# People You Know With Inconsistent, Or Incompatible, Political Views **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383 "2015-01-20T14:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/41 "2015-01-22T19:52:20Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Sounds to me like somebody who has actually read the Bible - wasn’t Jesus a total hippie? 😉 Yeah my liberal atheist friends think it’s so strange and unique that I am a Christian Democrat, and somehow I must be at odds with myself, but from where I sit it makes perfect sense! And yes, I consider Jesus to be a total hippie! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/42 "2015-01-22T20:01:00Z")
I don’t believe that people are so polarized that every issue fits into the Red or Blue camp. Details matter. I was a Democrat for most of my formative years but when I began to make serious money I started to slightly resent my taxes and where they were spent. And the Democrats of today are not the Democrats of my youth. Neither are the Republicans the same. I am socially quite liberal, don’t give a shit that gays can marry, good for them. Many of the people I work with and for are gay/lesbian, they are my friends. Abortion debates are settled and should be a personal thing. Corporations are a good thing and whoever thinks we can all work for small organic business’ is deluded. The Occupy people just make me laugh. And some of the fringe issues of the Democrats have pushed me away. The premise of the OP is faulty. The political lines are not so clearly cut. What am I supposed to believe as a Republican again? I didn’t get the list. There is so little separation in the US between the two major parties that there are really only two wings of the same party. All the players go to the same schools, hire the same staff, attend the same parties. It is a closed club. The perpetual DC staff changes little between elections. Here is a picture of George HW Bush, sitting with George Wallace, with a young Bill Clinton too. > It’s all the same club. As a pot smoking, gun toting, currently voting Republican, I am hoping that Hillary gets the nomination and the presidency. Because she is going to be the best Republican president we have had in a long time. That is how little difference their is between the opposing parties. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/43 "2015-01-22T20:11:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > By this argument, every time the Supreme Court makes a decision, it’s imposing federal authority over some issue - even if it’s ruling that the federal government doesn’t have authority over an issue. And when the Supreme Court decides cases arising under the Constitution, it is playing its proper role. Abortion is not such a case - as mentioned, there is no mention of the topic or anything relating to the topic in the Constitution. Accordingly, the decision reverts to the states or the people. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/44 "2015-01-22T20:31:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And when the Supreme Court decides cases arising under the Constitution, it is playing its proper role. Abortion is not such a case - as mentioned, there is no mention of the topic or anything relating to the topic in the Constitution. Accordingly, the decision reverts to the states or the people. > > Regards, > Shodan The SC decision reverted the decision to the people – they get to decide whether to abort or not. ---
**Author:** ![CinnamonBabka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@CinnamonBabka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CinnamonBabka)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/45 "2015-01-22T21:03:09Z")
Honestly I’d find it easier to list the people in my life who _don’t_ have conflicting ideologies. One of my leading causes of misanthropy is watching my family argue with each other about why their form of government assistance is okay while everyone else is just a lazy freeloader. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/46 "2015-01-23T17:57:07Z")
Let me give you an example from my family. He’s long dead now, but I had an uncle who was born in Ireland around 1905, and emigrated to America, where he eventually got drafted and shipped off to fight in Europe during WW2. This uncle had numerous wonderful qualities, but I won’t mince words: this guy said things that Archie Bunker or David Duke would blush at. He was a gung ho militarist who thought the US should go to war at the drop of a hat. He was also an unrepentant racist who said countless vile things about Jews, and would refer to famous black athletes as “that big Jigaboo.” I think you get the picture. You have a pretty clear idea of the kind of person he was. Now, he used to come over to our house and tell old war stories. At the end of one story, Germany had surrendered, and his outfit was getting set to ship out for the big invasion of Japan. I said to him, “So, you must have been really happy when you heard about the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.” After all, that ended the war, spared him the need to go on fighting, may well have saved his life. And knowing what a bigot he was, I didn’t think my uncle would lose any sleep over thousands of dead Japanese. But I was completely wrong. After I brought up Hiroshima, my normally combative uncle became sad and somber, and said, “That wasn’t right. That wasn’t right. That was women and babies. That wasn’t right.” When I pointed out that the atom bomb may have saved his life, he just got sadder, and said, “We were soldiers. That’s different. It was our job to die if it came to that. But women and babies… that wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.” The only moral is… you never know about people. A hawkish racist was genuihely saddened by the death of civilians at Hiroshima. Was that “contradictory”? Maybe. But so what? I hope we’re all capable of such contradictions. Especially if that “contradiction” involves compassion for people we wouldn’t normally feel much sympathy for. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/47 "2015-01-24T07:47:20Z")
