New Zealand has just had an election (8/11 or 11/8 depending on how you write it) obviously it followed a much bigger election in the US, so politics have been a big topic of conversation lately.
Australians are fairly well known for being…open or not afraid to hold or give an opinion.
An Australian ex-pat newsreader (Alison Mau) commented on the difference between living in NZ and Oz at election time, she was shocked that Kiwis would ask and answer the question about who they voted for. She claimed Aussies would ask anything else but would not say “who did you vote for?”.
In the brief time since our election I have asked and been asked that question many times. I have had no issue with answering (Labour, my side lost) and have felt no social barrier has been crossed when I asked anyone (nobody I asked seemed to feel uncomfortable answering).
Do you ask people who they voted for? Do you tell who you voted for? If not, why?
Sure, why not? My friends all know my political opinions anyway.
In a business situation, I might be a little reticent to bring it up if I were dealing with someone who I was pretty sure was on the opposite side of the fence, to avoid getting into a political argument that would not be appropriate to that setting, but if asked would have no problem answering.
Sure. All the time. There are those who are economically dependent on people who would disapprove of their voting choices, and for them the secret ballot is critical. But I’m not one of those people.
I posted news of my vote for Obama in a thread here.
I don’t have any problem talking about how I vote most of the time because I feel confident in my reasons for my choices and I don’t fear any reprisals for being open about it. It’s also relatively hard to hide the fact that I’m a bleeding-heart, flaming liberal if politics comes up.
I always tell and sometimes ask, I asked my brother before our recent election (I’m in the US)and he got a little peeved with me…“Obama, of course! Are you insinuating I’d vote for McCain?” I said well, I wasn’t sure…we aren’t in contact that often. I’m interested in this thread though, because I’ve always wondered why people would not tell.
I wouldn’t answer, myself, unless in friendly company. But I don’t begrudge anyone asking. I don’t understand why I’ve seen so many Americans who, when asked who they voted for, go pale and stammer “Secret ballot! Secret ballot! You’re not supposed to ask that! I can’t tell you!” Dumbass. Of course it’s allowed to ask and answer; you just can’t be legally compelled to answer. Just like I can ask you how often you fuck your wife and you can answer, if you wish. Maybe a little gauche, but certainly not illegal. Just politely say “I voted for the guy I wanted to win”, and move on.
I never discuss politics in real life except with my closest relatives (that’s four people – my wife, my parents, and my sister), and they all knew who I was going to vote for anyway.
No. I most definately do my best to see the good and bad in all parties and candidates and covet being able to discuss issues without the fear of perceived bias. People here probably think I vote one way and others IRL probably think I go the other direction, the reason being I want everything to get a fair shake, regardless.
One person knows how I voted, my wife. I lit into a friend the other day even though it was obvious we’d voted for the same candidate because he expressed an opinion demonstrating the fact he was embracing and repeating disproved rumor. I hate that and strongly disagree that the ends justify the means.
By the way, when’s all the tiresome rancor on these boards (not this thread but the ubiquitous others) going to cease? All the hate certainly doesn’t swing me to their position but merely reinforcess the notion they were blind from the beginning.
Are we? I’ve not noticed any particular difference between us and the Kiwis in that regard. I’d say we’re more vocally opinionated than the British, but probably less than the Americans.
I’ll talk about who I voted for with family, close friends, etc. Also on these boards - if I choose to take part in the relevant threads. But the rest of the time, I don’t go about vocalising it. My workmates wouldn’t know if I’m a rabid socialist or a stuffy conservative or anything in between. When I was much younger, I’d pointedly only take one party’s “How to vote” leaflet outside the polling place. Now, that strikes me as rude and arrogant (and pointless), so I take all of them and smile and thank the Liberal (conservative) worker, the Labor one, the Greens guy, the well maybe not the racist or religious nutjob type ones, but I haven’t seen one of those for years.
I’d admit it if asked, and voluntarily defend him, but don’t voluntarily mention I voted for Obama. Just today I pulled up in the Target parking lot with a “All Democrats are Communists” sticker stuck to the lamppost. :rolleyes:
My boss asked me and I told her without hesitation. Given we work in a fairly ‘left’ field it was a safe assumption that she’d have voted the same way - she had.
My local best mate and I have skirted around politics enough to know that we would *not *vote the same way - we operate on the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ rule.
Forgive me for the slight hijack, but this surprises me knowing how close you and your husband are. Do you guys avoid political discussions because you think differently on such issues, or for some other reason?
One thing I didn’t mention in my post above is that I learned about ten years ago that my boss and I have very different political points of view. So it was better all around if we didn’t discuss politics in the office.