We probably all have some form of one: that vaguely racist uncle who drops weird comments every now and again about immigration and border control, a grandmother who demands that only the granddaughters help in the kitchen. Essentially, they are someone that, as far as you're concerned, is just out of touch with the reality of how things are, how things have progressed and changed, and has certainly never had a meaningful exposure to an experience that might cleanse them of those ideas. For me, it was a very conservative grandfather who didn't understand the Black Lives Matter campaign.

"Totally stupid, if you ask me," he spout out after turning off a Fox News dissection on BLM.

"Excuse me?" I think I probably coughed out in a bit of disbelief. "What do you even mean by that?"

That was the beginning of what was--of what is-- an uncomfortably ongoing fight. It's ruined a lot of family dinners and car rides, and it's created a bit of a label for me amongst my family as an instigator. Another family member at one point approached me and said, "Why say anything at all?"

So, yeah, why would I say anything at all? He's just an old man with opinions different than mine, what's the big deal? Couldn't I just learn to coexist?

As a member of the Information Generation, I have more access to political, cultural and social ideas than any generation before me. I am able to form my opinions in entirely new ways because of first hand documentation and real time amateur journalism on issues and events, that I would otherwise have to learn about on the news, because of things like Facebook and Twitter. I am able to engage with people infinitely diverse from myself that I just wouldn't have been able to 20 years ago.

I thought about it for a long, long time and found myself swinging back and forth on the issue again and again and again. Just when I thought I'd finally agreed to stay quiet on the issue from that point forward, I had some sort of reckoning with myself. I'm educated on these issues. I'm passionate about these issues. I am correct about these issues. I do not have to pardon bigoted and selfish opinions because they originate from a family member that I love.

And so I didn't stay quiet. I bothered him whenever and wherever appropriate about his comments. I called him out for every mannerism and micro aggression. I became rapidly unpopular in my family, not because the rest of them disagreed with me on my opinions, but because to them, having a peaceful and stress free dinner was more important.

But that's okay. For me, I'm more bothered by doing nothing about the racist comments or the sexist implications than I am the tensions or fighting. Calling out a family member on these kinds of issues can be really, really painful and at times borderline aggressive, but it is, without a doubt, necessary.

Realizing that just because they are older than you or more experienced than you are doesn't make them anymore educated about current day issues than you, and it doesn't mean that their opinions are anymore valid or important than yours. In many cases, I think the opposite may be true. Going forward, don't be afraid to call these people out. Don't be afraid to present them with challenging ideas or inform them that they actually have no idea what they're talking about. It is so much more loving and caring to correct these people where they are wrong than it is to let it slide and grow.