Assignment 14 - Grace Bond

This year, Thanksgiving was different for my family. My family has never been one to discuss politics, mostly because it is clear how the majority leans. On one side, we have 5 old white men with open carry pistols on their hips and confederate flags on their boots, and on the other, a UChicago Law graduate and a 16-year-old girl whose favorite hobby this last November was canvassing for Democrats. I’m the first in my family to “come out of the closet,” for lack of a better term. The untold tension between my family members and me this year was higher than ever before. After a morning of writing a long Instagram post about how grateful I was that I did not have to be scared of my government on basis of race (possibly alluding to America’s future), I was greeted by a Confederate flag alongside the American one hanging on my uncle’s porch. Of course I would say I love my family, but whether it is out of habit or obligation, I will never be sure. This Thanksgiving was one for the books; I’m hopeful that in the future I might feel comfortable in my own skin (my skin being my beautiful Kentucky shirt with my favorite donkey in the middle).

P.S. As there was some confusion, NO, I am not gay (but so what if I am). And if I were I doubt I would choose to reveal it in a blog post to my peers. I was using the term loosely because being Democratic is just as surprising to my extended family.