Do your friends share your same political beliefs?

[steppinthrax]

I'm a Liberal Democrat. I generally find it's hard to befriend someone who is on the opposite of the spectrum. We may generally talk but the relationship dosen't go beyond to meeting on a regular basis etc... I tend to believe people are where they are on the spectrum based on how they are raised, their beliefs etc...

Also, no I'm not a hippie or dress as a hipster.

 

[purbeast0]

I wouldn't be able to tell you, I don't really care about politics. I can't even put one of those labels on myself (left, right, liberal, conservative) because I don't even know exactly what they mean in the context of politics, nor do I really care.

I do LOL at all the people who argue over these stupid labels and try to convince everyone to agree with their side or else they are the worst people on the planet. But I can only take so much of that even on these forums, before I have to just leave.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

As a Canadian I can honestly say it doesn't really come up. The difference between us and our neighbors to the south is striking when it come to politics. Affiliation seems to shift based on actual performance. It's not nearly as ideologically driven.

 

[Jaskalas]

America is a collection of contrasting cultures. You hold more value in people who are similar to yourself. That is human nature, you'll see it everywhere. That's partly the reason ethnic enclaves and segregated neighborhoods exist. People have trouble crossing boundaries even if it comes down to nothing more than other's beliefs. It's not unique to us either, look at Europe, look at Brexit.

To the original question, I cannot provide a good answer, I don't get out much.

 

[Homerboy]

My "true" friends? Yes, for the most part. I mean there's obviously varying degrees of differences on topics, but at the core, I'd say we're all pretty similar.

Now acquaintances and "forced friends" (parents of my kids' friends or teammates etc) Jesus God, hell no. And what's even worse is seeing what these idiots spout off on Facebook and the like. I just can't believe some of the shit they buy into and stand behind.

 

[KMFJD]

Kinda, I live in a rural area and the majority are conservative, the conservatives race to court the religious right have made more than a few question their party. I'll never vote for them until they stop that shit.

 

[zinfamous]

ALl my friends think the way I do, therefore we represent the entire country.

Obviously.

But, no, not really. We tend to think and interpret things in very similar ways but that doesn't mean we always vote the same way. We also don't spend much time talking about politics, because it's low on the spectrum of meaningful conversation.

 

[fskimospy]

I'm a Liberal Democrat. I generally find it's hard to befriend someone who is on the opposite of the spectrum. We may generally talk but the relationship dosen't go beyond to meeting on a regular basis etc... I tend to believe people are where they are on the spectrum based on how they are raised, their beliefs etc...

Also, no I'm not a hippie or dress as a hipster.

Hmm, I would say that socially the answer is yes but economically the answer is definitely no.

 

[realibrad]

I'm a Liberal Democrat. I generally find it's hard to befriend someone who is on the opposite of the spectrum. We may generally talk but the relationship dosen't go beyond to meeting on a regular basis etc... I tend to believe people are where they are on the spectrum based on how they are raised, their beliefs etc...

Also, no I'm not a hippie or dress as a hipster.

Did you grow up in an area where there were mostly like minded people?

I grew up in the Valley and Bay Area of CA. The Bay is mostly hard Left. The valley has many areas that are hard Right. Being around that, I had to make friends with people of very different views if I wanted friends. I had friends that were creationist and some that were atheist. My mom is a super Republican. My best friend and her are super close, and we used to talk about gay marriage when CA was voting on it. I guess I just got used to people disagreeing with me so it was never really an issue.

If people liked having a good time, then that was enough in common to be a friend.

 

[Perknose]

Lol, I have a large contingent of what I'll call "legacy" friends, all of whom I don't see all that often anymore, principally because they don't live all that near me (some quite far away.) These guys (they are all men) are all to the "right" of me, many starkly so. There has never been any hiding or downgrading of our soicio-political differences, but they are my friends for life just as I am for each of them. We have a deep mutual respect (and personal fondness) born in shared experience together that transcends any and everything else, hands down.

That said, in my current personal life, most all of my close friends are of different shades of the "left." And, furthermore, for any new person who came into my life, I believe I would have real trouble forging a close personal bond with anyone who didn't share my social, ethical, and moral ideals, my most earnest hopes for the Republic I love and am beyond grateful to have been born a citizen of, despite her many, oft horrendous flaws, as expressed in my political choices.

And that said," Hey, one never knows, do* one?." Rules and expectations, by their very simplistic rigidity, are just about made to be broken/flouted/exposed for the stiff cardboard simulacrums of a far more fluid reality that they are.




*Note to user Number1, this is conscious use of black argot.

