These matters once were limited to awkward moments at Tennessee Thanksgiving tables, but the explosion of social media (and lies perpetuated via those platforms) means that every day is Thanksgiving in terms of encountering a distant right-wing family member at your Tennessee table spouting Donald Trump cultist nonsense. The ubiquity of the form also means we can have awkward and possible tense exchanges with complete strangers. This problem only has been exacerbated recently as Trump devotees take to all forms of media to bloviate about his recent win, securing the greater share of popular votes for the first time and a second term in the presidency.

I generally fall into the camp relying on the advice attributed to George Bernard Shaw, “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” I understand the impulse, however, to not let inaccurate (verging on insane) comments go unanswered. So let me offer some descriptive advice about how these exchanges typically proceed. Remember that fact-driven messages have little appeal to Trump-oriented relatives who gleefully voted for Tennessee’s senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn. Some likely believe that the moon landing was faked, but televised wrestling extravaganzas are real.