Can you be friends with leftists?

S

stadtaffe

Orthodox
Heirloom
I'm reviving an old RVF thread by the same title, although wish it to be more general than that thread was. If anyone is routinely querying a mirror of the old RVF site feel free to post the original post in the thread so we can see what he had to say.

I'm keeping the old title out of tradition although there probably are better ways of wording the question.

I wanted the discussion to be more broad and include for example following topics :
  • can you work with leftists
  • can you do business with leftists
  • can you date or marry a leftist
  • can you be friends with gays or lesbians
  • can you be friends with blacks
The answer to many of these questions is probably you could but you probably should not, life is short.

In the West we live in an age of forced multiculturalism. In particular in the workplace there is a compulsion to not discriminate and focus on the work and leave politics, race or colour totally out of it. When I was an employee it took me a large effort to keep all political thoughts inside over the course of the working day. Of course not talking about politics in the workplace does not apply so strongly to leftists as it does to conservatives.

I have had a few gay or black male acquaintances over the years although have found over the years these friendships can't become very profound.

In recent times I had a business meeting which had gone mainly well, but at one point he just had to drop a comment about his undying support for Ukraine and how it will inevitably defeat Russia in the war. I really wish he had not said that, I was just trying to evaluate the merits of a business and the prospects of working together but he really detonated it and I've tried a few times to evaluate it in a balanced way but just can't anymore.

I was a listener and fan of the Gary Collins podcast The Simple Life. (RIP 1970-2022)
thepoliticalinsider.com

Bestselling Author of the 'The Simple Life' Book Series and Navy Veteran Gary Collins Dead at 52

The Political Insider team was saddened to learn about the sudden passing of veteran and entrepreneur Gary Collins, who had recently appeared as a guest with The Political Insider's Brett Smith in September of this year.
thepoliticalinsider.com thepoliticalinsider.com
He served in the military I believe and also was an armed bodyguard to some senior US politicians, and also on trips in dangerous countries before he became a podcaster and fan of living simply and off the grid. Reason I mention him is that he had a black and white view - you're either part of the problem or you're part of the solution. All of these public personalities in the conservative space receive a certain amount of leftist hate.

Anyway, I'm not sure if any of you struggle with this, share any thoughts and experiences here.
 
Depends on the leftist. The woke retards that whine about white men can screw off. They are not enjoyable at all to be around. I'm a lot more lenient on the economic side of leftist politics, even when it's completely stupid.

But even a lot of conservatives would think I'm too right-wing, especially boomers. So you get used to lots of people getting triggered.
 
I dont know if they would want to be friends with me though they might be WhiteChristianPhobic😂

Sure I guess you could have a very casual light friendship with the people listed, some of us might even having family members who fall under this list, some of us might work along side these people and have no choice but to engage with them, if you are a genuine honest open Christian and they know you are one chances are they might actually shy away from you or it might spark a good conversation that might lead to their future conversion. But its not really gonna be possible for you to be best buddies with these people its just not gonna work, it will be more of an aquaintance friendship.
 
I had a discussion with a leftist relative over Thanksgiving, and while we did not discuss politics directly, she pretty much insinuated the country was about to go off the cliff because Orange Man Bad is back.

She coaches her kids and tells them that they can’t have reasonable discussions with republicans or Christians because those groups are so hateful. I came away from the conversation realizing that she and her family live in a completely different universe. Until their reality shatters and they are forced to see it, there’s no point in discussing politics with them now.
 
I'm staying with someone I have known for almost thirty years at the moment and have realised that he is an incurable leftist. Not completely sure if he has become more of one over the years or it was more that I was politically indifferent back in the day. I suspect though we have both diverged simultaneously - I have become more of a radical conservative and he has become more of a leftist, also a bit incoherent.

These days it's not something linear anyway. For example, both the left and the right might want to see an end to the Gaza genocide.

However the guy is coughing and coughing, very sick, sounds like he going to die at times. Around 2020 I told him it was all a conspiracy but he did not listen and got himself vaxxed 4 times. He is now contemplating a 5th injection. Does not seem to be able to put 2 and 2 together and realise that all that experimental vaccine weakened his immune system, in unknown ways rewired his system for the worse. I suppose once someone has done a thing like that, it is probably only human to double down on their choice. It is hard to have full sympathy for sickness that in my opinion is partially self-inflicted by blind obedience to a system of lies.

He is also blind to the JQ.

Then yesterday he had a book of George Soros on the living room table The Crisis of Global Capitalism, and it triggered some arguments. Not saying I've read the book and it is not without some merit, but the guy had been financing NGOs to help smuggle immigrants into Europe in boats across the Mediterranean. That alone would make me most unlikely to honour his name by reading his book.

Anyway, I'm a bit sad as it seems the sun is starting to set on another long term friendship or aquaintance. Already a few months ago I had an argument with a (leftist) friend and we stopped speaking, although that argument was not per se anything to do with leftism.

Thankfully I've been meeting up with a number of conservative, unvaxxed, friends as well so it's not all Marx and Engels..
 
stadtaffe said:
  • can you work with leftists
  • can you do business with leftists
  • can you date or marry a leftist
  • can you be friends with gays or lesbians
  • can you be friends with blacks
Click to expand...
I think for the most part yes as long as they don't make it their main identity. I remember years ago one time I worked with a gay man who I did not even know was gay until I had worked with him for over a year! He wasn't hiding it, it just wasn't something he felt the need to discuss frequently and he didn't have the typical gay mannerisms. Likewise I try not to discuss politics with people unless they are close friends or family or the topic of discussion is brought up by somebody else.

Its like vegans. Nobody is bothered by a quiet vegan who minds their own business and simply chooses not to eat meat. Its the vegans that try to shove veganism down other people's throats that nobody can stand.
 
stadtaffe said:
I'm reviving an old RVF thread by the same title, although wish it to be more general than that thread was. If anyone is routinely querying a mirror of the old RVF site feel free to post the original post in the thread so we can see what he had to say.

I'm keeping the old title out of tradition although there probably are better ways of wording the question.

I wanted the discussion to be more broad and include for example following topics :
  • can you work with leftists
  • can you do business with leftists
  • can you date or marry a leftist
  • can you be friends with gays or lesbians
Click to expand...
No.
 
It seems at some point earlier in life people's political views weren't as apparent, and discussions about politics, religion, cultural issues were rare, so it was a lot easier to be friends with someone that had differing views than myself.

However, now it seems very difficult. I have become much more conservative over the years, while virtually everyone I know has seemingly become much more "progressive". Almost inevitably the conversation will turn political, and to avoid an argument I usually remain silent.

It is sad because I essentially have zero friends now. I still have my family, but I am embarrassed to admit I do not enjoy spending time with them due to their views, and their desire to talk about them incessantly.

If not for God I could easily fall into a depression, and become black pilled. Through this experience my faith has grown exponentially, and I thank God for his mercy.
 
Many people these days, especially young people, lean left because that's how they've been influenced and conditioned. I don't hold it against them: it’s just the environment we live in.

Honestly, if I hadn’t stumbled into the whole PUA world back in the day, I’d probably still lean left myself and never have questioned it. Learning to succeed with women pushed me to focus on building my own value. That naturally leads to questioning systems that prioritize redistributing value to those who haven’t earned it.

But I digress. I work with many young people who lean left, and I get along well with most of them, some I even consider friends. When politics comes up, I usually just steer the conversation elsewhere, saying I’m not into politics. Alienating yourself or turning every interaction into a battle over beliefs is just stupid.
 
I worked with a young guy with leftist views that I enjoyed talking with and we’d occasionally get beers after work and such. Never talked politics until one day at a work luncheon, he started getting all preachy about various lefty views and bashing Trump etc. I didn’t engage but pulled out my voter card and showed it to him. I’m register “unaffiliated”. That actually made him kinda mad, because I didnt side with his leftist views and joined his echo chamber.
 
I married one years ago. She is still my wife. She is not a bra-burning leftist, but considers herself a feminist. I asked her what that means. Her answer: women deserve equal the same dignity, respect, and the chances as men. She is not American and came from a society which treats women as second class citizens (at least in the past). The bra-burning thing is ugly for her. She taught me that the previous RVF mentality towards women will get me nowhere with her...which basic means for meI: be a nicer person, not a neanderthal. Our main point of contention is the gay thing. Her siblings is a lesbian, but I let it go after expressing my Bible beliefs. She comes with me to church, which I love.
Another reason I look past our differences is the authenticity of our marriage. Nothing is transactional. We do things for each other, because it's a pleasure.

I know there is a Bible passage which warns about being unequally yoked. There is definitely truth to it. If I was more of a hard nose, I would have rejected her. However, we teach each other daily through sacrifice, honesty, and give-take. My intuition is that the Ortho-bros would look negatively on my choice for wife. But my soul is in peace with God and overall I'm a happy man.
 
I used to be quite left-leaning myself as a younger man and as I slowly consumed redpills and naively tried to share with those around me (as well as refusing to shame myself for being white), I got frozen out of three different communities, one IRL and two online, receiving threats in the process. On the brighter side a few folks privately told me they agreed with my positions or found them intriguing but they were too scared to speak up.

On the other hand many interpersonal relationships are not about politics and conspiracies, and while rare there are some who can handle their worldview being challenged without getting emotionally disturbed. I've actually found this to be a more common trait in zoomers than millenials (my own generation).

So as far as I'm concerned it depends entirely on the nature of the relationship and the person in question's ability to be chill and open-minded. 100% agree with @Samseau on focusing on similarities and building bridges especially if a given person shows that they are thoughtful and rational.
 
After my stay a few weeks ago with an old leftist friend, I am turning a corner. Only the "legacy" leftists can stay in my life and there are only about one or two of them left. That guy was spouting a lot of stuff that unfortunately indicates he listens to all the MSM and it just seems to soak in without much of a filter.

Definitely not letting any new leftists into my life but I'll try not to expel the few who remain unless they become unbearable.

I did end up wearing my Trump tshirt (45 - 47) to the lunch with leftists. I did it because I wanted to avoid a situation where I sit there politely for 90 minutes listening to them spout by which point I feel physically sick. Also didn't want to sort of respond aggressively at their first spouting. So it was like a deterrent, sort of beware of the dog. An outright statement of which side I was on to discourage the spouting. They appeared scared of me for the first fifteen minutes or so then it calmed down. Someone only mentioned politics to the end of the long lunch and it wasn't me..

I now have an increasing number of politically like-minded friends, so it's becoming less of an issue. Heard an amazing white-pill recently about a conservative teenage girl who hates certain series because of the lesbianism and likes to go hunting with her father or uncle.
 
I don’t know what’s going on but seems a lot of my social interactions with men lately are all leftist rants. They all say the same buzz words they’ve been programmed to hear:
- Trump is going to destroy us
- Trump and Musk are Nazi’s/Dictators
- RFK Jr is a quack anti-vaxer
- Tesla is a Nazi mobile

I’m sure none of them have listened to any long format discussions with these guys they bash but at same time, I just stay neutral and don’t engage at all in supporting or trying to debate alternative viewpoints because it’s a waste of time and many are co-workers so I don’t need enemies at work. Otherwise, all of them are somewhat intelligent and ok to hang out with as long as we don’t talk politics.
 
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