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Have you lost a friend over politics?

SheWolf

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This was being discussed in another thread. American politics is very divisive and crazy right now, and it seems a lot of people have experienced a disruption in their friendship or a relationship with a person over current politics.

Has this happened to you?

Can you relate?
 
Nope.

There are a couple people we just don't bother talking politics with and there's a sort of moratorium on political talk with the in-laws. Probably helps.



Last time any of this came up with the in-laws, one insisted that Trump was the best president ever and everything he had done was correct.....

...but then couldn't name a single thing Trump did that was correct, let alone make an argument about why. Might as well have a conversation with a belligerent litter box.
 
I have lost friends over politics. They weren't close friends though. I was a little sad but not crushed. So I learned a relatively cheap lesson about taking care where I spoke of politics lest I lose anyone else. In particular, no politics on my facebook wall.
 
I have a facebook page and my one rule is that I never mention politics. Never.

But I have friends on the Right and on the Left. So almost daily I see both sides posting their diatribes about the other side.

Am tempted but never comment on their rantings.


I think the most amusing post was a friend on the Right. During the NFL kneeling escapade he strongly denounced the NFL and would never watch our Seahawks again. Just last week he posted a pic of him and buddy at his home. They are standing by table with pizza on it. This happens to be the night the Seahawks played the Chiefs. And the cherry on the cake was that he was in a Seahawk shirt. He's a little crazy but still a good friend.
 
Nope, my friends are my friends for a reason, and I love them. While we don't always agree, that trumps a few oopsies.
 
...but then couldn't name a single thing Trump did that was correct, let alone make an argument about why. Might as well have a conversation with a belligerent litter box.

That is how things go with my boss. What makes it worse is that he's an economic doomsdayer. He talks about the same damn thing every single day. and he doesn't understand why the Fed raises interest rates and that every time the market does something it means it's gonna crash.

The other day he was starring at his computer like a little kid watching the stock market crash and laughing.
 
This was being discussed in another thread. American politics is very divisive and crazy right now, and it seems a lot of people have experienced a disruption in their friendship or a relationship with a person over current politics.

Has this happened to you?

Can you relate?

There are some family members I know to avoid. My dad tries to bring up an outdated cultural war to prove that the leftists are taking over, but it's not shocking considering his number 1 news sources is Fox News. I heard it before he tells me and I either debate him on it for a little while or just nod my head and agree.
 
Friends can come and friends can go, there are plenty of fish in the sea.....it is family who wont speak to me, especially the old liberals who most certainly should know better but dont obviously....those are the ones who disappoint me the most.
 
No. I've never based friendships on political views (although I have made friends of those who share mine) or religious beliefs either.

But I find very frustrating the family members and friends who interject either of these topics apropos of nothing and ruin a lovely time. There you are at a restaurant laughing and enjoying talking about "everything and nothing" when out of nowhere, somebody feels compelled to pipe up with "Bush/Clinton/Obama/Trump just sucks." And then he or she goes on to detail how stupid anybody is who disagrees.
 
No. I've never based friendships on political views (although I have made friends of those who share mine) or religious beliefs either.

But I find very frustrating the family members and friends who interject either of these topics apropos of nothing and ruin a lovely time. There you are at a restaurant laughing and enjoying talking about "everything and nothing" when out of nowhere, somebody feels compelled to pipe up with "Bush/Clinton/Obama/Trump just sucks." And then he or she goes on to detail how stupid anybody is who disagrees.

Back in the Good Old Days when people were better there would be agreements that certain things will not be spoken of at certain times because people cant manage not letting them ruin communal time, and they most certainly cant be allowed to ruin communal time, because communal time is so very important, because the health of the community is very important, very likely everyones quality of life depends upon the health of the community and sometimes certainly too does each actual life existing.




Ya, we blow that sort of good sense off now.




Because too often we both suck as people and also we tend to be dumb now.






SAD
 
No, but with one particular friend, we do attempt to discuss it, I respect his opinion because we grew up in very different countries under very different circumstances...

But he crosses into conspiracy theory territory often and the conversation tends to fall apart, so we move on to other subjects, other than that I don’t think so.
 
This was being discussed in another thread. American politics is very divisive and crazy right now, and it seems a lot of people have experienced a disruption in their friendship or a relationship with a person over current politics.

Has this happened to you?

Can you relate?

Yes, and it was a friend who was a disabled veteran who my wife and I helped. We showed him how to file a claim, what the process would entail, what kinds of benefits and compensation he could expect, how to answer critical questions, how to navigate the VA Health Care System and ultimately how to find the best VA disability law firm should he decide to go that route instead.
Then, we carefully explained what to expect from a disability law firm.

About a year ago he accused us both of not respecting the troops and hating the military.
He knows that my wife is a 100% service connected disabled Navy veteran.
We reminded him that we helped him with his claim.
He went into a meltdown and said that he had done it all himself, and that we had never helped him and that we were liars.
I pulled up the message thread from way back in 2012 where we had started the conversation, which by the way included letters, phone calls, Skype conversations, emails and social media private messages. We pulled it all up and he continued to accuse us of making all of it up.

And then he cut ties and blocked us on all social media.
I had been friends with this guy since second grade...fifty-three years.

Yes, a Trump supporter.
 
Yes, and it was a friend who was a disabled veteran who my wife and I helped. We showed him how to file a claim, what the process would entail, what kinds of benefits and compensation he could expect, how to answer critical questions, how to navigate the VA Health Care System and ultimately how to find the best VA disability law firm should he decide to go that route instead.
Then, we carefully explained what to expect from a disability law firm.

