Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Question: How many close friends do you have with major opposing ideas?

  1. #1
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216

    Question: How many close friends do you have with major opposing ideas?

    How many close friends do you have with major opposing ideas?

    Republican vs. Democrat? Conservative vs. Liberal?
    Socialist vs. libertarian?

    Or...

    Libtard vs. cuckservative? Pinko vs. anarchist?

  2. #2
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Always logged in
    Posts
    25,383
    OMG are you kidding? The vast majority of friends vote Democratic and hate Trump. Our friends are drawn from our neighborhood in a blue city. It is an understatement to say they are politically opposite.

    We have two female Trump voting friends. Most other friends are varying degrees of liberal. Well, we did have some Republican gay men friends before they all moved, but they likely are not Trump fans now. Oh wait, we do have a friend who is politically conservative, but his wife is pretty liberal.

    I was excited to run into a fellow conservative at a neighborhood event last Sunday, excited because they are rare in the city. We were attending a dedication of the refurbished civil war canon in our park, and I overheard him talk about the Scottish heritage society. We used to be members, so I broguht that up,with him and learned that he is also in the board of the historic house we support. He is politically active in the neighborhood next to us. He likes history and hence interest in things we like.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    8,306
    I'd say my circle was about 30% traditional conservative, 20% conventional liberal, 5% or so left or right fringers of various stripes and 45% who don't really much care. So I'd guess overall maybe a third of my acquaintances share my views (or at least come close). But we are all nice midwesterners not much inclined to choose our friends based on their voting record.

  4. #4
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Posts
    6,618
    Of the three-four close friends I mentioned in the other thread, I'd say one is somewhat more conservative politically/socially than I am and one is much more so (an "American Evangelical Christian"). Go out one more "ring" and I'd say maybe a third of those folks see the world substantially different than I do in one way or another. Thinking back, those probably are ratios that have stuck for me for decades.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  5. #5
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,169
    Most times politics doesn't enter any discussions. Occasionally, one friend will be outspoken liberal vs more conservative others but we are such a mild form of both views that it is not really noticeable. UL, yep, that is the Canadian way
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  6. #6
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    I have a Republican husband so we don't talk politics. Most my friends are Democrats. I did not choose them based on that but it just turned out that way. We had one set of friends that were Republicans and it was fine but they would not adhere to the not to discuss politics so that was not fun. Then when we retired and downsized they thought it was a dumb idea, was jealous of our small pensions and after about a year of every encounter not being fun we dropped them. They thought you should be striving for bigger and better houses and everything. They were 10 years older then us and still working and just built a huge house although they have no kids, no grand kids and don't host events. I never said a word about their financial choices but they couldn't help commenting on ours.

  7. #7
    Senior Member The Storyteller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Rural Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,145
    I'm a liberal atheistic socialist. I live in rural Oklahoma and went to high school in Texas. If I didn't have conservative evangelical friends, I wouldn't have any.

    (That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.)
    "There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." --Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    508
    Honestly I do not bridge the topic of politics with anyone. Husband and I never talk politics as we have some differing opinions, so no point. My dear friend is hard core Republican to the bone. Whoa we talk about flowers and weeds and the stray cats, price of gas, OMG why is your hair like that? anything but politics. Other dear friend is as liberal as one can be, we walk for hours a week ands solve all world problems, well she marches and goes to the state capital and Washington for her opinions. It bothers her that I just say agree but I can't change it. So in the end we just go back to flowers and all that stuff. PS those two ladies live next door to each other and never really talk as they know what would happen.

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    5,478
    Back home, just about everyone we knew had liberal viewpoints and the discussion were free flowing and usually in agreement. And I worked at one of those damn liberal universities. My two closest friends there were of similar mindset. If anyone had different ideas, I was not aware of them. As I am starting over here, I tread carefully. It's been kind of funny moving to a mostly conservative area and trying not to express opinions on all the political silliness going on. When my elderly neighbor mentioned all those crazy liberals up in Boulder, I just nodded and changed the conversation. And that same sentiment came up with several other neighbors. But yesterday, while conversing with another neighbor, I detected a more liberal viewpoint as she began criticizing the current administration and their actions. On a similar topic, I have had several folk here ask me if I had found my "church family" yet. Huh?

  10. #10
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    Quote Originally Posted by The Storyteller View Post
    I'm a liberal atheistic socialist. I live in rural Oklahoma and went to high school in Texas. If I didn't have conservative evangelical friends, I wouldn't have any.

    (That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.)
    I get it!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •