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Saviolo

(3,282 posts)
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 12:32 PM Nov 2017

(NOT SATIRE) Trump Fans Are Owning Libs by Losing All Their Friends

Full article here on VICE: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb3aqd/trump-fans-are-owning-libs-by-losing-all-their-friends

In the era of Trump, Breitbart, and the MAGA set, it seems as if familial cordiality is becoming a thing of the past for many. America has always been ruled by political tribalism to some degree or another, but the divisions have been kicked up to 11 since the 2016 election, with no signs of being cranked down anytime soon.

The evidence of this is (of course) on social media. On Tuesday, popular pro-Trump Twitter account @Education4Libs tweeted out, “I just saved a bunch of money on Christmas presents by sharing my political views on Facebook,” a sentiment that subsequently went viral, with more than 2,700 retweets. Obviously the original post was meant to be (at least partially) satirical, but as beloved cool guy of online @RandyGDub pointed out, it precipitated thousands of replies from @Education4Libs’s fellow Trumpers, many of whom seemed gleeful that their breathless support of America’s big wet leader has alienated them from their loved ones:

Trickle-down economics may be a big pile of Reagan-era bullshit, but trickle-down Trumpism seems to be a startlingly real factor behind this rise in manic tribalist behavior. Trump’s identity, and his style of governance, is based on highly polarized divisiveness and outspoken feuding. In just the past few weeks, he has started extremely public fights with everyone from NFL player Marshawn Lynch to basketball dad LaVar Ball to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The unifying factor in the Trump attacks is a complete scorched-earth strategy: The NFL should enforce his suggestions or face total boycott. Ball should be thanking Trump on both knees for keeping his son out of Chinese prison. There is no room for nuance or compromise or even just not talking politics—either you’re with Trump, or fuck you. And now his supporters are bringing this philosophy into their own lives.

During the campaign, Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose voters." I used to think that statement was hyperbolic, but it seems more and more likely to be true. Fuck, he might just do it to prove himself right. (I can hear him now telling Steve Doucey he’s never even been on Fifth Avenue.) I never had many Trump-supporting friends on Facebook to begin with, but the few I did have spent the last year systemically antagonizing everyone they knew, almost challenging them to sever ties.

Conservatives are of course not the only guilty parties here —many on the left have consciously uncoupled from relatives and friends following the election of America’s Special Guy. (I personally cut ties with an old co-worker who sent me a bunch of racist stuff on election night as a way to gloat.) But the gleeful attitude of some of these Trump supporters is still a hell of a thing to see. It’s supposed to be sad when we can’t bring ourselves to sit down to a meal with people we disagree with. Politics isn’t supposed to be this toxic.
33 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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(NOT SATIRE) Trump Fans Are Owning Libs by Losing All Their Friends (Original Post) Saviolo Nov 2017 OP
And they're angry tweeting at LeVar Burton not LaVar Ball underpants Nov 2017 #1
They'll be boycotting ST:TNG any minute now Saviolo Nov 2017 #2
Hey Trumpsters: Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out! PS. Your cheap presents suck anyway! TheBlackAdder Nov 2017 #3
I haven't talked to my sibs since the election. Girard442 Nov 2017 #4
They're all insane, dumb, or both NastyRiffraff Nov 2017 #5
they are even dumber than THAT............ Takket Nov 2017 #20
They don't have a second thought about losing you as a friend. kentuck Nov 2017 #6
Im not attending the larger family gathering theaocp Nov 2017 #7
Every day I thank the Deity FakeNoose Nov 2017 #8
Agreed 100% emulatorloo Nov 2017 #11
eh, FB is about my only social contact...and here. BlancheSplanchnik Nov 2017 #22
Pantsuit led me to xmas74 Nov 2017 #29
Yes! BlancheSplanchnik Nov 2017 #30
There are also fantastic groups to join xmas74 Nov 2017 #28
"viral, with more than 2,700 retweets" FreeState Nov 2017 #9
You bet your ass I "consciously uncoupled from relatives and friends". I have absolutely airmid Nov 2017 #10
This year, I am replacing the time I might spend BillyBobBrilliant Nov 2017 #12
Animals may save us yet NastyRiffraff Nov 2017 #25
It's a cult now workinclasszero Nov 2017 #13
hmmmmm....hope someone suggests that second idea to him. BlancheSplanchnik Nov 2017 #31
This is what cult members are like. The leader alienates them from friends & family. Honeycombe8 Nov 2017 #14
Usually is a religious component as well workinclasszero Nov 2017 #19
isn't fundy Christianity really just a cult to begin with? pstokely Nov 2017 #33
Educate Libs Twitter Account outinleftfield2 Nov 2017 #15
In Most Cases, for Liberals It Is Blessed Relief Leith Nov 2017 #16
Well, I can't say that I will miss them! Initech Nov 2017 #17
For us, it started before trump Marthe48 Nov 2017 #18
I no longer have anything to do with 95% of my family elmac Nov 2017 #21
Trump supporters are amusing idiots Gothmog Nov 2017 #23
I Hadn't Read This Article.... Laxman Nov 2017 #24
so...they say they 'own us' cuz they have isolated themselves? samnsara Nov 2017 #26
Yeah, it's a wicked "self own" Saviolo Nov 2017 #27
"Politics isnt supposed to be this toxic." Dark n Stormy Knight Nov 2017 #32

