Some friends I just can’t shake
hard enough
around the neck
with a firm grip
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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I have a couple of conservative friends. We just don't talk about politics or the issues of the day. Surprisingly it's not that hard.
You know, there's so many people I have tried this with. They just won't stop bringing it up even when it is completely unrelated to what we're doing. One of them told me he feels smart because when that comes up I usually walk away to avoid the endless drama and he took that to mean that his position and opinions had so confounded me that leaving was my only way to respond.
Stuff like "yeah I think religion should be enshrined in the Constitution and everyone should have to live by our rules" and "if women don't want to have kids they should keep their legs closed".
Like, even if I thought engaging had any chance of working it's just such braindead regurgitated Fox talking points that I wouldn't engage anyway. Just waiting for these people to get everything they want and suffer for it.
A distressing number of people seem to have inhibition problems.
A further distressing number are narcissists.
We shouldn't be surprised though, that's exactly how they were programmed. The more it became acceptable to pander to our baser instincts, the more profitable it became and the more profit driven concerns did it. The more screen time we had in our upbringing (back when we called it 'tv') the more likely we are to have taken on the programming of exceptionalism and decide that what's good for everyone isn't what's good for us.
I don't necessarily think it was planned that way, but the people who thought that it might be the result were relegated to the fringe.
No no no, don't you see? You need to cutoff all communication with them and get them arrested and ruin their lives bro.
I mean, I'm sorry, but if they believe that abortion is baby murder, black people are predisposed to being criminals, poor people don't deserve to have healthcare, and trans kids should have to live in a miserable hell that makes them want to commit suicide, I'm not going to just "not talk about it" and stay friends with them. If your morals are that fucked, I can't in good conscience call you a friend.
Do you think this is what "conservative" means, like completely honestly?
It is when they vote for people who outwardly say that shit. I don't care what they claim to believe, I only care what their actions say they believe. I don't know a single "conservative" who wouldn't vote for a politician aiming to infringe upon minority rights, and if you're voting for people who want me to be forced to bear a child I don't want, or who want my trans sibling to be banned from receiving life-saving medical care, or who want to deregulate the medical industry so that insurance companies and profit-hospital CEOs can line their pockets at the expense of the working class, or who want to give more money to racist cops who harass my black friends? Then you can talk about how you don't hate trans people all you want but the consequences of your actions say otherwise. You can say abortion doesn't bother you but I don't believe you. You can say "well, I have a black friend" but you're still voting for racists. And I'm sorry, but that makes you a bad person and I won't be friends with a bad person.
Maybe in other countries it's different. But American conservatives only want to "conserve" the status quo of rich white people doing whatever they want and everyone else getting fucked. They can deny it, but until they stop voting for it there's zero reason to believe them.
Have you been living under a rock the past ~8 years? Those bullet points are central to the current GOP's platform. That's what you're voting for when you vote republican.
so I guess that means I'm pro bomb since I voted Biden 2020. damn. ill let the kids know
it's not in reference to a particular policy. that there is no anti-bomb option is my point. just because you vote for a person doesn't mean their actions become your personal politics
I think that's what mainstream US conservatism and its adherents think that's what "conservative" means. And honestly, that's pretty much been the undercurrent of US conservatism for over 20 years, they're just now saying the quiet parts out loud.
I think the term's meaning shifts greatly depending on the country. In Finland, a whole lot of conservative politicians voted in favour of less restrictive abortion laws and their conservative party is in favour of same-sex marriage.
You must have better friends than I.
Every conservative I know or knew is walking around with pent-up anger, seemingly ready explode over whatever their handlers in the media have railed them up against that day. I guess that is what keeps them active at the ballot box and prevents them from taking a step back, calming down, thinking and questioning the narrative. Either way, it became pretty much impossible to have any kind of outing with these people present.
It's gotten really tiresome to even look for common ground anymore. Things that were fine just yesterday suddenly make them foam at the mouth. And lately, the persecution complex, too.
Hmm part of it might be that I'm in eastern Canada where there are still 'progessive conservatives' and people don't seem to care so much about politics anyway.
A world away from the USA in terms of media influence.
So, you're saying you are okay with hanging out with people who are completely okay with the oppression and marginalization of minorities. You choose to keep people around who want other people to loose thier rights. You keep people in your life that support book banning and information suppression.
I would not hang out with you.
Not really. You just know really awful conservatives.