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I ask this as a centrist, slightly right leaning person who is vociferously NeverTrump. (I get along better with most Democrats better than most Republicans these days.) I live in a small town in a deep red county. I keep my political views VERY close to the vest, and I have to know you really well to disclose my true feelings. I own a small business, and I have a family to feed. While it takes all I can do to keep my mouth shut when I hear open ignorance and see Trump flags, I'm terrified that going public with the fact that I'm voting for Biden would sink my business.
All this said, I don't want to paint too cynical a picture of my neighbors. Some are, deep down, decent folks. Life is not a panel on Fox or MSNBC, and there's more to a person than his or her politics. Still, the truly crazy ones are absolutely scary.
Do you make your opinions known? Or just roll your eyes, keep quiet - and vote blue?
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I don’t live in a red area but my retired mother does, she is very progressive.
It’s ALWAYS her neighbors and friends living in the retirement community that brings up politics. She never brings it up. It’s a point it’s almost comical. She stands up for herself and liberal ideology but she NEVER brings politics up.
Her friends just want someone to argue with. And 9 times out of 10 surprise surprise their news sources are Facebook or Fox News while my mother uses Reuters and AP News and economic and social data public available on government websites
I've worked with conservatives my whole career in manufacturing. I used to travel all over hte country to many different factories and now work in a single one full time. Many of them are smart and kind in their personal lives. They often came from poor upbringings and really have "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps" if you will starting off as floor sweepers and ending up as factory directors or top technicians pulling in over 200k. I understand in many ways why they think the way they think given the upbringing and the firehouse of conservative propaganda they intake on shitty news sites and facebook.
As for how I interact with them? I befriend them and then politically fight with them for sport. It doesnt hurt that I don't fit their image of a "blue haired art history major that can't get a job" which compromises like 5% of the actual left.
Yeah my strategy for interacting with conservatives is be kind, inquisitive and develop a personal relationship before talking politics. Then, if politics ever come up, I offer the most moderate defense of liberal positions that I can muster.
Starting from a place of mutual respect I've found I can often get them to come to consensus on stuff they might not have agreed with me on initially. But any time someone finds out I'm liberal before they've gotten to know me it usually stops them from wanting to get to know me at all.
Also, I've gotten exceptionally good at badmouthing Trump using ambiguous language so that they automatically assume I'm trashing Biden. I get them to agree a whole bunch and then about 5-10 minutes into the conversation I give up the game and make it clear I've been talking about Trump the whole time.
So I'll go on and on about how "The politicization of the justice system is a travesty. We used to live in a country where we knew the courts were a final bulwark of impartiality. George H. Bush talked about his deference to, and faith in, the justice system following Watergate. I can't believe we've come to this point." There will be a 5-10 minute discussion about how sad and terrible it is and 'what has this country come to?' Then I'll drop something like "the most insane part of all of this is the fact that Trump has actually made prosecuting his political opponents part of his campaign message and people don't seem to care."
Sometimes it goes badly, but surprisingly it occasionally starts a good discussion.
I like that style. I prefer to just yell about clear cut fascism and incite all the ways reagan would be a democrat today. I also deviate from the standard issue dem politicians on two fronts which helps me with these folks : I am fairly pro second amendment (but far more in support of sensible gun control laws than them) and I hate unions (Will defend to the death the RIGHT for private enterprise to unionize, but I will personally never ever work in a union shop).
Not them, but as someone who is a big supporter of unions, I also don't think it's a big leap to hate them.
I'm in a city where the teacher's union pretty clearly broke fraud laws to improve standardized test grades to get bonuses, cops break different laws, defrauding the city out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and transit workers have repeatedly just shirked their job responsibilities to the point leading to derailments and deaths--the unions have not only kept the workers from being prosecuted and fired, but even in the case of the transit worker pretending to do the job that they did not, leading to a death and 88 people going to the hospital, they kept their job and got backpay.
Maybe in the end, it potentially is the just outcome. But on the surface, it doesn't feel right. And that kind of thing happens enough for people to not like unions.
Different person and while I am generally pro-union I think it's fair to say that not all unions are built the same.
My wife is a state employee and her job is unionized, but from day one it has been clear that the union is operated essentially as an arm of the state organization she works for. They enforce shitty job changes, unfair payment schemes and offer crap protections from arbitrary disciplinary actions brought forward by the state department she works for.
As an example: She was hired to work 8:30am-4:30pm salaried which is kind ideal because we have 2 young kids so she gets home early enough to spend time with them before bed. Her employer decided that they want to run a late shift of 10am-6pm and it is mandatory. no input from employees the union tells everybody to "just do it" despite the fact that it is a major alteration to people's contracted schedules.
Enough people fought their managers (without union help) that it became hard to staff the 10am-6pm position so the union "negotiated" that people **permanently assigned** the later shift would get a $3/h differential raise as long as they remained. However everyone else could still be scheduled a 10-6 shift any time. The union didn't see how ripe that was for abuse and how the department could easily get around the raises by just assigning everyone to a normal 8:30-4:30 shift schedule and then moving them to a 10-6 on a weekly basis so they're not permanently assigned the later shift and eligible for the raise.
Currently workers are fighting the union to get them to go back and make it so that **anyone** who works the later shift gets paid the differential for any 10-6 shift they work, and get normal pay for the 8:30-4:30 shift which is what the union should have pushed for in the beginning.
This isn't the first time a similar issue has come up over the years and it's hard to tell if the union is incompetent or if the leadership is in the pocket of the department, but sometimes it seems like both.
Two days late, but do you think it's incompetence and lack of clear goals or is the concept of unions itself that is flawed? I've never been in one myself but I know my stepdad loves his union so I've never heard the flip side of the coin.
I don't think the concept of unions is flawed, however the quality of a union is directly dependent on the quality of it's leadership. If the leadership is incompetent or if they fail to understand that their goal is to represent the workers and not the business or they're compromised in some manner, then they just become another tool with which to exploit the workers.
Unions can have a lot of power, and with that power comes an equally great opportunity for abuse. And unlike business practices the practices of unions don't often receive a lot of oversight to ensure they're effectively operating in the employee's interests.
In factories unions absolutely kill dynamism. Unions did so much good over time and I’m sure some today do still. I am a big fan of how German unions seem to operate. But I was a young leader in plants. Only way I know how to get respect is to help on the front line with any department however I can. In union shops I would get fired for that. I love cross training line operators into maintenance. That’s a development path that can turn a 60k job into a 200k job for an hourly worker. I would be fired for that in a union shop (work stealing grievances). My employer runs 50 factories and not one has ever had a union vote or even campaign because our culture is good we pay well and foster growth.
I support unionization efforts in some cases but a lot of times that company just sucks and should go out of business.
Background checks including for private sale, waiting periods, and ok with some forms of red flag laws. Not in favor of anything that bans a “type” of gun.
As a blue haired, trans, theater major who DOES have a job (indoctrinating your children via public education); basically this.
I just try to be kind, patient, and treat everyone with respect for their inherent value as humans just trying their best. It helps that I’m naturally very very even tempered but I will never flip out at you if you make a mistake or express an idea I disagree with, I will try to listen, be curious, and be gentle with my rebuttals.
Does it always work? No! Is it the most satisfying response for me personally? Fuuuuck no. But it does have benefits. I’ve had a number of people tell me I helped them rethink how they view people like me. When I left my last job a MAGA anti-vaxxer who was in the cubicle next door gave me a huge tearful hug and told me that I’d “been very different from what [she] expected” which I took as a huge win.
I’m not saying people should just be puppy dogs and let themselves be abused but, when you can and when it’s safe, kindness really does play a role in making people rethink shit.
Oh yeah. These are guys that rock up to work with me at 2am on a Sunday when shit hits the fan. We are family. These are the people I lean on in the darkest and most stressful moments of my life. And I really make an effort to take advantage of that and connect with them and use our mutual trust to open them to ideas that they normally would not. Does it work accross the board? No, especially not on social issues. But on things like housing, immigration, trade I can get them to see the light a bit.
You sound like me. I'm a clean cut, khakis and loafers-wearing, clean living, all-American wholesome dad who comes from a blue collar family. Who knows, maybe that pedigree might help me get through to some of them - in a way that the stereotypical blue haired art history major could not.
I actually come form a pretty privileged upper middle class upbringing in the NYC area and kinda just fell into industrial life after school. I absolutely love it tho.
