First-time poster. I was at a big celebration for my great aunt at a restaurant, and at my table we were sharing what we planned to order. When another family member and I said we were each considering the vegetable plate, an extended relative loudly proclaimed that she was going to call us freaks and then launched into a several-minute rant about how annoying it was when her daughter had been a vegan for many years.
This kind of picking-on, put-down behavior isn't unusual in my family, regardless of the topic, but it's often done in a "gregarious" way that makes it seem like they think they're just making good conversation and contributing to the party.
I know they're not, and I've been working on standing up for myself. But I'm not very gregarious myself (I'm a pretty strong introvert), and if possible, I'd like to do it in a way that doesn't bring down the whole mood. The only thing I can come up with is something like "I'm no longer accepting criticism about things that don't affect you." That will definitely bring down the mood.
TIA for any suggestions on what to say that will turn conversations like these around to something uplifting.