 

[ronbo613]

Half of them do, half of them don't. Not ideal for friendly conversation. I live in an area where there is a tremendous amount of ideological tension, kind of a tough situation when you live in a small town.

 

[Chaotic42]

I've got friends all over the spectrum. It's not hard, we just don't talk about politics very often. It may be easier for me since I don't align very well with either party.

 

[nakedfrog]

My closest friends are pretty nearly aligned. My larger network is more variegated, both much further left and right.
It may be easier if you're closer to the middle (I'm an independent, and generally left of center).
Kinda funny seeing FB algorithms deal with that, since my "suggested" pages veer wildly and show me both the KILLARY = SATAN and TRUMP WILL DOOM US ALL stuff, depending on the day.

 

[soulcougher73]

My friends are kind of all over the place. Super liberal, super conservative, libertarian etc. I guess since i'm mostly socially liberal and fiscally conservative it kind of plays out that way that id have friends from both sides i can agree with on certain things.

But i'm also a bay area raised kid living in Kansas City now so definately more conservatives here that are nutty religious types.

 

[MovingTarget]

For a lot of us liberals in the South, if we couldn't be friends with those of opposing political views, we quite simply wouldn't have friends.

 

[bshole]

I did not realize that people had friends after they left college. I thought most people were disaffected loners like myself. IF I had or wanted friends, I probably would want them to share my worldview.

I think the concept of real life and blood friends is dying. Who needs them when you have the internet?

 

[Anubis]

no idea and i don't care. i don't ask them. its none of my business and my beliefs are non of theirs

 

[Zaap]

Some do, some don't. Politics/Religion- dumb things to spend much time talking about in polite company.

With close friends- who the hell cares all that much? I have no problem having differing opinions from close friends, or theirs differing from mine. Just a hunch- but I would suspect anyone having trouble befriending people on some (largely imaginary beyond all this stupid bickering like what goes on here) 'other side' the problem is actually with you, not everyone else.

 

[yllus]

I have a couple of strong conservative friends but mostly my friends are centre-left like myself.

 

[1sikbITCH]

I wouldn't be able to tell you, I don't really care about politics. I can't even put one of those labels on myself (left, right, liberal, conservative) because I don't even know exactly what they mean in the context of politics, nor do I really care.

I do LOL at all the people who argue over these stupid labels and try to convince everyone to agree with their side or else they are the worst people on the planet. But I can only take so much of that even on these forums, before I have to just leave.

So do you just stab at the ballot with your eyes closed or do you not vote at all?

 

[Jaskalas]

I did not realize that people had friends after they left college. I thought most people were disaffected loners like myself. IF I had or wanted friends, I probably would want them to share my worldview.

I think the concept of real life and blood friends is dying. Who needs them when you have the internet?

Who is going to help you move, or watch your pets, water your plants, give you a ride, pickup the kids, etc.. etc.. as needed / during an emergency? Having people who care, IRL, is a basic survival mechanism. It can be quite important in life.

You're seriously not trolling us? The sentiment is wildly... foreign to me. Though I may be the definition of a hermit, I'm under no delusion that it's for the best. Life is better "together".

 

[bshole]

Who is going to help you move, or watch your pets, water your plants, give you a ride, pickup the kids, etc.. etc.. as needed / during an emergency? Having people who care, IRL, is a basic survival mechanism. It can be quite important in life.

You're seriously not trolling us? The sentiment is wildly... foreign to me. Though I may be the definition of a hermit, I'm under no delusion that it's for the best. Life is better "together".

You probably know by now that much of what I post is half-troll. The post was somewhat in jest and somewhat in earnest. I have my wife, she and the kids are the only humans that I could not live without. If I lose any one of them, I will follow quite quickly.

You are asked to attend a function for friends but are on the cusp of a major raid in WoW. To what lengths would you go to avoid attending the function? They have made the internet so damn interesting that doing real things with real people has become boring. It is like heroin. I cannot be away from the internet for an extended period of time without getting uncomfortable.

 

[MrSquished]

Most of my friends IRL are progressives. Nobody is voting for Donald Trump. From the colleagues whose political positions I know, most are left of center.

And on dating websites like OKCupid I often find profiles where the girl has put at the bottom of her profile under 'You should message me if' that Trump supporters and/or Republicans should basically not message them. I've never seen the reverse posted. But I'm lucky to live in Jersey City, NJ just a stones throw away from NYC. Full of dirty liberals. Phew.

 

[JSt0rm]

I have some conservative friends. We tend to not talk politics.

 

[purbeast0]

So do you just stab at the ballot with your eyes closed or do you not vote at all?

I've never voted.