OT: Anyone lose a friend over a political disagreement?

[Dixie - In Memoriam]

with a ratio like that you'd better have more than seven friends....because we'll never figure out what to do with the third of a friend left over....

PMP, you should avoid the 1/3 jokes and leave them to the pinheads, you're really lame at it. For the record, I have hundreds of friends, maybe thousands. There are at least 50-60 I see on a weekly basis or more. My general rule is to not bring up political topics to my liberal friends, but I expect the same from them as well.

As for Facebook, I don't post political crap there, and I have a few liberal friends who like to bombard Facebook with their crap, so I edit their friend settings to not show their posts on my page. I wonder if Liberals realize they are about as annoying as Jehovah's Witness people?

 

[Dixie - In Memoriam]

This is why facebook sucks. The dream was to use it as a social networking tool. But now even the "cool kids" (they seemed so... now they are losers) are on the internet and retirees are crawling the net. I mean there were always little geeks online but they were mostly good kids who were looking for a safe place to be geeky. Once it became ubiquitous it went straight to hell. Now, everybody uses it to look up people they moved away from and reopen old wounds. Either that or new "so called" friends use it to dig around in your business. It's become what myspace was form the start, a new age "trapper keeper." The original was better named.

I have noticed a trend of people who use Facebook as their personal drama soapbox. They have to post about every headache, every misfortune, every bout of depression... looking for people to laud them with sympathy. These same people tend to meddle around in other people's affairs, and make comments they would NEVER make to their face, just to stir up drama. I have had to delete a few of these people, and some were relatives. Didn't have anything to do with politics, it was more about who they are and what they wanted to use Facebook for.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Or I could also ask would anyone here choose to not be friends with someone because you share different political beliefs? As for the title I've never lost a friend over politics (though I've heard other people say they have). In fact I don't discuss politics that much with friends. I ask this question because I had a long time buddy post this on Facebook today:

"If you're voting for Mitt and his racist, sexist, idiot little hand puppet, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. I think it's best if we just go our separate ways."

Pretty blunt and straight forward. I'm not asking this from a left-wing or right-wing perspective I'm just curious how many people think they would post something like this on Facebook or that politics is too personal or important that you couldn't be friends with someone you are not in agreement with?

Only you. Asshole!!

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I've had people unfriend me on facebook because of my support of gay marriage. I wouldn't call them friends of mine, but we went to school together (and with one I dated his wife before he did).

I'm not a hardcore political type on FB. But I do post occasionally on topics that matter to me. Most of my friends know these are things I believe in. If they disagree we tend to stay away from those topics when we talk.

Actually I have been ridiculed more than argued with on political topics on FB. But most of those have been from my reposting things from Soc about Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party.

That would do it.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

They know I'm a socialist and not a democrat. They can live with that. But to not support Obama .. with my background with community and politics .. that makes no sense to them no matter how many facts I throw at them.

That's ironic. I'm a democrat and not a socialist and I did support Obama.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I think I will have to say yes......when I left the fold and became a Republican back in the Carter days a friend I had from high school cut me off.....what can I say?.....I matured and he didn't........

Translation from wingnut "I became a flaming asshole and he didn't. "

 

[Mott the Hoople]

if your friend says stuff like that to you can gives you those type of ultimatums, then I think they are a pretty shitty friend.

They're pretty much the only kind Wacko has.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I don't usually talk about politics with people. When it comes up I am usually vague and non-committal. If people really press me or really want to talk about it, then I'll open up, but it's not my default. Most probably definitely think I am more liberal than I actually am, as I can be liberal-ish on some social issues, and that's what usually talked about these days, not fiscal stuff. People just tend to think if you Believe x you must be leave y and z as well.

But I am also the most political of anyone that I know in my life. So it honestly doesn't even come up all that much.

I just don't like being defined by politics for starters, or any particul subset of values, and with politics, I think that happens way too often. And also i am just a naturally guarded person. People have to really be close if they want to find out a lot about me.

Fuck Grind....you usually don't talk politics HERE!!!!

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I can be a lot like you dude. If I don't know the people I'm with and politics comes up I keep my opinions to myself. I'll ask questions but I won't really chime in with my opinions.

I think about the only thing you and Grind share in common is parole.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

BAC has no debate skills, Popeye, you are hilarious!

No...I'm hilarious. He's an asshole.

 

[Dixie - In Memoriam]

Hey Mott... you see that little emblem at the bottom of the post box, next to the "Reply with Quote" that has the same symbol with a + beside it? That is a feature known as "Multi-Quote" and you can select several posts at once and only have to make one single post to comment to all of them. I wasn't sure if you knew how this worked, since it seems you want to individually quote about a dozen posts. Just sayin'

 

[Cancel 2016.11]

Hey Mott... you see that little emblem at the bottom of the post box, next to the "Reply with Quote" that has the same symbol with a + beside it? That is a feature known as "Multi-Quote" and you can select several posts at once and only have to make one single post to comment to all of them. I wasn't sure if you knew how this worked, since it seems you want to individually quote about a dozen posts. Just sayin'

Fuck Grind....you usually don't talk politics HERE!!!!

They're pretty much the only kind Wacko has.

