I stopped my uncle's political argument at dinner after laughing at my brother's joke. How do I make the rule fair?
Family“Funny how politics was allowed five minutes ago,” my uncle said when I asked him to stop arguing at our family dinner.
He was right about the sequence. My brother had made a joke about people who voted differently from him, and I laughed. When my uncle challenged it, the exchange grew louder. I told him this was my house and we weren't doing politics at the table.
I wanted the meal to stay pleasant. I also preferred my brother's view, which made it convenient to treat the joke as harmless and the reply as the problem. My uncle left early and says he won't come back if the rule means only one side can speak.
I'm hosting again next week. I don't want a compulsory debate, but I don't want to enforce a rule only after someone I disagree with responds.
Should I apologise before the next dinner, and what can I reasonably ask of both of them?