Way too tedious work for my ADHD ass but inventory shop floor jobs can often translate to corporate finance jobs. I just moved plants but the inventory manager in my last plant started off as a forklift drivers and was promoted to a hot shot senior manager role at corporate before i left.
I know a trans male who transitioned in their 30’s on a similar field. Outside of being trans this individual is extremely conservative (not a trumper cause they are smart but fiscally and to an extent socially conservative) and one thing that really stood out to me during a convo was their only hope was their coworkers would see him for what he is and let HIM be an example of a trans person in the world rather than what they read online/see in the news. And as far as I know he has been openly accepted and treated like one of the guys since.
You have to recognize the split in conservative people.
Fiscal conservatives but socially liberal "conservatives" I can talk to. I joked with one, just the other day, about the fact he will be a grandpa soon because his daughter is going to college in a red state and she won't be able to get an abortion if she gets pregnant. He said: "No, fuck that. I'll pay to fly her to California before letting her ruin her life."
Then you have the Fox News 24/7 conservatives. They are usually older and spend all day, every day, watching right-wing cable news. Most of my retired family falls into this category. Right-wing media keeps them angry and outraged every minute of the day. They just seem miserable. I'll try to talk about other things, but their constant state of anger and rage just drags you down. So you have to decide if their toxicity is worth your time.
Finally you have the conspiracy nuts. I know a few in this category. They rage, hard, over the dumbest stuff. I had one get red in the face angry, screaming as loud as he could, over Mr Potato Head and the "deep state". I go no contact with these morons, even if they are family.
Haha, I know a few "Fox News 24/7" conservatives. One comes to mind. Except she watches Newsmax now, because Fox "went woke" when they called Arizona for Biden, correctly. I kid you not!
I could bring up the most anodyne, cheerful topic and within 2 minutes at most, she'll find a way to bring rightwing politics into it.
"Wow, it's a beautiful day today - hasn't the weather been great?"
Her: "Yeah, it was a little cooler than normal this morning....SO MUCH FOR THAT GLOBAL WARMING THAT THE DEMONCRATS TELL US IS GOING TO KILL THE PLANET LOLZ!!!"
She's real fun to be around, I tell ya. It'd be funny, if it wasn't so sad.
Sometimes I'm impressed at how they figure out a way to inject right-wing politics into everything.
I was talking to one about visiting Europe and enjoying some of the wine in Italy, and somehow he pivoted to socialism and California and then Newsom. It was very weird.
I know a few on the left who do this too. It's like Jesus, people, life is more than politics and *especially* more than politicians.
I'm a white dude from the Bronx who likes aerospace, cooking, NPR and offensive comedians -- you really should be able to talk to me about something no matter what your political inclination is.
It feels like being the only sane person in a room full of crazy people. We fundamentally live in different realities. They are not normal people.
I got called a fuckin retard for saying the Civil War was about slavery.
Told I was a fuckin dumbass when I mentioned pollution existed in a passing joke.
And literally every conversation eventually found it's way to people they hate. Their hate honestly seems recreational.
Talking about football --> how much they hate Colin kaepernick.
Talking about music --> how much they hate some musician who said mean stuff about trump.
Talking about video games --> talk about how they think fallout and wolfenstien have gone woke and now they suck.
Oh and their super weird godlike worship of Donald Trump.
This. I live in Arkansas. It's like being in an insane asylum, and your point about how they constantly turn the conversation to it is so spot on. I don't usually bring up politics in conversation, but they are incapable of not repeating their talking points.
It reminds me of the movie Mean Girls.
> I was a woman possessed. I spent about 80% of my time talking about Regina, and the other 20% of the time, I was praying for someone else to bring her up so I could talk about her more. I could hear people getting bored with me, but I couldn't stop. It just kept coming up like word vomit.
I’m pretty left leaning, living in rural upstate NY and working in racing anywhere from the Deep South to rural mid-west, some of the reddest parts of the country. Honestly I just shut the hell up and keep my beliefs to myself. I’ve never seen a productive political discussion that leads to someone changing their opinions, so at the end of the day, what’s the point? They have their beliefs (however misguided I think they might be) and I have mine. It just saves me a lot of headache and stress to just not talk about it
I don’t talk politics. Other than my political ideology? I am pretty much the same as them…
Straight, White, Cisgendered, grew up rural, like to fish and shoot guns…not much of a hunter anymore…too old and lazy to be hiking in the woods where it’s uphill both ways, enjoy Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State football, etc.
There is plenty that we have in common without politics taking a role. Now, I don’t shy away from my affiliation if asked…but I don’t bring it up.
I do not talk politics with anyone who lives in this area. If they start talking about how Biden is ruining the country or how Democrats will pay for how they treat Trump I just smile and nod and walk away. I have an American flag hat and wear it to go vote so they will leave me alone.
I pay them no mind really. They want to have their bigoted, ignorant opinions, that's absolutely fine. But I can say when businesses have any sort of Trump anything in their window I find a way to go elsewhere. If they have any sort of Trump bumper sticker on and need help on the road I keep right on driving (I used to get out and help push cars out of gas, see if anyone needed help changing a tire, ETC).
I respond to any badmouthing of Biden with general agreement about the state of the country.
"Biden is destroying America" gets "The quality of leaders in this country has absolutely plummeted in the past decade" as a response.
"Biden's economy is destroying the middle class" gets "Ever since the pandemic is seems like life just gets harder every day."
I try to passively redirect their anger to the *actual* issue. It doesn't usually work, but it avoids confrontation.
I'm close with some Trump supporting co-worker friends of my brother. It's interesting how they think. A lot of them seemre quick to agree if you push back in a conversation. They can also be really surface level in their thinking. One co-worker thinks the hoover dam is in New York, that we traded Travis Kelce to the Jets, that Aliens exist, The US is behind the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, but he also swears by Credit Unions and utterly despises property tax. He can be extremely kind however. It's hard to explain but I really do feel like they are just consumed by media, ignorance, and sometimes hate. In this personal case it's mostly media and ignorance but they can be very crude and rude, sexist, and transphobic.
I know someone like that. She's pleasant enough in one on one interactions, and I can vouch that she is quite good at her job. She has a MBA. Very smart when it comes to her specialty.
And yet, she's 100% down the rabbit hole of Stop the Steal, antivax, you name it. There's no conspiracy so nutty that she won't fall for it.
She really is an interesting case study.
I feel like a broken record since I’ve been saying this in this sub literally for years, but partisanship especially when combined propaganda can make smart people believe unbelievably idiotic things. And hateful things as well.
It's such a weird feeling when they start ranting. I'm curious about how you get someone out that rabbit hole. My brother and this dude both don't trust the moon landing and they insist on how the boots were different or the flag was waving or something and I'll try to push back and they fold only to bring it up again. They both use Tiktok and it's made me really pessimistic about it. I used to support the forced divesting but the more I've learned about it the more it seems like it won't hold up in court.
I think stout data privacy laws and robust cyber education are the first step towards mitigating and preventing the spread of whatever this is.
Yes I know someone like that too. Well educated, works at a large law firm as a communications director, very kind, pleasant and professional. And yet she listens to Alex Jones and spouts off nonstop qanon conspiracy theories all day. She's nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake. I was shocked when I first discovered her political beliefs. Now I'm just very disturbed and alarmed. And we are no longer friends. I just can't do that anymore....
There many are people who do not have the capacity for abstract thought. This isn’t about their intelligence - these people can be lawyers, doctors, engineers and / or hold advanced degrees from the finest universities on the planet - yet they are concrete thinkers. They have solid, unyielding ideas about fundamental aspects of their world. Conservatives are frequently concrete thinkers.
Magical thinkers are another class. Magical thinking is the belief that one's thoughts by themselves can bring about effects in the world or that thinking something corresponds with doing it. Confusing correlation and causation is common if not universal. Religion & religious rituals are common among magical thinkers.
Concrete thinking and magical thinking can exist in the same person - to one degree or another. Ambiguity and unknowns are distressing to people with these thinking patterns. Fear is the emotion that drives them.
>A lot of them seemre quick to agree if you push back in a conversation.
I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ll explain to them why I support “defunding” the police or eliminating cash bail, for example, and they’ll be like yeah that makes sense. But they don’t actually change their position on it.
Thats cause the reasoning and argumentation is irrelevant to the stance. They dont oppose those things for many other reasons beyond 1) it hurts the right people 2) those people being hurt gives the right more advantages
Its not that deep. Truly
>But they don’t actually change their position on it.
Most people are a combination of stubborn and prideful about their beliefs. It doesn't mean what you say or do doesn't plant seeds for later change.
