How do you handle Family Conflicts?

[Supr49er]

With the Holidays nearly here, my extended family has at least one get together, and there is an "incident" every year.

How do you handle these family conflicts?

I usually try to stay out of them, but that proves very difficult.

Note: Not attending (though I have considered it) is not an option.

[onodera]

Watch amusedly.

[Japher]

I usually bring up the issue as quickly as possible so that the heavy drinking can ensue.

[Jon Miller]

I don't spend much time with my family anymore.

JM

[snoopy369]

I largely ignore them.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

They get a lot rarer when they start dying off. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[Zkribbler]

Set the house on fire. They'll soon forget their petty squabbles.

[Elok]

"How do you handle Family Conflicts?" is like "How do you handle a disaster?" Both are too vague to be answered in a useful fashion. Just as you handle a hurricane differently from a tornado or wildfire, so you have to adjust reactions to conflicts within a family based on number of participants, temperament, past history, cause of the squabble, proximity of non-family witnesses, personal bravery, liquor content...et cetera.

EDIT: My family doesn't have many real conflicts, but IIRC our reaction to the last one was to lay low and wait for it to blow over, then pretend it never happened. I say "our reaction" because I was in my early-to-mid teens at the time and didn't know how to react, so I followed everyone else's lead.

[Japher]

Your family sounds boring.

[Tuberski]

CO2 fire extinguishers.

ACK!

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Elok
"How do you handle Family Conflicts?" is like "How do you handle a disaster?" Both are too vague to be answered in a useful fashion. Just as you handle a hurricane differently from a tornado or wildfire, so you have to adjust reactions to conflicts within a family based on number of participants, temperament, past history, cause of the squabble, proximity of non-family witnesses, personal bravery, liquor content...et cetera.

EDIT: My family doesn't have many real conflicts, but IIRC our reaction to the last one was to lay low and wait for it to blow over, then pretend it never happened. I say "our reaction" because I was in my early-to-mid teens at the time and didn't know how to react, so I followed everyone else's lead.

What was it?

[Krill]

I refuse to speak to or see one of my uncles because he's a complete ****wit and tool of his wife. And they both know it, but they won't push at all because they know I'm right and I have the backing of the rest of the family. If I didn't have the backing of the rest of my family...I'd do the same thing anyway and just go into work or stay at uni if I was told I had to see him, because at the end of the day I make my own decisions about other people and whether I want to allow them in my life or not, and I won't bow to others opinions of what I should do without due cause.

Then again, in my case I'm doing this because of a series of incidents that are pretty ****ing serious, if it was just something petty I'd take the piss out of whoever was being priggish and laugh at them until they realise the funny side or get the **** out of the house.

[ZEE]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I don't spend much time with my family anymore.

JM

[DRoseDARs]

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Krill
I refuse to speak to or see one of my uncles because he's a complete ****wit and tool of his wife. And they both know it, but they won't push at all because they know I'm right and I have the backing of the rest of the family. If I didn't have the backing of the rest of my family...I'd do the same thing anyway and just go into work or stay at uni if I was told I had to see him, because at the end of the day I make my own decisions about other people and whether I want to allow them in my life or not, and I won't bow to others opinions of what I should do without due cause.

Then again, in my case I'm doing this because of a series of incidents that are pretty ****ing serious, if it was just something petty I'd take the piss out of whoever was being priggish and laugh at them until they realise the funny side or get the **** out of the house.

How serious? One of my uncles stole a house from his brothers (my father included) and we all still talk to him.