Being friends with those with opposite ideologies.

[Dave Gray]

This is an off-shoot of another thread, but I wanted to give my two cents.

I don't want to come across that I wouldn't be friends with a super-hyper-right-winger, but realistically, I'm not.  We just have nothing in common.  If you're super into guns and Jesus, we're probably not all that compatible, not that you're not a good person.  Also, if you take the worst parts of the right (like racism and xenophobia), we just don't see eye to eye on the world.

I definitely do have friends that are borderline racists, for certain.  I don't think it's helpful to throw them away, though.  I just try to be a positive influence and lend a different voice.

I absolutely will (and have) unfriended people who are pompous loudmouths about shitty politics, though.  I have no regrets about that.  If you're on Facebook, using up your breath to shit-talk Hillary Clinton or Cortez on a daily basis, I just don't have time for you.  I find it disrespectful, to dump your unsolicited swill on me...so, you do you, but there are consequences.  I don't use Facebook for that kind of thing and I don't want it used at me for that kind of thing, either.  It just so happens that the people I've gathered in my life who do that kind of thing are not people I look up to, so it's not a loss, really.  The are the racist dregs, blowhards, and idiots that I have amassed over the years.

That said, I don't mind political posts.  I think if you're passionate about an issue and you post a well-reasoned thought or opinion about something, I got no beef with it.  I might not agree, but whatever.

What I can't stand is the feeling that I'm being trolled or mocked.  If you do that, just fuck off and find someone else.  If the word "libtard" is in your lexicon, we're not going to be friends...that's just kinda how it is.

I find it annoying when people I do agree with have Internet crusades about things, so when I find those things particularly unwelcome when they're harmful and shitty view-points.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  You can post whatever you want, but then deal with the fallout.


This has happened to me recently a lot, because I'm in this costuming group called the 501st and I'm being friend by lots (and I mean LOTS) of people in this club.  And there are conservatives...which is fine.  But when they're just spewing conservative memes all day, I unfriend them.  Not for being conservatives, but for being assholes.  I wouldn't be friends with someone who espoused conservative shit-talking in everyday conversation so I don't stand for it online, either.

[CF DolFan]

This is an off-shoot of another thread, but I wanted to give my two cents.

I don't want to come across that I wouldn't be friends with a super-hyper-right-winger, but realistically, I'm not.  We just have nothing in common.  If you're super into guns and Jesus, we're probably not all that compatible, not that you're not a good person.  Also, if you take the worst parts of the right (like racism and xenophobia), we just don't see eye to eye on the world.

I definitely do have friends that are borderline racists, for certain.  I don't think it's helpful to throw them away, though.  I just try to be a positive influence and lend a different voice.

I absolutely will (and have) unfriended people who are pompous loudmouths about shitty politics, though.  I have no regrets about that.  If you're on Facebook, using up your breath to shit-talk Hillary Clinton or Cortez on a daily basis, I just don't have time for you.  I find it disrespectful, to dump your unsolicited swill on me...so, you do you, but there are consequences.  I don't use Facebook for that kind of thing and I don't want it used at me for that kind of thing, either.  It just so happens that the people I've gathered in my life who do that kind of thing are not people I look up to, so it's not a loss, really.  The are the racist dregs, blowhards, and idiots that I have amassed over the years.

That said, I don't mind political posts.  I think if you're passionate about an issue and you post a well-reasoned thought or opinion about something, I got no beef with it.  I might not agree, but whatever.

What I can't stand is the feeling that I'm being trolled or mocked.  If you do that, just fuck off and find someone else.  If the word "libtard" is in your lexicon, we're not going to be friends...that's just kinda how it is.

I find it annoying when people I do agree with have Internet crusades about things, so when I find those things particularly unwelcome when they're harmful and shitty view-points.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  You can post whatever you want, but then deal with the fallout.


This has happened to me recently a lot, because I'm in this costuming group called the 501st and I'm being friend by lots (and I mean LOTS) of people in this club.  And there are conservatives...which is fine.  But when they're just spewing conservative memes all day, I unfriend them.  Not for being conservatives, but for being assholes.  I wouldn't be friends with someone who espoused conservative shit-talking in everyday conversation so I don't stand for it online, either.