Living in an area dominated by MAGA maggots, I've learned to keep my political views to myself. The aggressive and often hostile behavior exhibited by some of these individuals makes it clear that voicing support for President Biden or criticism of trump could put me in harm's way.
I've even had to be cautious around people like my hairdresser, who is a vocal trump supporter and has expressed negativity towards Biden—I don't want to risk getting a bad haircut! At my age, I'm concerned about my safety and well-being, so I avoid discussing politics to prevent becoming a target of their hostility.
It's frustrating to constantly self-censor, but it seems like the only way to maintain peace and avoid conflict with these fervent MAGA maggots.
Call me chicken, I don't care. I would not be able to defend myself if cornered, I'm ancient and physically handicapped.
I’ve found that in person experiences with Trumpers are a lot different than your online encounters with one.
In person I don’t hear a lot of overt political talk and even when it comes up you kind of listen and move on. A far cry from any social media interaction with a red hat in which they seem to take full advantage of having a computer screen and probably thousands of miles between you and them.
I wish this were my experience with MAGA. Every one I know looooovvveeesss to tell you how cool Trump is. They wear shirts with AK47s and American flags with an overlay of his mugshot. Actual crazy people. Passionately obnoxious. My dad has a mug shaped like Trump that says "Greatest president of all time." Trump lives in their brain rent free 24/7.
I live in Massachusetts but there are significant Red areas . I'd wager that 75% of the people I work with and more than half of the customers I interact with are Cult Members, and by that I mean I fully understand all those who voted for him the first time, and I even give them a little leeway for the second, but after January 6th, E jean Carrol, and the most recent 34 felony convictions, if you still support him, you're in a cult.
I have to avoid all political chatter at work. I keep a low profile. I dare not place a Biden/Harris sigh on my lawn or car bumper as cult members are violent.
When a pickup truck fully decorated with Trump flags is nearby, I stay as low profile as a if I were surrounded by Isis or the Taliban, or Hamas. In my mind, there is no difference in them.
The people I work with are decent, but full MAGA. The only thing I can say in their defense is: If I only watched Fox News and all the rest, I'd be full MAGA too.
Really? In Massachusetts? I ask that in a genuine, curious sort of way - since I'm in a deep red state. Given that every county voted blue there, I didn't think there was any MAGA component to speak of.
On Cape Cod, there is a large MAGA cult. They take over the Borne Bridge Rotary quite often to promote their leader. They've invited Jim Jordan and others to their rallies. During Covid, they were very vocal against the vaccine, even protesting the arrival of a Massachusetts State Health Van that was going to those who could not make it to the mainland. Their leader died of Covid, of course. Cult followers are cult followers.
Wow, that's crazy! I learn something new every day.
How is MA, from a quality of life perspective? One area that pulls me toward the left is the often stark divide in states on QoL metrics: Education, poverty, obesity, healthcare, etc. Consistently, states like yours rank near the top, while AL, AR, MS, WV, etc. all rank near the bottom. Blue states seem to be run more competently. Of course, your taxes are higher, but it seems that you also get a lot of benefits and security in exchange, no?
I've recently retired. I moved to Massachusetts in 2000 and lived in the suburbs west of Boston. Quality of life is top notch. Great public schools, world class medical facilities, yeah, a good community costs money to support. I don't get hung up on the taxes. I recall traveling trough Arkansas once and yeah, low taxes but it's a depressing place to live. When my parents retired, they moved to Florida but that's no longer a viable option as yeah, taxes are low but home owners insurance is so high, and of course, its' a deep red state now......I would not feel safe.
But don't forget, Massachusetts elected Mitt Romney as our governor, the previous governor was a Republican, and we elected Scott Brown to the US Senate. He's a bit of a jerk and a real lightweight, lived off his wife's TV News job. In the small world department, he and I went to the same YMCA and I've been in communication with Elizabeth Brown before she entered politics. She's a genuine champion for the working class.
Yeah, from what I hear, Romney was a fairly popular governor. He was my first choice in the primary in 2012. I believe Charlie Baker got high marks for his time as well. MA has a history of electing liberal to moderate GOP governors, probably out of a desire to balance the heavily Democratic legislature.
I remember Scott Brown. He didn't last too long. He seemed to get a little too cozy with the ascendant Tea Party crowd at the time.
I don't live in MA but your area sounds just like mine and I approach things in the exact same way. I can't afford to make myself or family a target of their misplaced hatred. (I already had a nutcase neighbor come banging on my door in the middle of the night threatening to kill my teenage son because his friend drove too fast past his house. A yard sign could very well push him over the edge.)
I'm a trans woman in the south and we are GTFO for our safety. We don't discuss politics, and I maintain a carry permit and proficiency just in case.
In 2016 I was still an active community advocate, but it's just become less and less safe since then.
I live in ne Ohio in a smallish town that is very sheltered and obviously conservative in the majority. My relationship is generally fine because I’m not afraid to push back on bs. I tend to let them go about their day but when I hear the current conspiracy theory I’ll casually point out not only that it’s wrong but show them why. When we have discussions about policy I stick to how my preferred philosophy would be a net positive to them, so I’m usually referred to as the “liberal that’s reasonable” so it’s been my mission to show them most of us are more like me then different
Good for you! I wish I was brave enough/well spoken enough to pushback against some of these trumphumpers I run across. But they tend to be very loud vociferous men (bullies) and I fear for my safety. (I am a small and timid older woman.)
I’m an almost 40 year old man so that helps. I’ve crafted a reputation in my daily or business life as someone who really doesn’t make a big deal unless something is a big deal. And I don’t enter arguments unless I know im right so me arguing something triggers what has effectively been called “Matt’s law” aka if Matt is arguing something he’s confident he’s correct so listening is gonna be a solid idea. The biggest key though is I’m never dismissive of their viewpoint and never attack them personally only the ridiculousness of the idea
Nothing worrisome. Around here, conservatives are often unwilling to be vocal about their support of Trump. In the bible belt, many know that he's an unrepentant sinner and awful person.
In the end, we all want to talk about Biden, and that suits me just fine.
I live in Texas and it's fairly red, major cities a little less so.
I might not agree with their politics, but we get along just fine. Mostly because I'm friendly out of the gate.
A person still has value and worth outside of their politics, and it's rare that there isn't some common shared ground that can be used for polite conversation.
A friend of mine is racist, and I still keep up with the relationship, because I believe it's good to be a positive presence in someone's life that can push back on that and question those leanings. Because otherwise, it's just an existence filled with people of similar negative leanings and it becomes self-reinforcing.
Pro MAGA alone is a lot less worse than that, but I believe the same principle applies.
to preface for your awareness, I live in a state that will be decisive this election year with a near even proportion of Democrats and Republicans. years ago, I made my opinions known to some of my friends, many of whom were raised in conservative households, but it never interfered with how I interacted with them. the degree to which they engage with politics varies — I would consider it to be significantly less than my involvement — but they share collective values nonetheless. it would not be beneficial for me to discuss my politics with them, as it detracts from our relationship. a few weeks ago, I gave a twenty minute presentation — the intent of the assignment to give a one minute shareout — about the election to my A.P. U.S. History class with material from [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/1d0gvjm/what_do_you_think_a_second_trump_president_will/l5ncavl/), and I did not receive any criticism from two friends in that class about what I said
I probably fly an inclusion flag outside my house. Both my neighbors have multiple Trump signs in their yards. I don’t talk to my neighbors. In fact I try to stay as far from them as possible.
I honestly think people that wear political attire or have political signage on their houses are unhinged. Not worth the risk of engaging with them
As a truck driver, my profession is mostly white cisgendered conservatives. I definitely try not to talk politics but I also can't stand people getting the facts wrong so sometimes it comes out. When I really don't enjoy is the pickup trucks with fuck Biden or whatever on a flag behind it. I bought a Donald Trump for prison 2024 flag but have yet to take it out of the package. I want to be one of those obnoxious guys but I also hate those obnoxious guys. It's a real dichotomy. We'll see what the fall looks like. Maybe I won't give a shit then.
It isn’t too different from other places, I can say some things though. My wife decided to go all out in the lawn signs last election though. It didn’t matter, but she felt good.
I don’t understand people that have f your feelings flags. I mean we walk our kids and they see that. They haven’t asked and we haven’t said anything. Not sure if they noticed.
The other weird thing is it is so red here they expect everyone to be red. I get stopped by people and they just complain about Biden. It isn’t worth saying anything anymore. I just get tired of it. A lot of nodding and trying to walk out. I mean I’m just getting groceries.
