No, I don’t really have trouble. I am friendly with people from all over the spectrum. On Wednesdays I have park day with utter complete raving hippies, and at other times I meet up with very, very, very conservative people (who probably practice wifely submission only I don’t wanna talk about it, but they’re very nice lovely people).
However, I’m afraid that I mostly dislike all politicians and so I’m not very emotionally attached to any party. I always vote, of course, but for the person I hate least. So when people start talking politics, I mostly nod and go ‘mm-hm’ and listen nicely. I don’t necessarily have a lot to say in return.
Perhaps it has something to do with my job; quite often a librarian’s job entails listening politely, giving the patron the information they want, and ignoring the fact that they want something completely bizarre or that they will forget about it as soon as they walk away and will ask me a very similar question next week. Listening without getting emotionally involved is my specialty, and my husband frequently comments that he could never do it; he always wants to argue.
I can think of one positive experience I had and a lot of bad ones. Frankly I blame the other guys. It’s very rare - no actually never - that someone will respectfully ask me why I support McCain, or GWB before him, and give me 30 seconds to answer without some rude interruption.
And it isn’t mutual. I always give leftists a chance to explain their point of view. They rarely are able to. They just prefer to do a little name calling and split. And they NEVER ask why I might disagree.
At dinner recently with some leftist friends one of them started on a rant about how a few wealthy people rule the world. I asked for an example and he cited the Rockefellers and told me that they control JPMorganChase. I asked how that bank has been doing and he said great, so I said let’s check it on Yahoo finance. And sure enough, it has been doing great, relative to other banks, so I said thanks for letting me know, I had no idea. I didn’t challenge his hint of a conspiracy theory, didn’t question the idea that the Rockefellers control the bank, didn’t ask for a second example. Just said thanks for letting me know. Before the evening was over he was yelling at me that I was highly provocative for always asking for an example.
And actually the one positive experience I had was with a moderate, not a leftist. And an extremely bright guy. Where most people increase their prestige by mentioning the universities they’ve been affiliated with, his university brags that he’s on the faculty.
I drive by the Arizona Republican Party headquarters every day with an ugly picure of McCain and Palin out front. I give the building the middle finger when I see it.
I don’t discuss politics or religion with most people.
I agree with Shodan; speaking as a conservative libertarian, I could be friends with a Communist if he were reasonable and not a ranting a-hole about it. In the same way, I can’t stand conservative fanatics: way to go and support everything liberals say about “stupid” Republicans. Remember: it is the duty of every freedom-loving American to be on a personal war against Islam, “towelheads”, and the godless liberals among us. :rolleyes:
I’ve never understood when people say you should never talk about politics. It is akin to saying you should never have substantive discussions. Discussing politics is discussing ideas.
To answer the OP, I don’t really have any conservative friends. I have one Republican in-law that I like, but that’s it. I think prior to the Bush years it was easier for me to have Republican friends, but too much water has gone under the bridge.
Applying Tim Burton’s ED WOOD to the OP- “If I judged people, I wouldn’t have any friends.”
In High School (late 1970’s), one of my best buddies was a VERY liberal girl. Our conversations would usually begin- “Ted, you right-wing male chauvinist pig…”, “Maria, you ignorant slut…”
I can socialize with anyone, just about. Hell, a few years ago at work, I was the one person who a LaVeyan co-worker could discuss his beliefs with. I even subscribed to his 'zine.*
If I don’t know someone’s politics, I can get along with 'em more or less OK. But I’m a highly political guy and it’s a central aspect of my life. So not knowing someone’s politics usually doesn’t last very long.
Part of the project of the activism I’m involved in is finding a level of agreement and building on that. So if someone is strongly, or diametrically, opposed to my point of view it really doesn’t make much sense to me to try to relate to them socially. They might be one of the most charming people on earth but that’s not strong enough for me to override the vast political differences.
I’ve had plenty of confrontations, both positive and negative; it happens a lot when you sell a political newspaper on a regular basis.
I can best be described as a Libertarian Democrat, so I tend to agree or disagree with people on certain issues at certain times, and not others. Actually, I tend to disagree with people’s religious ideas more than political. But I’m used to it, and so are they.
Well, I don’t speak for all Satanists but I don’t think our views are typically that out there that no-one can discuss them with us.