I see the inconsistencies in the OP’s mom’s positions. Or at least, if she believes in democracy, there’s a huge inconsistency, as I say authoritarianism is incompatible with democracy, as it means the authorities tell you what to do, you don’t tell them what to do. Look at the pot thing. That’s not inherently an authoritarian issue. It’s just pro-authoritarian because the authorities are mostly anti-pot, meaning the liberals have to be the ones fighting against it. But, that aside, I know a lot of inconsistent people. Freedom of speech! (Unless you say something bad about Jesus.) Bigotry is wrong (unless it’s towards people X.) Textualism is the only proper interpretation of the Constitution (unless it disagrees with what I think.) Freedom of expression is sacrosanct (Unless you draw Mohammed) Most people are not completely consistent with their beliefs. That’s why our political parties are not 100% consistent, either. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/48 "2015-01-24T15:19:05Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Do you know anyone (or are you someone) whose political beliefs defy quick categorization or are even incompatible with one another? My Idiot Brother has (along with his wife and kid) been living with my dad for ten years, mostly unemployed. But he doesn’t believe in social programs and says he’s a Libertarian. :smack::smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/49 "2015-01-24T18:45:29Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yeah my liberal atheist friends think it’s so strange and unique that I am a Christian Democrat, and somehow I must be at odds with myself, but from where I sit it makes perfect sense! And yes, I consider Jesus to be a total hippie! Yeah, Jesus was somewhere to the left of Karl Marx, even if he was a monarchist. Which makes him almost the opposite of a neoliberal republican… ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/50 "2015-01-24T21:14:10Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > My Idiot Brother has (along with his wife and kid) been living with my dad for ten years, mostly unemployed. > > But he doesn’t believe in social programs and says he’s a Libertarian. > > :smack::smack::smack: I know more than a few people like that, honestly, and I can see their point. They believe that charity and support should be entirely voluntary, not mandated by (ultimately) force of arms. Thus, they’re willing to leech off of family or church, but are still vehemently opposed to the government providing similar support. My own church had a family that was steadfastly libertarian, but they weren’t shy at all about asking for help from the minister’s discretionary fund. This is, IMHO, a stupid viewpoint, but not altogether inconsistent. ETA: I’m sort of hoping these folks read the SDMB, recognize themselves in this statement, and call me out on it. That would be ever so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_doped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@straight\_doped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_doped)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/51 "2015-01-25T02:44:09Z")
add ANY democrat and republican. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/52 "2015-01-25T03:20:58Z")
I find that almost every single person I know has ridiculously laughable political views. And I do **NOT** mean that they don’t agree with mine. I mean that even when they do, they don’t hold up to even the tiniest bit of scrutiny. They are colloquial, emotional, naive feelings nearly completely removed from reality. The problem I find is two things: [ul] [li]First, people invariably apply microscopic methods to macroscopic ideas & situations. That is, they think for example that a country’s economy or even a large business’ is no different from them balancing their checkbook. Or they think international politics is like dealing with their ethnic neighbors or in-laws. In fact, these things are not even remotely similar.[/li][li]Second, people cannot understand that they can’t understand. What I mean is, I’m a smart guy, I majored in math & science in school, but I have no head for economics. But I understand and accept that economics (and politics and public relations and quantum physics etc.) are real things, with real laws, theories, rules, and predictable outcomes. And that if you ignore these rules bad things will happen, quickly. And that people who studied these disciplines and made it their business do in fact often know what they’re talking about, even if or when specifically I don’t. Essentially people tend to suffer from universal sour grapes syndrome. If they can’t understand it, it isn’t worth understanding when, again, this is almost never the case.[/li][/ul] Bottom line, this is why I hate it when I hear people/organizations pushing for greater voter turnout & voter registration. Voting is a right, but it’s also a responsibility. A responsibility that most people are not up to. So if you need any incentive to vote, you should have **NON-VOTER** tattooed on your arm! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/53 "2015-01-26T08:52:24Z")
There are liberals who work in the aviation industry, even though airplanes generate pollution. There are probably some conservatives who work for the IRS or welfare administration. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/54 "2015-01-26T15:30:06Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There are liberals who work in the aviation industry, even though airplanes generate pollution. > > There are probably some conservatives who work for the IRS or welfare administration. There are liberals who own private planes and use more fuel and pollute more than a thousand “regular people”, yet insist on telling others to reduce their carbon footprint (one of the most annoying phrases of the past 20 years). ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/55 "2015-01-26T17:37:36Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > There are liberals who own private planes and use more fuel and pollute more than a thousand “regular people”, yet insist on telling others to reduce their carbon footprint (one of the most annoying phrases of the past 20 years). There are, but they do more for the cause of global warming than any of those people, and unfortunately in our society, it is impossible to travel in a timely fashion in any other way. This liberal’s views are inconsistent, as I’m sure he cuts his carbon footprint where he can ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/56 "2015-02-11T19:27:34Z")