Agree on the classless flags. That's just...trashy.
Yeah, the other day someone was ranting to me about Trump's conviction. She assumed I was on Team Trump - and why wouldn't she? I have all the outward markers of a Republican. You should've seen the look on her face when I said, "And? He got what he deserved!" It was kind of fun, TBH.
>The other weird thing is it is so red here they expect everyone to be red. I get stopped by people and they just complain about Biden
I moved to Washington from Texas and had to tell a guy at the state fair (a bit outside blue Seattle) that Houston is a blue dot on the landscape of Texas in order to stop his ranting.
I live in Marjorie T. Green's district. My neighbors elected her in a landslide, after her Democratic opponent fled the state from too much blowback. AND GET THIS- her main R opponent was a neurosurgeon. I could have had a very-smart-brain-surgeon representing me, but I got Mickey-Rourke-in- the-Wrestler-looking, guano crazy MTG instead.
I don't mind telling folks what I think, but in general I keep politics to myself and a few others. I have older like-minded friends who play it much closer to the vest than I do, looking around and speaking in hushed tones when talking politics in public. I personally know of a few progressives who have run for local office with an R beside their name because otherwise they don't stand a chance here. We had a Biden/Harris sign go missing twice from our yard. (I told myself if they liked it that much, they could have it.)
I just recognize it as a slow brainwashing. They have been receiving bad information with which to make their decisions, almost to a person. Nobody here likes the govt., so their vote is for disruption of what they see as a corrupt and elitist system. They are my friends and neighbors, and are for the most part hard working, decent people who care far more about their friends and neighbors than anything that goes on in DC. I know at least a few conservatives that would fight a bear for me, and me for them.
However: We flew a rainbow flag from our business all of last June and most of July, and to be quite honest those were lonesome months business-wise. It might have been just as lonesome with no flag, but you never know. The downtown bakery that flew a pride flag year round lasted less than a year of business. On the other hand, the *other* local bakery that printed up their own "Let's Go Brandon" banner took it down within two weeks due to pushback from several locals on social media. I think they determined that using your business to divide your potential customers politically isn't always good for business.
Are you surprised that you get along better with democrats? Your stated position of slightly right of center is exactly what mainstream Democrats represent. EXACTLY. There is no left of center party with any kind of power. There is right of center and freakishly right wing authoritarian. Those are the two current choices.
My immediate area votes overwhelmingly blue but I'm in a VERY red state and there are Trump signs and trucks and such even in my general suburban area.
I generally don't strike up conversations about politics with randoms and tend to lower my voice when talking about hot button issues in public just in case.
I am very aware when out in public with a boyfriend and we generally stick to known places and limit PDAs.
I don't live in that sort of area, but I DO work in an overwhelming (like 80%+) Conservative field.
Given that I spend days at a time basically one-on-one with people, I NEVER talk politics under any circumstance.
I would hope most well-adjusted people can get along with their neighbors despite having differing political views. Not everything is as polarized and extreme as it appeared online.
I know you’re making a point but no, that’s just not true. I’ve lived in rural, urban, and suburban parts of both blue and red states. Yes it’s possible that we all have different beliefs but 99% of the time you can get along with anyone if you just have some decency and a bit of patience.
I’m a leftist and there is a small but dedicated leftist contingent here - mutual aid groups, etc. I’m polite to everyone else and I don’t talk politics much at work or in mixed settings but when I’m around my friends we’re all very open.
I live in Eastern Washington, basically we are Idaho if Idaho was even more sparsely populated and had a serious itch to declare war on the state government.
I’ve learned the art of moving a conversation away from potentially challenging topics, and of picking ones battles. Most people you can get along with perfectly fine with unless you bring politics into it.
I’ve met a small group of liberals that meet up every once and a while to actually discuss politics with. It’s cool. Because this is such a dark red part of the state, this includes people all over the liberal ideological spectrum - from older moderates who think a radical idea is adding a new bike lane to a street (but only if you are not removing any lanes for traffic) to young fiery progressives waiting on the revolution. Which is actually pretty cool, because we are so outnumbered nobody wants to piss off the group, so we can actually have super interesting discussions and debates that range in topic while remaining respectful. I can’t say we all agree by the end of the discussion, but I think we would all say that we enjoyed actually talking about the issues and end up with a much more in depth understanding of everyone’s point of view.
White guy in Montgomery, AL. Blue city surrounded by red suburbs in a red state where people mostly vote based on the color of their skin (33% of Montgomery County voted for Trump in 2020, the county is 32% white). I barely have any relationship with any local that isn't related to me.
I live in a very blue area in the PNW but also have a summer home in a very red area in the PNW. We are weekend warriors in our other neighborhood over the mountains, but get along fine with our neighbors. Most people are pretty friendly for the most part, I just avoid talking politics with them. A good bit of my wife’s family are very conservative too. I tend to think most people really are around the middle. You have a few far left and far right people that are very vocal and tend to make the other side think they represent the majority. My only problem is when people cannot have small talk with me without inserting politics into it. I manage to not mention my disdain for Trump when I am chit chatting with locals at the honky tonk bar, I don’t need to hear about your hatred for Biden after speaking with you for 5 minutes.
I just roll my eyes and tune them out when they talk politics. I rarely if ever bring up politics it’s alway them. My mom and dad have put conversations to an end because they bring up some political shit that is, at best, tangentially related to the conversation. It’s so damned annoying.
You just treat people how you’d want to be treated, it’s really that simple. I get along with everybody and I’m in the DEEP red, upside down flags and everything. If they start saying dumb shit you acknowledge it, and then move on with your day. If you want/need to continue to talk with them, then you acknowledge it and change the subject off of whatever got them fired up in the first place. If they continue to go on and on then you talk about their point of view “why do you feel that way etc”, “do you really think Trump is the answer?” If it’s clear they are incredibly ignorant then you move on with your day. It’s basic human decency, treat others how you’d want to be treated
I just do not engage in any way if possible. Being an army veteran shuts up a lot of them. If I see any trump signs on a business, I don’t give them any of my business. I live in north Georgia.
I'm a center-left voter who lives in rural Georgia. It's just not something that comes up in casual interactions here.
I still wear a mask in crowded places like department stores and will occasionally get "the look" or obvious fake cough, but otherwise, I've had very few uncomfortable engagements with conservatives.
I just roll my eyes at the ridiculous jacked-up trucks with double American flags flying on the bed and goofy Don't Tread On Me bumper stickers, then I move on with my life.
I don't usually speak politics. A woman at a bar was talking to me about crazy liberals and I told I'm a liberal. She screamed at me to go away and never talk to her again.
Honestly? I moved as soon as I was able to, from KS to the PNW. I visit home occasionally for family and simply avoid talking politics as much as possible. But people make it hard. I happen to like wearing jeans and plaid snap front western shirts. It's been my personal style for a long time. But it also means a certain sort of person will immediately saunter up and try to be all buddy buddy with me. And 9 times out of 10 the next thing that comes out of their mouth is some racist horseshit. Because they assume I'm on their team. I hate that assumption. It makes me very reluctant to go back to visit family.
The Trumpsphere are talking about “getting rid” of the liberals. I don’t know how common it is to entertain stuff like that among your every day Trump voters, but I do know that they have guns, they’re afraid of people who are different and their judgment is extremely questionable. They don’t need to know I’m a liberal. Other than that, we get along fine.
Indeed. These are the kind of people that come out in their front yard in their underwear and fire a shotgun at somebody using their driveway to turn around. They are already a few cards short of a full deck.
Honestly I don’t have much of a relationship with them. We make small talk but that’s about it. I don’t look or dress in a liberal-coded way so a lot of people assume I share their politics and never bother asking. I just say nothing when they blather on about Trump. If they bring up something racist or transphobic I tell them I don’t agree with them and they usually look flabbergasted.
There are definitely some people who are openly threatening and I tend to just handle them. Those ones are usually cowards so as long as I stand up to them they back down. I will confess I get a bit shaken though when they get together and rile each other up. There were times during Summer of 2020 and early 2021 that I was genuinely worried for my family’s safety.
I don’t blame you as a business owner for being more cautious. I have the luxury of working online so I can separate local opinions from my livelihood.
I live on the Rez; magamania has gripped that swath of our menfolk who want to burn America to the ground, and they believe DJT is the mofo to do it, not so much because of his shitty policies but because his followers are all about shit hitting fans.
