I dropped all my life long friendships myself.

Every one of them bought into the trump propaganda so did most of my family as well. I haven’t talked to them for about a year and a half now. The only friends I have left are just people I met online who are with the resistance mostly on twitter.

It sucks but no way is it worth trying to make them see sense. If they were that easily fooled into drinking the kool-aid then I know I am better off without them in my life.

is a phrase that springs to mind.

His new order is rapidly fadin, and the drumpfenfuhrer is 'the first one', (right now).

I would have to think that we have all experienced something like this. I have a friend whom I have known since I was about 4 who has essentially devolved into being a neo-confederate. How does a Reform Jew from a 95% Jewish neighborhood devolve into a hard right Evangical? Of course he would not admit to being an Evangelical, like your friend doesn't own his anti-Semitism, but I would defy him to distinguish his Moody Bible Jew for Jesus theology from Evanglicalism. And what is Evangelicalism? Its a splinter group of various other splinter groups that exists because there was a death of trained clergy on the Frontier.

It's crazy and I know that as much as it makes sense, cutting it off the cultists, it still hurts. I'm sorry for your loss.

Or any other social media for that matter.

When I meet old friends while on a trip or at a reunion politics will not come up. I am sure many of them differ than me on the political front. If I was on Facebook I would probably do as you did and sever the relationship. And I generally see value in keeping those relationships.

I know many here who believe anyone who voted for Trump is evil and they want not a single one in their life. I get and respect that view. I just disagree. Most of my friends who voted for trump do not follow politics nor the news that closely.

That said, my closest friends I regularly socialize with did not vote for trump or are non political.

Finally, where I live and work I know no one as left as me, not even my wife!

but I draw the line at anti-Semitism.

I do not hang with anyone who is overtly racist or anti-Semitic.

Now you can make a strong argument that anyone who voted for trump is in some way racist. But where I live even most white Democrats, probably myself included, carry more racist tendencies than we like to admit. We Southerners cannot walk away from our past as easy as that.

Divide and conquer strategy and it's working, as you've seen. These people are evil and only care about money and power with no concern for our culture or communities.

They will start and fuel a hate-based idea if they feel it will get a few votes and further tribalize our people. Fueled mainly by Faux News and hundreds of right-wing talk radio shows.

There's no doubt that anti-Semitism, racism, sexism and many other under-the-surface issues need much work in the USA, but only the Repugs can turn every one of those into divisiveness. On those issues, we need to be united and work together on solutions.

That is a bs line used by people to justify their own true beliefs.

One does not show support for Trump because of the BS about Clinton. They might vote for Trump for that reason but at no point is it a reason to support Trump on any other day but election day.

"and he still is with regard to some issues - for example, he is actively pro-LGBTQ."

No, he is not.

Anyone who voted for him is by their deeds not pro LGBTQ. But people are complicated and we are all good at fooling ourselves.

One of my good friends voted for trump. And he has never favored oppression of same sex couples. And now favors same sex marriage. A live and let live sort of guy. And being honest, there are very, very few heterosexuals my age(over 50) or older who have supported same sex marriage for more than a decade or so. We all evolved on the issue same as President Obama.

His vote for Trump was all because he is a cool aid drinker on tax cuts. He and many like him just vote R as naturally as breathing. Fucking Reagan did a number on an entire generation of southern whites. Well, Reagan and institutional racism that many cannot or will not see.

My buddies teen sons are turning out to be liberal! Perhaps partly due to their godfathers influence!

Have a happy new year.

Last edited Sat Dec 30, 2017, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)

truly pro-LGBTQ, but he truly thinks he is. And he used to be so open-minded - or at least, I thought so. People are baffling, that's for sure.

Edited for spelling.

Americans by and large, perhaps the majority of them, are not as emotional and convinced that Trump is a fascist and unmitigated disaster as much as we are.

I get the impression that all of us talking about Impeachment and jailing Trump and his people is just way beyond what most Americans want to see happen. They may not like Trump, but they're not super fired up about it either. Our absolute certainty has the potential to clash significantly with ordinary American's expectations.

I witnessed this first hand back in Howard Dean's campaign. People calling on his behalf kept saying "Let's get to work and take our country back from the Bush evil empire." And while we believed it, i think that message turned off many of the people Dean was marketing to.

That's an emotional reaction-----------and I'm hardly being sexist.

It was over the pattern that's been developing over the course of a year and the specifics of this most recent conversation. I was still willing to remain friends with him even after his strong support of Trump, since I thought maybe he's just misinformed, even though I was troubled by the fact that he would be willing to support someone who is so explicitly racist and sexist. But I have now come to the realization that this is who this person is.

Also, without knowing the details of what he said about Jews (since I chose not to share it), I find it surprising that you think you have sufficient information to tell me that my decision to unfriend this person is an emotional one. It's not, in fact. I just decided that since he has proven himself to be someone who supports the same arguments that led to the Holocaust, I will no longer be his friend. That is hardly simply an emotion-driven decision.

Glad it doesn't own me. I don't need to babysit it.

I wouldn't "unfriend" anyone online or in person over politics, but I sure understand the temptation.

I'm from the generation that was taught that politics and religion aren't topics for civilized social conversation; I guess it's pretty deeply embedded in my psyche, because I tend to avoid those topics in real life, and to ignore "friends" online who use their social media to spout political bigotry.

Not here, or on other specifically political sites; that's what the sites are for. Even here, though, I do my best not to get sucked into posts that are not designed for constructive conversation and debate. Sometimes I fail. And I don't visit here much any more because it's so hard to find those constructive conversations anymore.

I'm sorry you lost your friend.

They brag about telling family to eff off, they brag about telling “friends” to eff off, they brag about insulting co-workers and so on. There was one post some time ago where a poster intended to ruin his/her family’s Christmas dinner in a rather violent manner. This kind of thing is confusing to me. It certainly will not work to change anyone’s mind.

I have friends I disagree with politically very strongly. No one is perfect or has the market on good ideas. If he was your friend for so long how could he be sexist this whole time? Maybe he was "emotional" himself that day...

and re read the thread, I bet you can see where he is the one who got emotional, then accused you. Recognize it, for the future. As soon as you see it, call it out. IOW take that ploy off the table for them.