By Darlin TilleryShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA woman’s plan to attend a Super Bowl party with her extended family unraveled after a phone call that reframed the gathering around politics and culture rather than football.
The 32-year-old mother, posting on Reddit as SlowHuckleberry587, said she and her husband had been looking forward to the event at her grandparents’ home, where she rarely gets to see relatives anymore.
The conflict began when her father asked whether the original poster (OP) and her husband would be upset if the family turned off the Super Bowl halftime show and switched to programming from Turning Point USA. The alternative was framed as a protest against the halftime performer, Bad Bunny.
'Anti-white'
The OP said the question left her stunned. Her husband is Hispanic and Bad Bunny’s music had never been an issue at past gatherings.
When she objected, her father argued that having a Spanish-speaking artist headline the show was “anti-white” and suggested the performer would use the platform to criticize immigration enforcement.
She said the exchange felt racially charged and made her question whether the evening would be dominated by political commentary.
...The conversation ended with the OP telling her father she would not attend if the night involved political statements she would be expected to endure silently. After hanging up, she learned a cousin had already decided to skip the party after being yelled at during a recent visit over her own views.
While her husband supported staying home, her brother urged her to reconsider, saying the tension would likely be limited to the halftime show.
Supporters' Warnings
The appeal for advice provoked strong reactions from fellow Reddit commentators in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Many urged her to prioritize her child and spouse.
As one individual summed up, "If your husband is Hispanic, so is your child. PLEASE do not expose your kid to anti-Hispanic rhetoric from your own family.
"Your brother needs to understand that your husband and kid are actively endangered by that rhetoric now more than ever.”
Another person suggested an alternative, writing, “You and cousin should team up to host your own low-key gathering instead.”
Experts who have spoken to Newsweek in the past about family conflict say situations like this often escalate when relatives dismiss or shut down differing perspectives.
Clinical psychologist Wendy O’Neill said, “The term toxicity can be an unhelpful label that leads to the pathologizing of an individual,” adding that it can be more useful to look at, “situations or events that may be ‘toxic’ or examine the way interactions play out,” according to Newsweek.
'Toxic people'
Another Newsweek report on handling difficult relatives included guidance from psychologist Greg Kushnick, who told the publication, “Toxic people are typically unable to place themselves in other people’s shoes and adjust their behavior accordingly.
"They usually have their version of reality and are closed off to other people’s perspectives."
For the woman with the dilemma, she misses the closeness she once had with her extended family, but feels unwilling to subject her husband and young son to comments she views as hostile.
Whether she stayed home for a quiet Super Bowl or tried the family gathering, the call itself changed how the event would feel to her.
Newsweek has reached out to SlowHuckleberry587 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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