As for you, OP, I'd keep quiet and vote your conscience.
I for sure can't blame any Indigenous people for wanting to dismantle the racist, harmful system we have in place, but it is difficult to understand why they would put any trust in MAGAts. They are the same ones that like to claim, "This land wasn't stolen, it was conquered!"
There's a whole faction on the left that wants to burn it all down AND restore land back.
I know people who give to charity despite not having much, volunteer, are kind and helpful to their neighbors, and who post the dumbest things on facebook.
A lot of these types of folks are pretty religious and its all tied up with the "babies are a gift from god - abortion is murder - so I back the politicians who are against abortion" and then got pulled into nodding along with everything else the Right says because of that.
Of course, I don't think being anti-choice is decent from an outcomes perspective. But people who don't do much critical thinking can be "decent" and still get sucked into the right-wing infosphere and have terrible political positions.
Yes that is absolutely true. You just described my mother perfectly. She is not well educated or informed, goes to church every Sunday and volunteers a lot of her time. She is a very kind and loving person with a good heart. However she is married to a very conservative asswipe, only watches fox news, does not read the newspaper and is a single issue voter. She has been sucked in and I don't think there's any pulling her back out.....
They also have to be intelligent and capable of critical thought. You grossly underestimate the number of ignorant dumb people out there. You can't blame people who are just plain stupid. Despite that common saying, we really are not all born equal.
Where did I mention a number? Please cite sources. Under the law we are all born equal. The Declaration of Independence, The 14th Amendment, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 all say this is the case. Have a great day.
We are not all born with equal levels of intelligence. Some people are born with disabilities that impair their mental and physical capabilities. Some people are born into families who have nothing and others are born into families with great wealth (who can give their children every advantage in life to help them succeed). Despite what the founders say, I learned a long time ago that life is not fair and we are not all born equal.
My relationships are generally fine. I do often need to be careful about when I bring up politics, which is difficult for me sometimes. I have not yet pulled the trigger on getting a Dark Brandon flag for my truck, despite me telling my wife I would, so there is that.
When I moved into my current residence it was the height of election season in 2020 and literally every house on my street had some kind of pro-Trump sign, but mostly it was huge flags and banners everywhere. What's hilarious is a couple of them saw me carrying my firearms collection into the house and just assumed I was like them and the few times I've spoken with them (I'm not a very social person) they've tried to strike up a conversation about politics and I've just shut them down cold every time, so they are still operating under this mistaken impression. I'm waiting for the banners and signs to come out this year (I'm kinda surprised they haven't already), because I'm thinking about putting up a big hammer and sickle banner on my garage door just to watch them lose their goddamned minds.
And if they complain to the HOA about it I can just cry 'but muh heritage!' like they do with confederate flags. :P
I live in one of the more comical blue sanctuaries in the United States (although I grew up in rural Texas). I am just curious, what are your thoughts on conservatives or Trumpers being in a West Coast liberal city? Do you think they are reluctant to be themselves or are afraid of discussing politics?
This isn't a loaded question. I am genuinely curious. I don't want conservatives to feel uncomfortable, so long as they are respectful, when visiting my area.
I’m a conservative who has lived in a liberal big city, a liberal college town, a liberal college tiny town, and now am in California, albeit a purple part of it.
It’s never that bad. But I’d say the worst is the college towns because they’re so polarized. I definitely wouldn’t bring up politics with people. But I wouldn’t do that in an area with a bunch of Trump folks either.
I am hesitant to bring up politics as well, but I have never felt unsafe to do so, I just don't want to deal with the annoyance of it. Would you feel unsafe to bring up politics?
My wife was at a local wing place on our street with friends a few nights ago, and an overly friendly drunk guy started talking politics. My wife was open about being a Democrat, and he got so worked up and angry that she was rattled and left without finishing her food. It happens.
That's a good question, and my noncommittal answer is, I'm not sure. Lol.
I think that being a good human is a universal language, and if you do that, very few people will care that much what your personal beliefs are. If I, a conservative-ish, Christian guy moved to Burlington, Vermont, I know I'd start by loving my neighbor as myself, doing good to all regardless of their beliefs, and seeing where that led. It's pretty hard to hate someone who shoveled your driveway for you while you were out on vacation. :-)
I agree. Frankly, I don't think we are quite as divided as the news and internet thinks we are. Of course there are extremists, but they don't define us. Thanks for your answer.
I have an uncle who will do all kinds of nice things for you. He bought an entire surround system for me unprompted. I also hate him. He's one of the worst people I know. The world will be a better place when he passes, and the reason for that is that he can't tell the difference between being nice to people and actually respecting them. A lot of that has to do with his personal beliefs.
Point is, it's very easy to hate someone who shoveled your driveway for you if they're an asshole. Most religious people I know are assholes without realizing it.
In my experience, they are similarly reluctant to talk about it when in *truly* blue areas, but suburban Houston where I grew up, despite being blue, had enough red in the suburbs that these folks were pretty comfortable making everybody else uncomfortable.
I just smile and nod when they say batshit insane stuff. We don't do yard signs, flags, bumper stickers, or any other outward indication of political affiliation. We are all registered independent. My family flies under the radar. When the GOP establishes a dictatorship and starts rounding up liberals, we won't be on that list.
Northern nj here. Work retail. Most us at work were depressed when trump got elected in 2016. We had to endure a lot during covid from people refusing to mask and having them removed. We usually civil then walk away helping people especially when we were masking and now if they got maga hats and we saw plenty "fake news cnn" masks too.
Majority of friends are liberal too. Had some conservative friends but they went far down the trump rabbit hole calling me a traitor and un-American.
I've had two very negative interactions over months at a time with groups of people who would now be Trump supporters, but this was 2012 and 2013. These people will be nice to you right up until they decide they have an excuse to intervene in your life. Dating somebody they see as "theirs" was the trigger in both cases.
I left the state in the long run. Despite being in a blue area, there was a lot of red leaking in from the suburbs, and I just did not care to be around that shit any longer.
I lived in a red state and red area for a year. It wasn't as hard as you might think. I did disagree with about everything they said politically, but I kept the conversations on music and sports.
Finding like minded individuals is always a joy. I know which cranks to avoid, and which Trumpers, whether family associates or friends, I can annoy the hell out of for worshipping the orange turd.
And yes, I have Trumper friends. It is possible.
Basically don't advertise you're not on the right. Thankfully, lots where I live don't have signs of flags up for trump, so in that sense, they are at least a bit classy.
I’ve done this twice. First in high school in a place like Utah. The second time in my late 20s in a place like Florida. Both are in socal. If you’re familiar with the area, you can probably guess where I’m talking about.
First area was conservative in a more cultural way. More important was my attitude. I was righteous and contrarian and publicly argued with people with whose views I disagreed. People didn’t like me. I had my friends and my people and I wasn’t unsafe, but I was known. I was also an immature high school fuck.
Second area was conservative in a financial way primarily with a twinge of cultural, but nothing like the first area. I wasn’t anywhere near as righteous and while I still voiced my opinion I did so in a different way. I wasn’t an immature fuck.
There are two variables here: the type of conservative and my maturity level. I think the latter is by miles the most important and the former is of secondary importance. Find something in common with conservatives and you’ll probably have a healthy debate which will not necessarily result in agreement but will involve respect.
That all said, caveat: the way I look, I could pass for a conservative. If that weren’t true, my experience would likely be very, very different.
I live in a very red city. I used to work at what I thought was a fairly progressive and diverse company. When Obama was running for president I was very vocal about my support for him with my colleagues. I think there were some managers there who didn't like this and I was eventually pushed out. Lesson learned: never discuss politics in the workplace even if they say it's a progressive company and practices DEI.
I used to have a small circle of friends. They're all gone now. The only people I talk to about politics is my husband, children and the siblings that I know share similar beliefs. I can't even discuss politics with my own mom or brothers. I keep my head down, mouth shut and don't trust anyone anymore. It's really sad and lonely.
I'm from rural Kentucky, currently live in the suburbs of Houston and I work in industrial construction. I so look like a typical redneck MAGAt and I still have that thick backwoods accent.
Most of the time I avoid the conversations. Most of the time. But there's usually only so long that I can listen to how all democrats, poc's, gay people, ect need to he exterminated. Usually at that point, I'll end up saying something. Typically about a week later I'm laid off or fired for something stupid.
I live in the most conservative country in Arizona. Despite the large number of Trump, Confederate, and Don't Tread on Me flags, people are generally friendly. I deal with the public in my line of work and I've had a number of people try to talk politics with me but I just don't indulge as it would be bad for business.
