Seriously! I've not been a regular mapper for ages - but I'm back for an internet rant Actually lost a gym buddy because of facebook talk about the election. I'd pegged the guy as very open minded nice fellow and the sort who you can disagree with but still end up respecting eachother's views, so when he posted 'I can't understand why anyone would vote for party x' I nicely and respectfully told him my reasons. Got a very strange rambling response that implied I was spouting misinformation and he wouldn't tolerate differing opinions on his page, then a similar, harsher reply later to back it up. The worst part is I kind of feel bad about judging his weird rant harshly because I'm doing in from a very privileged position. I've had family support and eduction he was denied and he does have good reasons for his position. But yet I, educated and well off, will still hold him to my standards. Watch the masked profanity please.
I usually stick to this - but I completely misjudged the guy. That's the last time I assume a drag queen would be open minded.
Probably not someone worth your time anyway. Real "friends" can disagree with your political opinions and like n' love you for you generally. Very few people I know of agree with me politically, but I can get along well with most people-some people I STRONGLY disagree with WRT politics are very pleasant otherwise. So we just don't talk politics. Win-win.
Nothing good ever comes out of talking politics or religion on facebook. At least in person non verbal communication comes into play but in writing forget about it. I've seen it happen several times, between strangers and and good friends alike. I once saw two long time friends argue over politics...one totally lost it and accused the other of "showing his true colors" and there went the friendship. Then again you could argue that if you're friends with someone only for as long as there's no disagreement, maybe you're not really friends.
I often find on Facebook that I just need to take a breath, decide it's not worth it and move on. I have one friend who appears to be quite insane, judging by her posts, but in real life can be quite normal.
Thing is while I like that quote I don't stand by it at all. Pretty much everyone I think of as a friend I'm able to chat about politics with now and then even when we disagree. But then most of them are the kind of people who like debating and sharing ideas so I may have just got lucky.
The worst thing is when politics comes up at work and everyone starts slagging one specific group. Then you feel obliged to speak up and say that you or your family associate with said group and makes everyone go silent on the topic. yet you're the one who feels awkward.
Haha, I have this problem that if everyone is slagging off a group or idea, almost no matter what it is or my own views, I feel a need to defend it or give their side. It can be quite awkward.
Yup. I let myself get sucked in once and posted that I disagreed with feminism (shocker, I know ) and some dude I'd never met (vague acquaintance of the friend who had made the original post) started hurling insults at me in typical cyber-Capone fashion. I eventually bowed out and the dude - a 60 year old fat hirsute poet (not kidding, the guy is a poet) called me a coward. That was pretty funny... Anyways, she ended up defriending that A-1 **** a couple weeks later when he trashed something she posted. The cherry on top was that this friend and I went on vacation to Mexico together a few months later, along with our significant others and 4 other friends. As a joke, she told the rest of the group she'd better not bring up feminism otherwise "Greg would get mad". And I was like..."Wait, the only person who got hot under the collar about all this is that dweeb you ended up defriending and I am the butt of the joke now? Seriously? But yeah, better skip the drama altogether. It's-just-not-worth-it.
Late to this one, but had the same. A very old friend openly asking why people think anti immigration policies were racist. Many comments later from myself (I was objective about it despite being 2nd generation immigrant) This guy didn't think that being heavily against immigration openly would aggravate his many friends with "non recent English" last names. I did say not to discuss politics. Southpaw's quote rings true