Saviolo

(3,282 posts)
2. They'll be boycotting ST:TNG any minute now
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 12:37 PM
Nov 2017

Trump doesn't know how to read, so boycotting Reading Rainbow would be pointless.

TheBlackAdder

(28,208 posts)
3. Hey Trumpsters: Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out! PS. Your cheap presents suck anyway!
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 12:38 PM
Nov 2017

.

You either repackage shit you don't want, or constantly give gifts much lower in value than what you receive.

.

Girard442

(6,075 posts)
4. I haven't talked to my sibs since the election.
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 12:58 PM
Nov 2017

I'm a tree-huggin' dirty-effin' hippy and peacenik from way back, so they know how I voted without me telling them. I'm not absolutely sure how they voted, but I'd say it's a 99% chance they all went for Trump. In the last year, one of them could have dropped me a text saying, "You know, I voted for Hillary, just in case you were wondering", but nada.

I wish it wasn't this way, but I don't have the stomach to listen to anyone go on about how great this man is, let alone someone I grew up with.

NastyRiffraff

(12,448 posts)
5. They're all insane, dumb, or both
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 01:07 PM
Nov 2017

These are people who destroyed their own coffeemakers because Keurig pulled some ads. That's a special kind of stupidity.

Takket

(21,575 posts)
20. they are even dumber than THAT............
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 03:00 PM
Nov 2017

some of them actually BOUGHT coffee makers, just so they could smash them. A fact I'm sure the Keurig people were laughing their asses off about as they deposited the profits from the smashed coffee makers in the bank.

kentuck

(111,101 posts)
6. They don't have a second thought about losing you as a friend.
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 01:08 PM
Nov 2017

While you may hesitate to post something on Facebook because of the way it may be interpreted?

That should tell us all we need to know.

theaocp

(4,241 posts)
7. Im not attending the larger family gathering
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 01:24 PM
Nov 2017

This year because I don’t feel familial love AT ALL. trumpers are as trumpers do. Enough is enough. Enjoy each other.

FakeNoose

(32,645 posts)
8. Every day I thank the Deity
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:13 PM
Nov 2017

... that I never joined Facebook. I used to go on there once in a while, because they would nag me with their emails/spam constantly. But I never had a desire to join and I know now that I never will.

Anyone who's on Facebook should quit it immediately. This is completely insane.

BlancheSplanchnik

(20,219 posts)
22. eh, FB is about my only social contact...and here.
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 04:15 PM
Nov 2017

Lotta good groups to join.

Lucky I don't have any relatives so no frootloopy bullshit to put up with. Friends can be blocked if they get wingy.

xmas74

(29,674 posts)
29. Pantsuit led me to
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 07:11 PM
Nov 2017

Indivisible and Marching Onwards, amongst others.
I've met some fascinating locals through Indivisible and Marching Onwards is planning some actions.

xmas74

(29,674 posts)
28. There are also fantastic groups to join
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 07:08 PM
Nov 2017

With lots of info about how to fight this administration. There are many good people I've met, some in person, from those groups.

There are so many plans of action in play and those closed or private groups help me get the information I need.

airmid

(500 posts)
10. You bet your ass I "consciously uncoupled from relatives and friends". I have absolutely
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:30 PM
Nov 2017

nothing in common with Trump voters. I cut lose family and friends of over forty years. I am done.