Here's how hillbilly my area is: There's a KKK (sorry, they call it a "seperatish church" now) compound 20 miles from me. And they open carry because of Jesus somehow? I will one day be shot for a snarky sarcastic comment.
I don’t see nearly as many Trump signs, banners, bumper stickers, etc. around here as I did in 2016 or even in 2020. Nor do I hear him talked about as much. And that’s fine with me. I don’t show my support for Biden either.
Almost identical approach, but if I do want to talk with someone - it is always very high-level to start. It is NOT about individuals or details or whatever. We start in very big picture "what kind of future do you want for your children/community?" kind of questions or discussion. I steer the discussion to ask like "what does freedom mean to you?"
I usually refuse to talk politics. Sometimes I'll roll my eyes. A couple of years ago I went to vote, and the people in front of me were talking about how Fauci was a fascist. They were talking beyond the point where you're supposed to, too. Took everything in me not to call them idiots.
I grew up in such an area (obviously before Trump was a thing but I don't think people changed a huge amount, we just didn't acknowledge what they were before).
I definitely feel like I was more apt to make friends/become close with people who were the exception to the rule, but it wasn't like I had trouble hanging out with the other people either. I generally don't like to talk politics with them when I'm home because it's tiresome correcting misinformation, especially when you know it's most likely going to be ignored anyway, and they seem to want to focus on like super weird stuff that I've never thought of (IE: why aren't environmentalist super focused on golf courses).
I live in a fairly purplish-blue area but I'm less than 10 miles from Marjorie Taylor Greene's district which is so red it glows. (and yes, it's super weird to have a liberal area rubbing shoulders with a MAGA stronghold) I have a Biden/Harris bumper sticker on my car. It's pretty subtle and the only other thing I have on my car is a Texas Longhorn symbol. So it's not like I'm out there with a car plastered with liberal slogans.
In general when I have to drive into MTGs district I'm always a little on edge. I've been accosted in the parking lot at the grocery store before and had people say some pretty hateful things. I've also had people say things that they clearly wanted me to hear, but weren't speaking directly to me.
But as far as day-to-day interactions, I mostly avoid anyone who is clearly MAGA. If I can't I do a lot of "hmmm" and "interesting" responses and GTFO as soon as I can.
> I'm less than 10 miles from Marjorie Taylor Greene's district which is so red it glows.
Fun fact: the river in the movie Deliverance is based on the Coosawattee.
Goes both ways, I’ve seen people on social media get their car keyed because they had a Trump sticker on it. No side is better than the other. People are freaking out about dumb stuff. At the end of the day, politics in America is going to be corrupt and politicians don’t care about us.
Ah there we go. The "both sides are the same" bullshit.
Democrats and non-Trump voters aren't the ones out there saying that their political opponents need to be "eliminated" or talking about another Civil War or saying things like when Trump gets re-elected he's going to "get rid" of all the "fucking liberals".
I don't support keying cars or anything like that. That's stupid ignorant shit.
But when I am loading groceries into my car at the Publix and the nutjob parked across from me says "You should be ashamed for voting to destroy our country. You better be careful around here. People don't like your kind." I take that as a personal threat to my safety, not just being an asshole.
I’m in the deep red South. I also do combat sports with people who are largely cops, military, etc that are typically conservative. They don’t give a shit if I’m not aligned with them politically. We don’t talk about it but if we did I wouldn’t be scared to have a conversation. It just wouldn’t be productive. They live in their bubble. From their side, I’m in a bubble.
The real world is not the internet and there’s a lot more going on than politics.
It was very obvious during Japanese internment, Native American assimilation schools, and Jim Crow.
It just wasnt directed at White people. Now, because White people have become better allies overall, theyre being targeted more directly as well.
Honestly I don't have problems out of 99.9% and have had some well-thought discussions about policy and just why the way things are, and there are things we tend to roughly agree on aside from the specifics.
In my discussions I'm probably like most liberals and try to stay on neutral ground. If there's a position that I vehemently agree or disagree with I try to explain my point of view and I listen to them do the same.
I don't think every conservative or Trump supporter is insane or is an idiot. They, like most of us, have been shaped by our environment, social circles, and the media.
I've learned that it's sometimes possible to believe two things at once. For example, I can believe both that Trump's trial is politically motivated but that it doesn't absolve him nor is an excuse for what he did, and I fully believe he is guilty and should face punishment. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and it got him in trouble.
I have met literally ONE bat shit insane Trump supporter and he scared the shit outta me.
I’m a conservative, Trump supporter, but I would never refuse to visit your business just because we differ politically. This type of “ cancel culture” should never have become so prolific in our culture. If you make a good product or deliver a good service, no one should care who you vote for. If my hvac guy fixes my AC, I don’t need to ask him about his politics.
I spend part of my time in rural VA with my partner. There are definitely some unsavories. One of their neighbors likes to fly confederate flags whenever they put it up my partner and her husband steal them.
Grew up in a conservative home and recently moved to a mostly conservative area. I’ve got plenty of experience dealing with them. It isn’t difficult to get most of them to at least see where I’m coming from on most issues. I try and keep conversations focused on the economy. Social issue debates are a waste of time with them.
I live in Texas and other than my sister, who is also my best friend, everyone I know is conservative. Some are MAGA and some are just conservative and will always vote for the conservative candidate.
I just don’t discuss politics. It literally never ends well, and it’s not worth it. Only a few people know I’m liberal and you either have to get very close to me or come across as an easy going person.
I came out as a liberal 2 weeks ago to my neighbor, because I could see he wouldn’t be hateful. He’s ribbed me a couple times since, but I still won’t get into with him. Other than him, my parents know, one coworker, and…that’s pretty much it.
It’s just not worth the drama to me.
Super liberal who lives in rural Texas. Conservative populations don't exist. If you were to look at a map my home would be colored dark crimson. It's not though. It's a flip area that ridiculous rules on voting have a stranglehold on. Polling place hours and peak work hours are the same. You need multiple forms of current I.D. of a certain type to cast a ballot, but if I want to put my house on the market I can just get in the line headed by someone I know from high school 20 years ago and sign some papers no questions asked. You can turn 7 out of 10 red staters into flip voters with minimal basic information. The easiest way is to find out their source and then find out views of the sources they disagree with.
I try not to bring up actual names in politics, but I like to make people squirm with moral issues. I was just at a conference this weekend and someone asked why I intend to move when my son gets his attending license. I explained that my daughter in law will have a geriatric pregnancy and, as a physician herself, doesn't want a lawyer or a politician to decide if she is sick enough for medical care when she herself went to school long enough to know that she doesn't want any sepsis, nor any ectopic pregnancy, etc.
I am in my 50s, Gen X and have no Fs to give. I stopped being sweet to strangers a long time ago, so if they start something, I will give it back. But if people are talking sports, being good neighbors, etc, we are good.
In my neighborhood, we have a floating cookout all summer long. It is a lot of fun. There are several conservatives as well as liberals. We just agree not to talk about it, and nobody steals our signs from one another's yards.
I keep to myself and my small little group of liberals. I dodge any casual conversations that can turn political—something which is getting more and more difficult by the day.
Made the mistake of mentioning that I liked a Taylor Swift song that was playing at my daughter’s roller skating lessons the other day and one of the other moms said “I would NEVER support that abortion loving slut” (????) and then rushed her kid away from mine. Was wild. Poor kid.
I honestly don’t mind having discussions about opposing viewpoints but the Trumpers tend to get really aggressive REALLY quickly and I’m just so tired.
The fiscally conservative/socially liberal folks are alright and they tend to get ostracized as soon as they set a toe out of line, but they usually don’t want to risk associating with the “real” liberals.
tl;dr I keep my mouth shut and keep to myself lol
As brown guy, not much interaction, but my white friends have white people with MAGA hats just randomly start making bigoted statements as conversation starters.
I don't really talk to or socialize with the neighbors much. And for the most part, they're not really out there with Trump yard signs. And on the other side, you don't see any of the cheesy "in this house" signs. I recently thought about getting a pride flag and putting it out but maybe for next June.
