Do you have friends of opposite political leanings?

[Canned Heat]

I have a few close friends and family that believe in many ways totally opposite of me in the the political arena. Have you closed the door on those people or do you believe that opposites can coexist on a personal level?
No arguing, just explain if certain belief structures inhibit you from trusting and having close friendships.

 

[O-Ville_CAT_FAN]

I have several friends and family who believe opposite things as me. I just try to make sure politics/religion rarely come up in discussion with them and we go on about our business.

 

[Deeeefense]

I'm centrist Dem but have friends that are on the far right and one pretty far left. One of my tennis buddies is actually an officer in the local Tea Party Chapter.

I never let politics or religion impact friendships or social activity. If it comes up I tell people that everyone has opinions, and beliefs and we all have a right to express them or not.

 

[krazykats]

Yep

 

[FtWorthCat]

I have a few close friends and family that believe in many ways totally opposite of me in the the political arena. Have you closed the door on those people or do you believe that opposites can coexist on a personal level?
No arguing, just explain if certain belief structures inhibit you from trusting and having close friendships.

Certainly, and a bunch of them. I respect their opinion, no matter how wrong they are. I get more and more apolitical the older I get though. So I really don't get too upset about politics any more. You get one vote, and that's it. You cant change anything, because everyone's mind is already made up and they're all convinced they're right. So why get all worked up over it?

 

[bthaunert]

Are there people on this board that would actually answer this question with a no? Guess I just figured we all have family and friends that have different beliefs than us.

 

[Kooky Kats]

But do you have UofL fans as friends?

 

[RacerX.ksr]

Show me a conservative that doesn't have any liberal friends, and I'll show a conservative that I don't want to be around either.

 

[P.PattersonISwalkingthruthatdoor]

The fact that this has to be asked is an incredibly depressing indictment of the nature of public discourse these days.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

I'd be very lonely and bored if I was only friends with people that agreed with me about everything.

 

[domino79]

Actually most of my compadres lean opposite me politically.

 

[Blueisbest]

Some of my best friends are Republicans.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

I only hang out with people who believe exactly as I do on every topic under the sun.

 

[Larry00]

But do you have UofL fans as friends?

2 of my best friends in the world are UL fans...another is a Michigan fan. I've got 2 good buddies at work that are a Dukie and a Tar Heel. These arguments run way deeper than politics!!!

 

[KingOfBBN]

2 of my best friends in the world are UL fans...another is a Michigan fan. I've got 2 good buddies at work that are a Dukie and a Tar Heel. These arguments run way deeper than politics!!!

I lost a close friendship of mine of 11 years after the 2014 UK/UofL Sweet 16 game because he takes it way too seriously. WAY TOO SERIOUSLY! I went on twitter after the Cats won and just posted some trash talk in general like "Eat it, Cards fans. Love those tears" or something like that (not diffracted to anyone personally) and he freaked and took it way too far and got personal and started insulting my family and everything. He was an ***. He did a more tame drunken version of this after the Woodson to Stevie pass in 07' but got over it within a month. This time?

Haven't spoken to him since even after I tried to tell him to chill out on a game featuring two teams that neither of us played for. Did I mention he's 40?

 

[MegaBlue05]

Nope.

My family seems to be split both ways, and I'm friends with conservatives, liberals, independents and non-voters. I might disagree with someone's beliefs, but I'd never not like them because of it.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

As a Libertarian I have very few friends or family that are on the same page with me. I really couldn't care any less about people's political leanings. We all have opinions, and not all of yours line up with all of mine. No biggie! Life's too short to be concerned over such things.

 

[BlueRaider22]

A lot of people don't know what they are.....or what they believe for starters.

My immediate family growing up were quite conservative. Not necessarily Republicans, but definitely too conservative to be Democrats. My wife's family are staunch Democrats. As I've gotten to know them, I've discovered a very weird phenomenon with them. In general, they are fairly conservative, God-fearing, Baptist, SE KY people. When you ask them about Obama, they support him and cheer for him to the max......or any other Democratic name.....the Clintons, etc. However, when you ask them their opinion on varying topics, they (unknowingly) don't align with their party. Basically if you had them take a test on issues you would tend to find that every one of them would probably be identified as a Republican.....which is just blasphemous in their eyes. Then you ask them why they are Democrats.....and they reply, "My granddaddy was a Democrat, my daddy was a Democrat, my brothers are democrats, so I'm going to vote Democrat."

I've since educated my wife quite well and she has come to see that she's more or less an Independent.

But I've come to see this with a lot of people around me. People blindly following parties....without really questioning themselves why.

I've printed out platforms of JFK, GW Bush, Bill Clinton, Obama, etc.....removed their names....and asked people if they would vote for any of them. Even though they may identify with a party, they often can't tell who's platform they are. And often they vote for one that is clearly out of their party line.....then you tell them who the names are and they start saying that I changed the info......or they say, "Well, I meant to say that I'd vote for so-and-so."

