, but I have no doubt she would have voted for Obama even if she had pretty obvious racist issues with her black next-door neighbor.

Reminds me of the story going around during the 2008 election about the canvasser in the south being told by a white person, "we're voting for the n-!"

I have family that are similar. I wouldn’t classify them as racist, but they straddle that line with opinions. I’ve never seen or heard them classify an entire group of people or act discriminatory in person. It is more along the lines of “everyone is equal and nobody should get special treatment” regarding things like affirmative action or the more extreme DEI practices of some companies.

My experience is such that these people can be reached if we keep the lines of communication open rather than do the easy thing of cutting them off. I’ve been able to use their own logic and verbiage (especially verbiage) against them but one can’t go in guns blazing. To change minds, it must feel like their idea. Turn the heat up slowly and introduce doubt and ideas.

My big take away, with people like I described above, is that they are reacting to the more extreme people who would feel right at home in the racist far right if things were just a tad different. Cultural warriors and grievance politics leaders are cancerous regardless of which side of the spectrum they occupy because their goal remains the same: divide the normal people and turn us against each other.

And judging by what happens in my extended family and how it is breaking down on political lines… it is sadly working.