My dad and best friend are republicans
- Thread starter Jayson
- Start date
Same difference.
Have you ever heard Louis CK questioning Donald Rumsfeld about being a space lizard? It's friggin' hilarious.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK8Y2nO_8TM[/yt]
Uploaded by louisck on Feb 24, 2011
this is and EDITED VERSION of me as a guest on the Opie and Anthony show on Sirrius XM radio 202. I asked the former secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, if he and Dick CHeney are lizards from outerspace who eat human flesh, for example: Mexican babies. He did not answer the question directly. He did not deny it. Much was discussed. Anthony Cumia of the show was simultaneously asking some interesting political questions. Mister Rumsfeld was courteous, but he gave me no reason to doubt that he is a lizard. http://www.louisck.com
I grew up in an Irish Catholic family from Dorchester, so, yeah, I was pretty much surrounded by Right Wing thinking. Being a liberal (not Left Wing, mind you) intellectual with artistic inclinations did not make for an easy childhood.
My Mother is becoming rather liberalized in her old age, though. Of late, instead of going off on random rants about the Kennedys and how the Globe is part of a widespread anti-Catholic conspiracy, she has begun going off on occasional unprovoked musings about how much better the world is today now that racism and sexism are no longer acceptable. She has even become accepting of homosexuality and Gay marriage. She even seems to be taking a little pride in the fact that her little retirement community has an elderly Gay couple.
My Mother is becoming rather liberalized in her old age, though. Of late, instead of going off on random rants about the Kennedys and how the Globe is part of a widespread anti-Catholic conspiracy, she has begun going off on occasional unprovoked musings about how much better the world is today now that racism and sexism are no longer acceptable. She has even become accepting of homosexuality and Gay marriage. She even seems to be taking a little pride in the fact that her little retirement community has an elderly Gay couple.
Salt Lake County went Obama by 300 votes out of 344,000 votes cast.
Well, my parents are fairly conservative, but they don't talk about politics much. On one side of my family I have some aunts and a grandparent who are fairly liberal, which made for some "interesting" conversations when my family went over to visit. The other side of my family stays away from the topic of politics, so I really have no idea where many of their beliefs lie. I have had a couple of conservative friends here and there, and used to date a Republican, but the majority of my friends have been liberal. For some reason my core group of friends in high school were all gay/lesbian (we really didn't plan it that way, and many of them didn't admit it until later), so that made for some uncomfortable moments when they were around my parents. Don't get me wrong, my parents have always been nice to my friends and never said anything judgemental to their faces, but it was hard to listen to some of the comments they made after they left the room.
As for myself...well, I must take after the apolitical side of the family, because I avoid talking about politics at all costs. Even when I agree with someone, I feel uncomfortable stating it out loud. I have my own personal beliefs and feelings, and don't feel the need or desire to broadcast them to anyone else. I like to soak in information and formulate my own opinions through inner dialogue rather than group discussions. This is one of the reasons I can't stand cable news shows, they make me feel extremely uncomfortable when watching, even if I agree with what they're saying. Also, I would prefer that new people I meet (especially at a new job) don't categorize me based on a few key political or social points, so I like to remain somewhat of a mystery in that regard. If someone came up to me and directly asked for my opinion on a specific item, such as abortions or gay marriage, I would tell them what I believe, but I don't make a habit of getting into an argument about it, I just state my opinion and that's that. And I definitely don't bring up the topic myself.
So really, I would feel comfortable having friends of any political persuasion, as it isn't an issue that would arise often. If they were someone who continually tried to provoke me into political debates then I wouldn't be their friend to begin with, as the debaters in life usually don't befriend the quiet types like me.
As for myself...well, I must take after the apolitical side of the family, because I avoid talking about politics at all costs. Even when I agree with someone, I feel uncomfortable stating it out loud. I have my own personal beliefs and feelings, and don't feel the need or desire to broadcast them to anyone else. I like to soak in information and formulate my own opinions through inner dialogue rather than group discussions. This is one of the reasons I can't stand cable news shows, they make me feel extremely uncomfortable when watching, even if I agree with what they're saying. Also, I would prefer that new people I meet (especially at a new job) don't categorize me based on a few key political or social points, so I like to remain somewhat of a mystery in that regard. If someone came up to me and directly asked for my opinion on a specific item, such as abortions or gay marriage, I would tell them what I believe, but I don't make a habit of getting into an argument about it, I just state my opinion and that's that. And I definitely don't bring up the topic myself.
So really, I would feel comfortable having friends of any political persuasion, as it isn't an issue that would arise often. If they were someone who continually tried to provoke me into political debates then I wouldn't be their friend to begin with, as the debaters in life usually don't befriend the quiet types like me.
Of course! That's a part of life. My parents are quite moderate. They listened to Rush Limbaugh in my childhood but have long since written him off. They are "unfortunate" moderates in that they are fiscally conservative (for the most part, they support Obamacare) but are socially progressive (yet adamantly pro-life); like many, they find themselves without a party to represent them.
Several other family members range from as liberal as I am to card carrying Palin supporters registered as "Hannity insiders." The trick is that we really don't chat politics very much at big family events. There's really no temptation to, either.
If anything, take the opportunity to learn from your Dad and friend and to understand the reasons for their perspective. If you write them off as "stupid" or "bigots" simply because they identify with the Republican party, then you would be the closed-minded one!
And some pretty substantial chunks of the Midwest as well.
It varies from person to person.
Well spank me silly. I never knew that.
Interesting, as most people who have flip flopped over the years have started as highly liberal in college and gotten more conservative over time.
My mom always leaned right, but is just becoming bitter and nasty as she gets older. She's got an opinion on every race, nationality, or ethnic group that she's happy to share. Every time we travel somewhere, she 'warns' us about how it's full of this group or that group.
My current love "votes blue" as she says meaning she votes Conservative. It's interesting because she has yet to voice any opinions that strike me as Conservative and she's never disagreed with any of my socially liberal positions. Of course UK Conservative != USA Conservative (except maybe the more batshit elements), but this is a new experience for me. She's challenging for a variety of reasons and I find it quite refreshing.
Weren't the campaign managers for Clinton and Dole married? Political views don't automatically equate to incompatibility.
Weren't the campaign managers for Clinton and Dole married? Political views don't automatically equate to incompatibility.
I would agree, but I have yet to have an argument as she doesn't like talking politics. It definitely adds to the mystery as I'm not clear why she votes Conservative.
Oh and San Francisco is pretty out there on the left. Living there definitely gives you a distorted view of the public pulse. Visiting pretty much anywhere else in the States outside of Santa Cruz can be a hard dose of reality.
Your lucky. My dad and best friend are Deadheads.
Massachusetts
Already answered.
Boston is the little city that couldn't. It's politically liberal here but beyond uptight in many other ways. I count the days until we move.