Dixie I have to tell you, i never knew this. I just tested it now. I always did this manually. I was wondering how that moron SF managed to get so many different quotes in one post.

 

[Cancel 2016.11]

I deleted my facebook account several weeks ago. People on it were so annoying and what I realized was if I am not texting you every day, then with a couple of exceptions (and those I email with), you're not really my friend. I am very close to my family, we all live near each other, and so I have no need to use it for picture sharing. One brother I see every day, the other one I shop at the same grocery store with and run into at dunkin donuts for morning coffee. Some people I went to grade school with, and some that I knew from college looked me up there. And by and large they had turned into assholes. FB just became more trouble than it's worth for me. And I do get tired of people posting personal drama, and also those stupid "Share if you agree I know who will, let's see who can be bothered to take the time" posts. I always felt like posting "Oh STFU, share if you agree, I know who will let's see".

Going forward I am using social media strictly for business, except for my twitter account which I use to keep up with writers I like. Many are political writers, but some aren't.

 

[Dixie - In Memoriam]

I deleted my facebook account several weeks ago. People on it were so annoying and what I realized was if I am not texting you every day, then with a couple of exceptions (and those I email with), you're not really my friend. I am very close to my family, we all live near each other, and so I have no need to use it for picture sharing. One brother I see every day, the other one I shop at the same grocery store with and run into at dunkin donuts for morning coffee. Some people I went to grade school with, and some that I knew from college looked me up there. And by and large they had turned into assholes. FB just became more trouble than it's worth for me. And I do get tired of people posting personal drama, and also those stupid "Share if you agree I know who will, let's see who can be bothered to take the time" posts. I always felt like posting "Oh STFU, share if you agree, I know who will let's see".

Going forward I am using social media strictly for business, except for my twitter account which I use to keep up with writers I like. Many are political writers, but some aren't.

Yeah, I posted as my facebook status a few weeks ago: I wonder if one day we'll say; "you remember that facebook craze everyone was into, what was our deal?"

I really do think it's a fad that will eventually pass. The disturbing thing for me, is seeing how some people have become so obsessed with it. And how many have started using it as some sort of social weapon against people because they are bored with their life. I guess it's not as exciting at their house as the Kardashian's so they have to get their fix of drama on Facebook.

 

[Cancel 2016.11]

Yeah, I posted as my facebook status a few weeks ago: I wonder if one day we'll say; "you remember that facebook craze everyone was into, what was our deal?"

I really do think it's a fad that will eventually pass. The disturbing thing for me, is seeing how some people have become so obsessed with it. And how many have started using it as some sort of social weapon against people because they are bored with their life. I guess it's not as exciting at their house as the Kardashian's so they have to get their fix of drama on Facebook.

I agree.

 

[PostmodernProphet]

Translation from wingnut "I became a flaming asshole and he didn't. "

ah, you voted for Carter's re-election then......(and he thinks it's ME who is a flaming asshole).........

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Hey Mott... you see that little emblem at the bottom of the post box, next to the "Reply with Quote" that has the same symbol with a + beside it? That is a feature known as "Multi-Quote" and you can select several posts at once and only have to make one single post to comment to all of them. I wasn't sure if you knew how this worked, since it seems you want to individually quote about a dozen posts. Just sayin'

Thanks Dixie. I didn' t know that.

 

[BRUTALITOPS]

I can't avoid it. Literally. At my main networking group that meets once a week it literally is always brought up, and it is literally always Obama/Democrat/Liberal bashing.

how do you live in a liberal place and are surrounded by republicans? that's weird. maybe you got a bad draw or something?

So I either have to play the " I don't follow politics" game, or I have to say that I am a dem because it's for sure I am not going to pretend to be a con. There is one lawyer in the group who has come out as "leaning dem" and boy do they all trot out their bullshit for him every week. I swear to God they all think they are going to change his mind. I don't want them to think it's a good idea to regale me with their bullshit, I mean we are talking about a table full of Superfreaks, Damos, and well this group is a bit too high level to have a bravo or god knows an alias in it, but we are talking about Superfreaks and Damos and we do have at least one Tinfoil, and so that should tell you what you need to know. Loudmouthed and convinced they know better than everyone else and anyone who doesn't think like they do is a moron.

now who does that sound like ... hmm

darla, you should just troll your co-workers and make them go eplieptic. Go super hard core liberal. Just sit around one day drinking coffee and let out a sigh and be like "sigh... i can't wait until the people seize the means of production. I really wish obama wasn't so right wing.." etc.

 

[BRUTALITOPS]

dont people just feel uncomfortable going up to people and trying to initiate a political discussion?

I just don't think you can talk about politics around the water cooler without coming off as a douche. You are either talking to people that already agree with you and thus are just intellectually jacking each other off, or you have some perverse need to "spread the word and you end up just like an angry jehova's witness.

"let me tell you about my worldview... oh you don't agree with me? well fuck you then... idiot."

messageboards are different because everyone knows what they are signing up for. It's a shared mutual experience. But I would bet in at least 80% of political "discussions" IRL it's one person lecturing the other and strutting around with smug self importance.

 

[Billy the Great Khan]

Nope, we've had some colorful discussions as it were, but I've never had an ugly political discussion in person, and I treat it mostly like I do here.
Guess I know a better quality of people.