About a year ago he accused us both of not respecting the troops and hating the military.
He knows that my wife is a 100% service connected disabled Navy veteran.
We reminded him that we helped him with his claim.
He went into a meltdown and said that he had done it all himself, and that we had never helped him and that we were liars.
I pulled up the message thread from way back in 2012 where we had started the conversation, which by the way included letters, phone calls, Skype conversations, emails and social media private messages. We pulled it all up and he continued to accuse us of making all of it up.

And then he cut ties and blocked us on all social media.
I had been friends with this guy since second grade...fifty-three years.

Yes, a Trump supporter.

Did your friend not want to admit that was wrong or something?
 
There are some family members I know to avoid. My dad tries to bring up an outdated cultural war to prove that the leftists are taking over, but it's not shocking considering his number 1 news sources is Fox News. I heard it before he tells me and I either debate him on it for a little while or just nod my head and agree.

The Brainwashing of my Dad
 
Did your friend not want to admit that was wrong or something?

I dunno, it just really hurt us both when he accused us of hating the military and disrespecting the troops.
I've managed to move past it but my wife is still furious about it, and the thing is, he was MY friend, she only knew him through me.
 
I dunno, it just really hurt us both when he accused us of hating the military and disrespecting the troops.
I've managed to move past it but my wife is still furious about it, and the thing is, he was MY friend, she only knew him through me.

So your friend considered his conservative beliefs to more important than your friendship?
 
Back in the Good Old Days when people were better there would be agreements that certain things will not be spoken of at certain times because people cant manage not letting them ruin communal time, and they most certainly cant be allowed to ruin communal time, because communal time is so very important, because the health of the community is very important, very likely everyones quality of life depends upon the health of the community and sometimes certainly too does each actual life existing.





Ya, we blow that sort of good sense off now.




Because too often we both suck as people and also we tend to be dumb now.






SAD

Not sure how "back" in the Good Old Days you are referencing...but I distinctly remember as a child, on the way to holiday events my mother insisting to my father that there would be no political discussions. I think there always were, despite her objections. Maybe we always sucked as people?
 
Not sure how "back" in the Good Old Days you are referencing...but I distinctly remember as a child, on the way to holiday events my mother insisting to my father that there would be no political discussions. I think there always were, despite her objections. Maybe we always sucked as people?

I am talking about my grandparents generation, born in the aughts of the twentieth century mostly.

They had lived through very hard times, and they had by the time I met them a code that they lived by.
 
I would say, it's not just simply a matter of political disagreement but what politics brings out in a person. I have seen some very serious and concerning behavior.

My cousin has a family member, and he was an extreme hater of Obama. He believed Obama was a secret Muslim, born in Kenya, and all that stuff. He was posting on Facebook really angry and hateful stuff. A lot of it was directed towards Muslims. This turned into long arguments involving several people. My cousin got involved, my sister, and eventually my mom. I never got involved, but it got really bad.

When Trump started running for office, he was super excited. He started posting everything Trump. As this went on, and his anti Muslim ranting, I became concerned. I was talking to my sister and I said, he seems like the kind of person to try to set a mosque on fire or something.

When Trump won, he continued attacking my cousin on FB. It got so bad, she deleted her account. This is still an ongoing issue for my cousin, but I was very upset, because I knew him most of my life too. Not many of us want him around or want to invite him over for holidays.

Then I have also seen the casual people I know posting really offensive stuff... I am talking about racism, and anti Muslim stuff that ends up in my dad's feed. He is a muslim, and it's crazy to see people you have known most of your life posting hateful things about your religion, and arguing with others saying, "please tell me you wouldn't be dumb enough to let a Muslim babysit your kids!"

This was a very shocking and eye opening experience, and started soon after Trump's election.

My sister complained that she was at the store, and she saw our friend's mom. Her mom is a big Trump supporter, and wouldn't talk to my sister. My sister thought it was probably related to politics.
 
Yes, and it was a friend who was a disabled veteran who my wife and I helped. We showed him how to file a claim, what the process would entail, what kinds of benefits and compensation he could expect, how to answer critical questions, how to navigate the VA Health Care System and ultimately how to find the best VA disability law firm should he decide to go that route instead.
Then, we carefully explained what to expect from a disability law firm.

About a year ago he accused us both of not respecting the troops and hating the military.
He knows that my wife is a 100% service connected disabled Navy veteran.
We reminded him that we helped him with his claim.
He went into a meltdown and said that he had done it all himself, and that we had never helped him and that we were liars.
I pulled up the message thread from way back in 2012 where we had started the conversation, which by the way included letters, phone calls, Skype conversations, emails and social media private messages. We pulled it all up and he continued to accuse us of making all of it up.

And then he cut ties and blocked us on all social media.
I had been friends with this guy since second grade...fifty-three years.

Yes, a Trump supporter.

That's very unfortunate.
 
Nope.

There are a couple people we just don't bother talking politics with and there's a sort of moratorium on political talk with the in-laws. Probably helps.



Last time any of this came up with the in-laws, one insisted that Trump was the best president ever and everything he had done was correct.....

...but then couldn't name a single thing Trump did that was correct, let alone make an argument about why. Might as well have a conversation with a belligerent litter box.

My sister had the same conversation with her in laws... :2razz:
 
So your friend considered his conservative beliefs to more important than your friendship?

I don't know, you'd have to ask him. I can't tell you what makes him tick these days. We were always on opposite ends of the political spectrum but when Trump got elected, something came over him.
 
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