I don't disagree with much that you said except I have many friends on both sides of the fence. Since I grew up a poor Democrat and became a middle class Republican in a town with many blacks who I honestly love as good friends ... I see both sides of many arguments. One of my best friends is actually an Arab Muslim ... although he practices his religion like most of the US practices Christianity .... not very much. There isn't anything he or I could say to insult each other and I love that honesty between us.   

With that said I read some of the posts from my liberal and black friends and think ... how could you ever like me and when did that hate develop? It's weird but the truth is social media perpetrates yourself as what you post and not necessarily who you really are. What your online friends see is typically only one piece of you. Most people never post negative things and as such ... some people think their life is rosey when it's really not. Some people only think politics on social media because that is where they see it. All day long they have been with their friends of different thoughts but typically politics doesn't come up and neither does how many guns I may have or whatever else could define our differences.

I have not deleted people from social media but during those tense periods when it gets to be too much I hide them until I thin things are better. Of course there are some people who only post political stuff and they are rather annoying regardless of I agree or not.  

[Tenshot13]

I feel like I could take your entire post, and edit it to the other direction.  I think we're all on different sides of the same coin.

This is an off-shoot of another thread, but I wanted to give my two cents.

I don't want to come across that I wouldn't be friends with a super-hyper-right-winger, but realistically, I'm not.  We just have nothing in common.  If you're super into guns and Jesus, we're probably not all that compatible, not that you're not a good person.  Also, if you take the worst parts of the right (like racism and xenophobia), we just don't see eye to eye on the world.

I am friends with at least one super-hyper-left-winger.  I am friends with him because he's an honest and good person, and we share a lot of the same interests such as fishing and video games.  He is the definition of an SJW, and although he is a bit misguided IMO and annoyingly throwing his political beliefs around, he's about as genuine of a person I've ever met.  When you speak of the worst parts of the right, I'll have to counter that with the worst parts of the left, which is becoming a hate culture (I'm not saying the far right isn't a hate culture, it most certainly is, but this is a different type of hate culture).  People are being labeled racists when they aren't, conclusions are being made before any facts come out, and speaking of facts on hard topics, you are considered racist for even bringing it up.  Extreme left thinks violence against hate groups is the answer, but violence is never the answer.  

I definitely do have friends that are borderline racists, for certain.  I don't think it's helpful to throw them away, though.  I just try to be a positive influence and lend a different voice.

I agree with this.  I'm trying to do better in life by providing a positive example instead of blaming others or shaming them.

I absolutely will (and have) unfriended people who are pompous loudmouths about shitty politics, though.  I have no regrets about that.  If you're on Facebook, using up your breath to shit-talk Hillary Clinton or Cortez on a daily basis, I just don't have time for you.  I find it disrespectful, to dump your unsolicited swill on me...so, you do you, but there are consequences.  I don't use Facebook for that kind of thing and I don't want it used at me for that kind of thing, either.  It just so happens that the people I've gathered in my life who do that kind of thing are not people I look up to, so it's not a loss, really.  The are the racist dregs, blowhards, and idiots that I have amassed over the years.

I see you shit-talk Hilary and AOC and raise you anything about Trump whether actual or made up.  I can't tell you how many posts I've seen on pee gate.  I get it, you don't like him, I don't need to see it every day.  I stay off FB because of politics.  The other side of that issue, I've blocked my own sister in law for consistently posting pro-Trump stuff every day.

That said, I don't mind political posts.  I think if you're passionate about an issue and you post a well-reasoned thought or opinion about something, I got no beef with it.  I might not agree, but whatever.

What I can't stand is the feeling that I'm being trolled or mocked.  If you do that, just fuck off and find someone else.  If the word "libtard" is in your lexicon, we're not going to be friends...that's just kinda how it is.

Again, I agree.  Libtard is a term that makes me cringe, as well as Trumptard, Drumpf...all of that is childish.  The party of "tolerance" shouldn't be calling anyone "tard."

I find it annoying when people I do agree with have Internet crusades about things, so when I find those things particularly unwelcome when they're harmful and shitty view-points.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  You can post whatever you want, but then deal with the fallout.


This has happened to me recently a lot, because I'm in this costuming group called the 501st and I'm being friend by lots (and I mean LOTS) of people in this club.  And there are conservatives...which is fine.  But when they're just spewing conservative memes all day, I unfriend them.  Not for being conservatives, but for being assholes.  I wouldn't be friends with someone who espoused conservative shit-talking in everyday conversation so I don't stand for it online, either.