BillyBobBrilliant

(805 posts)
12. This year, I am replacing the time I might spend
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:36 PM
Nov 2017

with my daughter, and my grandkids, for time with my non-Trump-supporting Dog, Melbin, and the the lovely cats Pflash, and Holly.
So much less drama.

 

workinclasszero

(28,270 posts)
13. It's a cult now
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:41 PM
Nov 2017

If Dump is ever impeached and tells his followers to take up arms and kill democrats they will.

If he tells them to poison themselves and their children Jim Jones style, many of them would.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
14. This is what cult members are like. The leader alienates them from friends & family.
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:48 PM
Nov 2017

All for the sake of the cult. The cult leader spouts lies, misinformation, tells the followers that it's the others who are lying to them, that only the cult leader can take care of them and their souls. Not unlike Trump, when you think of it. He has stated that only HE can do one thing or the other. Only HE has the answers. The OTHERS are the liars.

Not so very different. I've read that only deprogramming can help cult members. You can't argue logically with them. They are programmed like prisoners who have been brainwashed over a period of time. They can't accept, or even recognize, logic, any more.

pstokely

(10,528 posts)
33. isn't fundy Christianity really just a cult to begin with?
Thu Nov 23, 2017, 07:19 AM
Nov 2017

if tRump said he was bigger than Jesus, they'd cheer

 

outinleftfield2

(13 posts)
15. Educate Libs Twitter Account
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:53 PM
Nov 2017

I looked at the tweets on that account and it has all the earmarks of being a fake Russian posing as an American. Internet Research Agency perhaps? Is that you Vitaly?

Leith

(7,809 posts)
16. In Most Cases, for Liberals It Is Blessed Relief
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:54 PM
Nov 2017

We don't have to be cordial while enduring their childish barbs any more. We are now blameless for the cut. The punchline is that they think we are distressed about the split.

Marthe48

(16,970 posts)
18. For us, it started before trump
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 02:57 PM
Nov 2017

Say with bush. Maybe after President Obama won, and the idiots thought America was ruined. We cut ties with conservatives that were family or friends. I don't understand why previously normal people have to act like bad sports. They didn't really win. They backed a really crummy pos and they are getting screwed sideways. And by maintaining their support, they are actively working against their own country. The amount of hypocrisy is sickening. I'd rather never talk to anyone again than pretend to like a traitor. I wish I would have spoken up in every situation about how good we had it with Pres. Obama. But I withdrew from the conversation, because in the end, you can't have a reasonable conversation with anyone on the right.

 

elmac

(4,642 posts)
21. I no longer have anything to do with 95% of my family
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 03:15 PM
Nov 2017

who are tRumpsters. Found new liberal friends also, I'm good.

Laxman

(2,419 posts)
24. I Hadn't Read This Article....
Wed Nov 22, 2017, 05:29 PM
Nov 2017

before I posted this: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029875715 but it gets at what I've been feeling.
"....it seems normal to purposefully start fights with loved ones out of a misplaced allegiance to a deluded and vicious game show host who wouldn’t piss on his supporters if they were on fire." Ain't it the truth

In the era of Trump, Breitbart, and the MAGA set, it seems as if familial cordiality is becoming a thing of the past for many. America has always been ruled by political tribalism to some degree or another, but the divisions have been kicked up to 11 since the 2016 election, with no signs of being cranked down anytime soon.

Dark n Stormy Knight

(9,760 posts)
32. "Politics isnt supposed to be this toxic."
Thu Nov 23, 2017, 02:48 AM
Nov 2017

"Politics" is the process by which we influence the laws, policies, and programs of the nation. These have a huge impact on most people's lives. Anyone supporting politicians behind harmful, unfair, idiotic policies, programs, and laws is helping to make the country and world a toxic in multiple ways.

And they're usually people who are bigoted, misogynistic, and unreasonable. I don't enjoy spending time with such people.

I've cut ties w my most of my RW relatives, though we were never close, so no big loss. If my maternal GPs were still alive, they'd be RWers, and we'd have to agree to disagree. My parents are both solid Dems. Only one of my 4 siblings is än R, and even she thinks Trump is a pig.

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