It depends on local politics, too. In America, I tend to support the “conservatives.” In Taiwan, I tend to support the “liberals.” ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/57 "2015-02-11T20:02:42Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745948&highlight=conservative), we talked about a conservative friend of mine who believes in God, Guns, and The Bible, but couldn’t care less if gays marry or if people smoke pot. > > I’d like to open the discussion about people we know whose political views are inconsistent, incompatible, or all over the map. > > Mom, for example, believes that: > [ul] > [li]Only the State should be allowed to have guns. Send the National Guard in if we have to, and round up all the private guns. And that means no hunting, either: you can’t hunt without a gun, so sucks to be you.\* (Yes, you can hunt with a bow; work with me here.) - **I’m with your mom on this. But as Dr. Hibbert told Lisa Simpson about “hillbillies wanting to be called ‘Sons of the Soil’.” It ain’t gonna happen.** [/li][li]Nationalized/Socialized (however you want to label it, and yes I know there’s a difference, but the nuance is lost on me) medicine is The Shizz. Why is the US behind the rest of the world on this? - **I agree with her on this (although, being relatively healthy I’d never really given it a whole lot of thought until other people I know started bringing it up).**[/li][li]Public education is the way to go. Home-schooling should be illegal: the kids must be socialized! Private schools should be subject to intense state oversight to make sure they’re not teaching Creationism, that they’re meeting Common Core, etc. - **I have _serious_ reservations about people home-schooling their kids (“Exactly what kinds of thoughts are those people filling their kids’ heads with?”). But I’ve learned to not fret over stuff that I can’t control. For the most part.**[/li][li]Abortion-on-demand should be legal (but rare). - **I’m not real “big” on abortion, myself (seriously, put a cork in it or put the kid up for adoption, I say). But I’m not NEARLY as against it as most conservatives appear to be.**[/li][/ul] > > Sounds like the textbook definition of a strongly left-leaning Democrat, right? > > EXCEPT, Mom also believes that: > [ul] > [li]Islam is a cancer that must be removed from this country. Send the police into Dearborn and make those women take off their Burqas! They can practice Islam if they want to, but only within the confines of their mosque, but sure-as-hell not in public. - **I might have much the same view on this if not for my wife who used to date (long before I met her) guys from Saudi Arabia (meaning: she knows a LOT more about what the Koran is supposed to be about than _I_ do)\*\*\*\*But I concede that groups like Boko Haram and ISIS/L [Daish] aren’t doing much to bolster the image of Muslims in this country [or any place else in the world, for that matter])**[/li][li]Colorado and Washington made a HUGE mistake in legalizing pot. What about the children! Denver’s emergency rooms are going to be filled with psychotic teenagers with got the Reefer Madness! Washington’s roads are going to be filled with stoned, catatonic drivers making the roads a hazard for law-abiding folk such as herself. - **I got suckered on this one. I voted for this and your mom is right - we blew it (I live in Washington state).**[/li][li]Ed Snowden is a traitor who put countless American lives in danger. So what if the NSA is spying on you? If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. - **I pretty much feel the same way about him and that other wiener, the one who’s been hiding out in Venezuela. Scumbags, both of them, as far as I’m concerned.** [/li][li]Mike Brown was a thug who got what was coming to him. The people protesting his death were lazy slobs who needed to get jobs, and the police were right to put down the protests with riot gear, tear-gas, a no-fly zone, etc. - **I don’t know what to think about that one as I wasn’t there to see it. But I will say that just as with any other occupation ‘police officer’ has its share of nincompoops and incompetents so I definitely don’t give them a pass on stuff like that.** [/li][/ul] > > Do you know anyone (or are you someone) whose political beliefs defy quick categorization or are even incompatible with one another? I DEFINITELY tend to lean to the left when it comes to things political and social but there are a few things that I’m not as “in line” with fellow “lefties” on. One being the whole “P.C.” movement. I can see it to a degree but, for example, I once (this was several years ago) had someone complain about my use of the word “short” in describing one of my fellow workers. Well, the woman WAS short (I’m not sure she was even 5’ tall) but this supervisor insisted that I use the term “vertically-challenged” when referring to her. I just rolled my eyes and tried not to talk to that particular supervisor any more than I had to. Another one is the whole (and I know this is a VERY touchy subject with many people) Middle East situation, one in which I do NOT blindly support the so-called “Palestinians.” I’m not Jewish and I don’t exactly go around waving an Israeli flag but neither do I lend much support to a group of people who don’t seem willing or capable of disavowing the actions of terrorist groups in that region of the world. I just can’t offer up much support for those people because of that. Personally, I’m proud of the fact that I don’t go “lock-step” with those in the party that I most closely associate myself. I like to think that that’s a sign of being capable of independent thought. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383/58 "2015-02-11T20:36:26Z")
I have a brother who strongly believes that the Second Amendment is the font from which all our freedoms flow, that Islam is evil and that Muslim immigration should be banned, that Fox News is fair and balanced, that Communism is a major threat to the United States, that there is a real possibility that Obama was not born in the United States, that any kind of national health insurance or national health care is just flat out wrong (and that includes Medicare and Medicaid), that any kind of sustainable energy (wind, solar power, etc.) is a scam (and that nuclear power is just fine) and a bunch of other nonsense. Also that the United States has been right to enter every war it’s ever entered. He also thinks same-sex marriage is just fine, that the government shouldn’t regulate abortion (beyond appropriate licensing and safety rules), that unions (particularly the one of which he is a member) are good things, that marijuana should be legalized (but not heroin or cocaine), and some other stuff I can’t think of right now. No contradictions there. His reasoning on each one of these issues is consistent (if insane). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-know-with-inconsistent-or-incompatible-political-views/710383.md?page=2)