Personally I’m happy to have a discussion with anyone on their political views, no matter how different they may be to mine, as long as there are the basic parameters in place that we both respect each other’s right to hold different views and that we can agree to disagree. As long as that is agreed (or implicit) I don’t see how you can go wrong. Religion is another issue altogether as most people take an apriori approach to what they believe so discussing it is rarely that useful.
“at home, sometimes all three of us vote for the same folks, sometimes each for a different one”
If I stopped talking to people whose views differ from mine I wouldn’t be able to talk to any of my relatives or to RedFury. Furia and me agree on many things, yet we’re about as close to being representative of “the two Spains” as they come. Thing is, if we refused to ever talk about anything on grounds of “I didn’t vote for the same guy you did,” we would never discover those things we agree on!
I once knew a guy who had very different ideas to me about the economy. He supported the idea of a “donation based economy” (i.e. nobody works on the expectation that they are paid, rather they accept donations from their employer and accept it if they do not get anything) because he had been told about a study on blood donation, that showed this could work in principle, in sociology class. He also thought all interest on loans was usuary and basically rubbished modern economics based on a paragraph his lecturer had him read from the “Wealth of Nations” in class.
Trying to debate with him was a nightmare. We’d start debating the economy, only for the debate to be dragged toward the ethics of the war in Iraq, through arms dealing and for it to finish on the lifestyle of some obscure tribe in New Guinea. He’d invariably try to drag the debate toward some social anthropology horseshit which he knew about and nobody else did, so he could “win” the debate.
We don’t speak much any more. I have other left wing friends who I get along with fine. People who spew whatever comes into their heads, as long as it’s anti-capitalist/anti-American? No thanks.
Interesting question. Like religious views, I generally have no idea what my friends basic political views are or who they vote for. They don’t talk about it and I don’t ask. We talk about politics but not in a way that I’d know who they vote for (basically the current political power always gets a hard time.)
I will listen politely for a while, then change the subject. I am pretty middle-of-the road, but I have friends who are hard republicans and some who are hard democrats. If I disagree, I never try to change anyone’s mind - because I have found that most people won’t hear me and I remember the old adage about teaching a pig to sing.
If the persist in trying to talk to me about their views I will politely but firmly tell them I have lost interest in the conversation. (OK, not always so politely, but usually I’ll get away with small joke.)
If they still persist, I stop hanging out with them.
I’m kind of on the side that you can’t change someone’s mind about certain things. There are plenty of things to be discussed about fiscal policy, health care, etc. But other things are like religion, and in fact are only in politics because of religion. If someone things gays are teh evil and votes for Bush because of that, there’s really not that much discussion that can be had about it.
If someone is not too far from me in political views (e.g. +/- 40 from where I am, where -100 is extreme left and +100 is extreme right), and doesn’t blindly regurgitate party talking points, then I find exchanges with such people very informative and useful. It’s good to see rational arguments for the other side. It helps you understand their position, and may even, over the long run, move your own position.
On the other hand, if someone is too far from your own views and/or simply regurgitates party talking points, “discussions” with such people are not only frustrating, but they are completely useless.
I like to hang out with intelligent, reasonable people. I really don’t care about their politics. In fact, nearly all of my friends are conservatives (of a libertarian bent). Me, I’m a proud lefty. Or at least well left of center.
My friends and I talk about all sorts of things. Occasionally, politics come up. Sometimes the conversations get heated. But then we cool down and we remember that we’re all friends and we let our political differences go.
Generally, I try to keep my temper in check. (I don’t always succeed.) I try to think of myself as an ambassador to the other side. None of them may ever convert, but if they do, it will be quiet diplomacy, not yelling, that gets them there.
I would much rather hang out with reasonable people who can disagree about politics and remain friends than with strident partisans of either party.
Ok so people are basically saying that they are either Meh about talking politics or vapidly left or right and have a hard time hanging out with people who have differing views. For those who have a hard time with differing views: Do you ever do things at any time of the year that are completely devoid of politics…like hiking, canoing, kayaking etc…with folks whose political views differ from yours?
I generally do my best not to talk politics. I can get along fine with Republicans who are such for economic reasons (who come to it more from a libertarian standpoint), but Republicans who come from the socially conservative and more religious right side of the party I have much more difficulty identifying with, and I completely avoid any political discussion with such people as much as possible. Or I simply leave it at “let’s agree to disagree.” With the more economic Republicans, I can at least understand their perspective, and we can have a reasoned discussion with what the role of the government is in the marketplace. I can truly be swayed either way here.
But when it comes to social issues, I am unabashedly and steadfastly liberal.