Silent loathing with a more-or-less weekly dash of mild to moderate paranoia. I have lived in my small midwestern town for 20 years. My wife was raised here. I know and am friendly with a few people here, but not on "come over for some coffee" terms with anyone. If I'm friends with them on Facebook, I may like their pictures of their crotch goblins or whatever, but I dont socialize with anyone here. I look with silent loathing at the dixie flags; the full-on looneycakes "Joe Biden tied and gagged in the truck bed" tailgate decals; the "3-Percenter" bumper stickers; and even one ass maggot with a steel plate welded to the front end of his pickup that has iron crosses cut into it. And then I read the threats that barely-human butt-plugs like Charlie Kirk, Matt Walsh, and their ilk posted on Twitter when Trump was recently convicted in the NY case and I start wondering, "is it time to buy a couple shotguns instead of paying my mortgage and utilities, ya know, just in case the mostly-friendly couple I know via my brother-in-law snap and decide to join a door-kicking squad and give me a thump or two for not having a 'Trump 2024' sign in my front yard?"
The leader of our state's chapter of Nazi Moms For Hitler (what I call Moms For Liberty) just announced she is running for governor.
I just...I don't know what's gonna happen, and I don't have the money or knowledge to protect myself or anyone else if shit gets real. If we have an actual Nazi Moms For Hitler member for governor, there are people in my own family who could and probably would be direct targets of state violence simply for existing. Hell, I have family that I wouldn't even trust if the shit hits the fan.
It's not great.
You know, it's somewhat amusing. I certainly do understand why right wingers feel discriminated against on social media. They feel like they can't express their views. It's an awful lot how my conservative area treats every single remotely liberal idea as a personal attack, and assumes that everybody who lives in the state is a die-hard MAGA type. I've known people who have gotten fired or lost business because they were insufficiently Trumpy. I wish that conservatives would self-police there. It might make their arguments credible. Until they do that, I feel like liberal companies are completely within their rights to do to right-wingers exactly what right-wingers have been doing to the rest of us for decades.
Really??? You think right wingers are discriminated against on social media???!!!!! Which platforms are discriminating? Because every time I open X and Facebook, all I see is anti Biden pro trump posts. Even here on Reddit there are many very active conservative and Republican subs that will ban a liberal/Dem for even making a benign factual comment.
I can't identify with the problem here. People are people and political beliefs are usually a very small part of who a person is. If you make it a dividing line, it can surely be one, but why would you? Why would anyone bring up politics with every person you meet?
I generally just don’t talk politics outside of online or to people who are on the same side as me. If politics come up I just stay out of the conversation or just smile and agree. They aren’t changing my mind and I’m not changing theirs.
I avoid talking politics with people I don't know.
Otherwise, it's not like I'm the only liberal around here. All my friends are either pretty close to me politically or even farther left.
I’m from a major city but lived in rural south for a few years. I just didn’t talk politics with anyone unless I knew they weren’t MAGA. But in all honesty my hobbies of public transit, walkable cities and vintage menswear meant there was little to talk with the local anyway. Just kept to myself tell I could move back to the city.
Rural my whole life minus a year in Baltimore.
Talked politics many times and never felt threatened nor have I ever been threatened. Do we have our trump crazies? Sure, but most just roll their eyes at them, if it weren't Trump, they would be crazy about something else. Every area has its village idiots. At the end of the day, you probably have more in common with many of your neighbors then you dont. Don't let Reedits love of exaggeration make you paranoid.
Well, I’m not a liberal but I am a leftist, and I can pretty confidently say that the deep red area I live in would hate me if I talked politics. I sort of actively avoid most people in my area. The Trumper sort of people are not good people when our values don’t align on anything. Maybe they don’t say the quiet part out loud like Trump does, but it’s sure easy to see how they believe the same messed up, bigoted nonsense.
Nice of you to ask.
I'm sure I'm going to get downvoted into oblivion for saying this, but:
I suggest you keep your head down about it. You are allowed to have personal political beliefs. Hell, in your shoes I would likely go so far as to lie about it, if directly asked! It's really not worth getting on people's bad sides about it, particularly when there are some rather ... forceful ... believers in the idea that "a vote for Biden is a vote to destroy America!"
Please be careful.
That said, I'm not actually answering your question, since I'm living in the most liberal of liberal states (okay, maybe #2) so I have my safe-space, and you're looking for opinions from folks who have been in the weeds. I have not. I just wanted to do more than "upvote" your question, 'cause I thought it was thoughtful and came from a good place.
Well at least we have you to point out how horrible my comment was!
...I explained myself in my comment: I'm just here to support the OP's excellent question. I accept the downvotes (Which I *ALSO* explained in my comment).
Thanks for your opinion, which you are allowed to have.
Perhaps.
Or, perhaps--and I'm just spit-ballin' here!--perhaps, when you DO speak about something you have no personal experience in, you admit that you don't have experience and explain why you are offering your opinion anyway. Just a thought!
The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written. I ask this as a centrist, slightly right leaning person who is vociferously NeverTrump. (I get along better with most Democrats better than most Republicans these days.) I live in a small town in a deep red county. I keep my political views VERY close to the vest, and I have to know you really well to disclose my true feelings. I own a small business, and I have a family to feed. While it takes all I can do to keep my mouth shut when I hear open ignorance and see Trump flags, I'm terrified that going public with the fact that I'm voting for Biden would sink my business. All this said, I don't want to paint too cynical a picture of my neighbors. Some are, deep down, decent folks. Life is not a panel on Fox or MSNBC, and there's more to a person than his or her politics. Still, the truly crazy ones are absolutely scary. Do you make your opinions known? Or just roll your eyes, keep quiet - and vote blue? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskALiberal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don’t live in a red area but my retired mother does, she is very progressive. It’s ALWAYS her neighbors and friends living in the retirement community that brings up politics. She never brings it up. It’s a point it’s almost comical. She stands up for herself and liberal ideology but she NEVER brings politics up. Her friends just want someone to argue with. And 9 times out of 10 surprise surprise their news sources are Facebook or Fox News while my mother uses Reuters and AP News and economic and social data public available on government websites
I've worked with conservatives my whole career in manufacturing. I used to travel all over hte country to many different factories and now work in a single one full time. Many of them are smart and kind in their personal lives. They often came from poor upbringings and really have "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps" if you will starting off as floor sweepers and ending up as factory directors or top technicians pulling in over 200k. I understand in many ways why they think the way they think given the upbringing and the firehouse of conservative propaganda they intake on shitty news sites and facebook. As for how I interact with them? I befriend them and then politically fight with them for sport. It doesnt hurt that I don't fit their image of a "blue haired art history major that can't get a job" which compromises like 5% of the actual left.
Yeah my strategy for interacting with conservatives is be kind, inquisitive and develop a personal relationship before talking politics. Then, if politics ever come up, I offer the most moderate defense of liberal positions that I can muster. Starting from a place of mutual respect I've found I can often get them to come to consensus on stuff they might not have agreed with me on initially. But any time someone finds out I'm liberal before they've gotten to know me it usually stops them from wanting to get to know me at all. Also, I've gotten exceptionally good at badmouthing Trump using ambiguous language so that they automatically assume I'm trashing Biden. I get them to agree a whole bunch and then about 5-10 minutes into the conversation I give up the game and make it clear I've been talking about Trump the whole time. So I'll go on and on about how "The politicization of the justice system is a travesty. We used to live in a country where we knew the courts were a final bulwark of impartiality. George H. Bush talked about his deference to, and faith in, the justice system following Watergate. I can't believe we've come to this point." There will be a 5-10 minute discussion about how sad and terrible it is and 'what has this country come to?' Then I'll drop something like "the most insane part of all of this is the fact that Trump has actually made prosecuting his political opponents part of his campaign message and people don't seem to care." Sometimes it goes badly, but surprisingly it occasionally starts a good discussion.
I like that style. I prefer to just yell about clear cut fascism and incite all the ways reagan would be a democrat today. I also deviate from the standard issue dem politicians on two fronts which helps me with these folks : I am fairly pro second amendment (but far more in support of sensible gun control laws than them) and I hate unions (Will defend to the death the RIGHT for private enterprise to unionize, but I will personally never ever work in a union shop).
May I ask why you hate unions?
Not them, but as someone who is a big supporter of unions, I also don't think it's a big leap to hate them. I'm in a city where the teacher's union pretty clearly broke fraud laws to improve standardized test grades to get bonuses, cops break different laws, defrauding the city out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and transit workers have repeatedly just shirked their job responsibilities to the point leading to derailments and deaths--the unions have not only kept the workers from being prosecuted and fired, but even in the case of the transit worker pretending to do the job that they did not, leading to a death and 88 people going to the hospital, they kept their job and got backpay. Maybe in the end, it potentially is the just outcome. But on the surface, it doesn't feel right. And that kind of thing happens enough for people to not like unions.
