Latinos Are Least Looking Forward to Talking Politics at the Thanksgiving Table

For many families across the U.S., thanksgiving means reuniting with family members after a long time. But bigger tables can mean higher chances of political disagreements, especially in an ever-increasingly polarized country.

Endless articles have been written about the the best -or least harmful- way to deal with these kind of conversations during Thanksgiving, going from understanding of drastically opposing views and patience to directly avoiding the issue.

This year, Latinos are the group that inclines for this last option the most. According to a Quinnipiac poll published this week, 64 percent of respondents from this demographic said they expect to avoid discussing politics during Thanksgiving.

While the figures for other demographics are not far away, with 62 percent of Whites and 58 percent of Blacks answering in the same way, Hispanics are also the ones who least look forward to discussing politics, showing they are the group looking to avoid the issue the most: concretely, 26 percent of respondents said this was the case for them, compared to 29 percent of Whites and 37 percent of Blacks.

Asked about whether political developments over the past year changed the way they feel about discussing politics with friends and family, most demographics said no. But out of those for whom they did, most said it did so for the worse. 26 percent of Hispanics said this was the case for them, compared to 14 percent who said it had changed for the better.

Moreover, a sizable amount believes that social media is mostly to blame for increasing division: 42 percent of Hispanics said they held them "most responsible," while 32 percent chose political leaders and 21 percent went for cable news. The figure compares with 36 percent of Blacks and 33 percent of Whites who chose social media. 24 percent of Blacks and 29 percent of Whites said cable news and 33 percent and 35 percent chose political leaders, respectively.

According to research from Collage Group in 2019, more than three quarters of Hispanics celebrate Thanksgiving, but they do so less than Blacks and Whites. That year, 76 percent of respondents said they would celebrate the holiday, the same amount as Asian Americans but considerably lower than Blacks (87 percent) and Whites (90 percent).

The figures within the demographic, however, vary widely whether Hispanics consider themselves to be unaccultured or bicultural. According to C+R research, 65 percent of the former enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving, compared to 72 percent of the later. Unaccultured Hispanics, the research says, are twice as likely to celebrate at a friend's or neighbor's house. Overall, 96 percent consume American food and 77 percent consume Hispanic food during the holiday.