Donald Trump administration — have no obligation to engage with family members who supported the president-elect.Appearing on MSNBC The ReidOut, Dr. Amanda Calhoun, a psychiatry resident at Yale Child Study Center and Yale School of Medicine, spoke with host Joy Reid about how communities who feel attacked by Trump’s rhetoric or policies should cope with their post-election feelings of despair and fear about the future.Many LGBTQ advocates, especially transgender people — as well as women and racial or ethnic minorities — have argued that a vote for Trump is an act of “violence” against the marginalized communities he targets with his inflammatory statements.Reid asked Calhoun how women, LGBTQ people, and other groups should approach the holiday season if they have to interact with family members or acquaintances who are Trump supporters.“Do you recommend, just from a psychological standpoint, being around them?” Reid asked.“So I’m glad you asked this question,” Calhoun said, “because there is a push — I think, a societal norm — that, if somebody is your family, that they are entitled to your time.
And I think the answer is absolutely not.”Calhoun continued, “If you are going into a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends, who you know have voted in ways that are against you, like what you said, that are against your livelihood…it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why. You know, to say, ‘I have a problem with the way that you voted, because it went against my very livelihood, and I’m not going to be around you this holiday.
I need to take some space for me.’ … If you feel like you need to establish boundaries with people, whether they’re your family or not, I think you should very much feel entitled to do so. And I think it may be essential for your mental health.”Right-wing social media users were furious over Calhoun’s remarks, accusing MSNBC of dividing families and sowing discord.
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