Again I agree.

I would attribute this to people being way into something.  Usually, they are not addressing something in their own life, so they need an outlet, and take on a cause bigger than themselves.

[Pappy13]

The hard part is when those people are part of your own family. I just hide their posts in that case. Seems to work for me.

[Dave Gray]

It's also religion.  I have someone in my family who is so far up Jesus' ass that it makes me cringe.  It's fine that she's devout, but it's just every-day, 24-hour Jesus memes and God talk...like...for Fuck's sake, get a hobby.

She's a nice person and we get along fine, but it makes it hard to just get preached to about any specific topic on a daily.  Like, get some diversity of interest in your life.

I even have it with Star Wars.  I love Star Wars, so it doesn't bother me too much, but I have friends that literally only post Star Wars stuff all day long.  I imagine it's hard to be friends with that person if they're not a devout fan.

[Spider-Dan]

Well, as long as we're pulling from other threads:

I can understand the philosophy of separating politics (or religion) from friendship.  And - although I wouldn't do it myself - I can understand using  a disqualifying standard of bad actions, not words.  But what I don't understand is someone who believes in that kind of standard having a problem with an ISIS bride.

As I see it, there's an escalating level of responsibility for reprehensible action:

1) supporting it privately
2) openly expressing advocacy for it, or public support for those who do
3) giving material support (votes/money/time) to people directly attempting to enact said action
4) physically enacting the action yourself (including the passing of laws to do so)

Unless the ISIS brides are out there placing bombs themselves, I count them in the third group... which, to me, makes them about the same as someone who votes for or donates to a David Duke campaign.  So from my perspective, the idea that I could consider an American citizen who became an ISIS bride a "friend" I can have lunch with, yet also think she is too dangerous to enter the country... just seems crazy.

[Phishfan]

Get off the social media. Being "friended " doesn't make you friends. I have met several members and past members and at best we are acquaintances.

And to give some depth to my earlier post, yes it feels like that is all my former friend talks about. I can't do it. Talking to me about ghosts, too much aliens theory, world conspiracy, flat Earth, etc. will immediately cause me to shut you down. Politics I can definitely handle but not baiting. I strictly mean policy and open discussion.

[SCFinfan]

At my firm I employ:

one 50-yo boomer democrat (but is an ex-officer so owns a gun)
one 62 year old mainline social conservative republican (sort of a bush 1 republican)
one 47 year old socially liberal republican (sort of libertarian)
and one 35 year old cuban disaffected republican (he votes however he feels but is registered as an R, and his dad is from cuba).

I find the ideological mix is helpful. I don't tell anyone who to vote for, and I let them do and think as they please on fb. They extend me the same courtesy. We all get along.

I also have friends of differing persuasions, though I notice its easier to get heated with them online than it is in real life. 

[Spider-Dan]

I think we should also draw a pretty firm distinction between "friends" and "coworkers."

[BuccaneerBrad]

I think we should also draw a pretty firm distinction between "friends" and "coworkers."

Exactly.   Your friendship with co-workers is based on the fact that you work together, nothing more.   Once you leave the job, the friendship is pretty much done.   Kinda like high school where you have a cluster of friends for four years, then after graduation, you pretty much never see them again. 

[Dolphster]

I do my best to just avoid discussing politics and religion with friends and coworkers.  Being an atheist and Libertarian I am usually on the unpopular side of just about everyone. LOL

[Dave Gray]

Get off the social media.

I can't.  I belong to clubs that require Facebook as a tool to share important information.  I don't have to browse it, I suppose, but I do have to remain connected.

[pondwater]

I do my best to just avoid discussing politics and religion with friends and coworkers.  Being an atheist and Libertarian I am usually on the unpopular side of just about everyone. LOL

I know what you mean, people like us are outcasts, LMAO. Hello Mr. Atheist Libertarian, my name is Apathist Libertarian. Wanna argue about God?

[stinkfish]

If my WASP Democrat Red Sox fan father and my Catholic Republican Yankees fan mother could have stayed married for over forty years, then everybody should be able to get along with everybody else. But boy do I remember some serious fights though. Lol

[Sunstroke]

I do my best to just avoid discussing politics and religion with friends and coworkers.  Being an atheist and Libertarian I am usually on the unpopular side of just about everyone. LOL

I would say "Amen" to this, but it would seem hypocritical.