People are sheep...

 

[jwheat]

With my beliefs most everyone is opposite

 

[LordEgg_rivals16573]

my views keep evolving, but i will say a couple of my good friends are avowed Marxists and many more are left leaning with an equal number that are damn near Mad Max Right Wing Anarchists. Makes for great beer drinking.

 

[Chuckinden]

I used to have friends who opposed my way of thinking, but it only took me 15 minutes to change all their minds. :sunglasses:

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

Most of my friends range from centrists to far left with some apathetic/cynical people, but I do have friends and a lot of family that are conservative.

 

[BlueRaider22]

I used to have friends who opposed my way of thinking, but it only took me 15 minutes to change all their minds. :sunglasses:

 

[GGCAT]

Iam the sole liberal awash in a conservative gumbo of family and friends ranging from very centrist almost teetering to the left to absolute extreme right wing whack jobs who hold true to every stereotype that one can come up with when profiling conservatives.

And I love to debate with everyone of them. Knowing that I'm never going to change them or they me, but we all just like to keep the conversations lively.

Because as has been said earlier, if we only ran with those we agreed with, what a boring, bland world this would be.

 

[mashburned]

Yea, and they gay as hell, tbh.

 

[neilborders]

I try to avoid being friends with people who enjoy talking about politics, even if their beliefs are similar to mine.

 

[Barong23]

If you only associate and listen to folks that agree with you and think the same way you do then you cannot learn anything new. Learning comes from the uncomfortable act of contention, of disagreement, of encountering differences you have not considered before. I am far more interested in those that disagree with me than those that agree.

 

[qwesley]

I am far more interested in those that disagree with me than those that agree.

Dubious, your listening likely is limited to calculating at which point you can interject your asbergerish ramblings.

 

[We-Todd-Did]

I'ma fairly conservative democrat and my family extends slightly in either direction. My coworkers are a different story - they run from just conservative to full blown Alex Jones wingnut. I have heard every Fox talking point, every halfassed conspiracy theory, and get daily recaps of what someone on Fox said last night, all smothered in a rapture theory/hand of God/doomsday gravy because we elected a mooslim. When people are just regurgitating something from someone else I have no respect for what they say. There are posters on here that I have completely disagreed with but I have a lot of respect for because they are individual thinkers. I guess I like pretty much anyone who isn't intellectually lazy.

 

[BlueRaider22]

I guess I like pretty much anyone who isn't intellectually lazy.

I not only like this, I love this.

 

[TriangleUKCat]

NO!

What a preposterous inquiry, IMO. I don't consort with THOSE swine, even if they are perfectly great human beings.

First thing I ask a new acquaintance is their political disposition, with a skeptical furled brow and arms defensively crossed, of course.

 

[anon_l8pbkn96tg3j6]

My grandparents on either side of the family were as diametrically opposed as possible. Dad's parents are lifetime NRA members and mom's parents never met a democrat that didn't walk on water. I constantly explored my disagreeables with the other side, and have become an anarchist. Now nobody agrees with me but its all good, I can at least have partial conversations with both sides. It definitely gets weird when the conversatino goes to the military with my father, or taxes with granny . . . but its better than what it was.

 

[starchief]

Old fart here. All I can say is that, if a person has the ability to study issues objectively, their political leanings will change as the years go by. One just views the world differently as they get older (if they remain engaged). Some liberal ideas will turn more conservative and conservative ideas will turn more liberal. Unfortunately many people never gain an ability to look at issues objectively.

 

[ukalumni00]

Don't talk much about politics with friends or family. Casual conversations at times but do not go into depth. I have learned that it's just best to keep my thoughts to myself and talk about something else. That said, most of my closest friends and family are Republicans or at least think they are.

 

[rmattox]

Old fart here. All I can say is that, if a person has the ability to study issues objectively, their political leanings will change as the years go by. One just views the world differently as they get older (if they remain engaged). Some liberal ideas will turn more conservative and conservative ideas will turn more liberal. Unfortunately many people never gain an ability to look at issues objectively.

As I've aged, I find the issues are much more complicated than simply taking a conservative or liberal position. For example: I'm more for caring for those that are truly less fortunate (does not include those who won't take advantage of opportunities like MOST generational welfare recipients)/ but at the same time, I'm not for raising taxes or dangerously reducing defense spending. I find there seem to be more dilemmas than easy answers.

 

[Chuckinden]

Old fart here. All I can say is that, if a person has the ability to study issues objectively, their political leanings will change as the years go by. One just views the world differently as they get older (if they remain engaged). Some liberal ideas will turn more conservative and conservative ideas will turn more liberal. Unfortunately many people never gain an ability to look at issues objectively.

Unfortunately, there aren't too many people who can look at things objectively these days. They are sheep that are influenced by propaganda that obscures rational thinking.