Well, I *almost* ruined belated in-law Thanksgiving.
Some context- I am a teacher. My sister in law is a teacher. My mother in law was a teacher. My sister in law's sister in law (my husband's sister's husband's sister) is a teacher.
And my sister in law's mother in law *votes Republican.* I know this. We generally avoid the subject at family gatherings. We are not so close that she feels comfortable breaching Southern Hospitality protocols to make it an issue. We get by.
But here's the thing. Karen (her name really is Karen) asks me how the school year is going. Not great, I inform her. The teacher shortage has been somewhat disastrous at my district (some of which is national and state factors, some of which could have been mitigated at a local level and werent.)
And she's like "they've got to do something to help yall. They need to pay you better or something."
But Karen, I explain, *they*, the people in charge *cough*, don't WANT to help. This is what they want. It's sabotage. Public education isn't profitable. They want to make it awful for us so they can push for vouchers and funnel money into for-profit private schools.
But, she says, what will happen to the kids who can't go to private schools? Who private schools won't take? (I credit her daughter for this excellent question. Good job, Kendra. I see you trying to de-program your mom. It's working)
*They* don't care about *those* kids, Karen, I say gently. *They* don't want *those* kids to be able to read. To grow up and *vote* because kids from *those* families tend to not vote for Greg Abbott. *They* know that college educated voters vote more blue. It's sabotage.
I see her get quiet. I wonder if she'll push back now that I've named names, said the party, made it explicitly political. There is a tense moment where I can see her respect and love for her daughter and public Ed and education in general suddenly bucking against a lifetime of voting red in Texas. It didn't used to be this way. Republicans didn't always hate education, at least not so directly and openly. I wonder if this is the time when I went just a touch too far and now Thanksgiving is going to get real awkward real fast, because my in laws are VERY good at keeping the drama away from family gatherings like this and I may have just kicked a hornets nest a little too hard.
My mother in law says it's time for pie.
We eat pie. Karen made chocolate mousse, and it's wonderful.
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