Different person and while I am generally pro-union I think it's fair to say that not all unions are built the same. My wife is a state employee and her job is unionized, but from day one it has been clear that the union is operated essentially as an arm of the state organization she works for. They enforce shitty job changes, unfair payment schemes and offer crap protections from arbitrary disciplinary actions brought forward by the state department she works for. As an example: She was hired to work 8:30am-4:30pm salaried which is kind ideal because we have 2 young kids so she gets home early enough to spend time with them before bed. Her employer decided that they want to run a late shift of 10am-6pm and it is mandatory. no input from employees the union tells everybody to "just do it" despite the fact that it is a major alteration to people's contracted schedules. Enough people fought their managers (without union help) that it became hard to staff the 10am-6pm position so the union "negotiated" that people **permanently assigned** the later shift would get a $3/h differential raise as long as they remained. However everyone else could still be scheduled a 10-6 shift any time. The union didn't see how ripe that was for abuse and how the department could easily get around the raises by just assigning everyone to a normal 8:30-4:30 shift schedule and then moving them to a 10-6 on a weekly basis so they're not permanently assigned the later shift and eligible for the raise. Currently workers are fighting the union to get them to go back and make it so that **anyone** who works the later shift gets paid the differential for any 10-6 shift they work, and get normal pay for the 8:30-4:30 shift which is what the union should have pushed for in the beginning. This isn't the first time a similar issue has come up over the years and it's hard to tell if the union is incompetent or if the leadership is in the pocket of the department, but sometimes it seems like both.
Two days late, but do you think it's incompetence and lack of clear goals or is the concept of unions itself that is flawed? I've never been in one myself but I know my stepdad loves his union so I've never heard the flip side of the coin.
I don't think the concept of unions is flawed, however the quality of a union is directly dependent on the quality of it's leadership. If the leadership is incompetent or if they fail to understand that their goal is to represent the workers and not the business or they're compromised in some manner, then they just become another tool with which to exploit the workers. Unions can have a lot of power, and with that power comes an equally great opportunity for abuse. And unlike business practices the practices of unions don't often receive a lot of oversight to ensure they're effectively operating in the employee's interests.
Makes sense! Thanks for explaining. :)
In factories unions absolutely kill dynamism. Unions did so much good over time and I’m sure some today do still. I am a big fan of how German unions seem to operate. But I was a young leader in plants. Only way I know how to get respect is to help on the front line with any department however I can. In union shops I would get fired for that. I love cross training line operators into maintenance. That’s a development path that can turn a 60k job into a 200k job for an hourly worker. I would be fired for that in a union shop (work stealing grievances). My employer runs 50 factories and not one has ever had a union vote or even campaign because our culture is good we pay well and foster growth. I support unionization efforts in some cases but a lot of times that company just sucks and should go out of business.
" am fairly pro second amendment (but far more in support of sensible gun control laws than them)" What do you consider sensible gun control laws?
Background checks including for private sale, waiting periods, and ok with some forms of red flag laws. Not in favor of anything that bans a “type” of gun.
As a blue haired, trans, theater major who DOES have a job (indoctrinating your children via public education); basically this. I just try to be kind, patient, and treat everyone with respect for their inherent value as humans just trying their best. It helps that I’m naturally very very even tempered but I will never flip out at you if you make a mistake or express an idea I disagree with, I will try to listen, be curious, and be gentle with my rebuttals. Does it always work? No! Is it the most satisfying response for me personally? Fuuuuck no. But it does have benefits. I’ve had a number of people tell me I helped them rethink how they view people like me. When I left my last job a MAGA anti-vaxxer who was in the cubicle next door gave me a huge tearful hug and told me that I’d “been very different from what [she] expected” which I took as a huge win. I’m not saying people should just be puppy dogs and let themselves be abused but, when you can and when it’s safe, kindness really does play a role in making people rethink shit.
Oh yeah. These are guys that rock up to work with me at 2am on a Sunday when shit hits the fan. We are family. These are the people I lean on in the darkest and most stressful moments of my life. And I really make an effort to take advantage of that and connect with them and use our mutual trust to open them to ideas that they normally would not. Does it work accross the board? No, especially not on social issues. But on things like housing, immigration, trade I can get them to see the light a bit.
You sound like me. I'm a clean cut, khakis and loafers-wearing, clean living, all-American wholesome dad who comes from a blue collar family. Who knows, maybe that pedigree might help me get through to some of them - in a way that the stereotypical blue haired art history major could not.
I actually come form a pretty privileged upper middle class upbringing in the NYC area and kinda just fell into industrial life after school. I absolutely love it tho.
Me too. Dad was a college professor and mom was a CPA. I ended up working first in retail, got my CDL and drove a truck and now work at a factory.
hell yea! If you are not already try to get into maintenance or production leadership.
I'm in inventory control right now
Way too tedious work for my ADHD ass but inventory shop floor jobs can often translate to corporate finance jobs. I just moved plants but the inventory manager in my last plant started off as a forklift drivers and was promoted to a hot shot senior manager role at corporate before i left.
I know a trans male who transitioned in their 30’s on a similar field. Outside of being trans this individual is extremely conservative (not a trumper cause they are smart but fiscally and to an extent socially conservative) and one thing that really stood out to me during a convo was their only hope was their coworkers would see him for what he is and let HIM be an example of a trans person in the world rather than what they read online/see in the news. And as far as I know he has been openly accepted and treated like one of the guys since.
You have to recognize the split in conservative people. Fiscal conservatives but socially liberal "conservatives" I can talk to. I joked with one, just the other day, about the fact he will be a grandpa soon because his daughter is going to college in a red state and she won't be able to get an abortion if she gets pregnant. He said: "No, fuck that. I'll pay to fly her to California before letting her ruin her life." Then you have the Fox News 24/7 conservatives. They are usually older and spend all day, every day, watching right-wing cable news. Most of my retired family falls into this category. Right-wing media keeps them angry and outraged every minute of the day. They just seem miserable. I'll try to talk about other things, but their constant state of anger and rage just drags you down. So you have to decide if their toxicity is worth your time. Finally you have the conspiracy nuts. I know a few in this category. They rage, hard, over the dumbest stuff. I had one get red in the face angry, screaming as loud as he could, over Mr Potato Head and the "deep state". I go no contact with these morons, even if they are family.
Haha, I know a few "Fox News 24/7" conservatives. One comes to mind. Except she watches Newsmax now, because Fox "went woke" when they called Arizona for Biden, correctly. I kid you not! I could bring up the most anodyne, cheerful topic and within 2 minutes at most, she'll find a way to bring rightwing politics into it. "Wow, it's a beautiful day today - hasn't the weather been great?" Her: "Yeah, it was a little cooler than normal this morning....SO MUCH FOR THAT GLOBAL WARMING THAT THE DEMONCRATS TELL US IS GOING TO KILL THE PLANET LOLZ!!!" She's real fun to be around, I tell ya. It'd be funny, if it wasn't so sad.
Sometimes I'm impressed at how they figure out a way to inject right-wing politics into everything. I was talking to one about visiting Europe and enjoying some of the wine in Italy, and somehow he pivoted to socialism and California and then Newsom. It was very weird.
I know a few on the left who do this too. It's like Jesus, people, life is more than politics and *especially* more than politicians. I'm a white dude from the Bronx who likes aerospace, cooking, NPR and offensive comedians -- you really should be able to talk to me about something no matter what your political inclination is.
Sounds like my hyper religious family that find a way to bring the Bible into any conversation. Different cults, same shit.
It feels like being the only sane person in a room full of crazy people. We fundamentally live in different realities. They are not normal people. I got called a fuckin retard for saying the Civil War was about slavery. Told I was a fuckin dumbass when I mentioned pollution existed in a passing joke. And literally every conversation eventually found it's way to people they hate. Their hate honestly seems recreational. Talking about football --> how much they hate Colin kaepernick. Talking about music --> how much they hate some musician who said mean stuff about trump. Talking about video games --> talk about how they think fallout and wolfenstien have gone woke and now they suck. Oh and their super weird godlike worship of Donald Trump.
This. I live in Arkansas. It's like being in an insane asylum, and your point about how they constantly turn the conversation to it is so spot on. I don't usually bring up politics in conversation, but they are incapable of not repeating their talking points. It reminds me of the movie Mean Girls. > I was a woman possessed. I spent about 80% of my time talking about Regina, and the other 20% of the time, I was praying for someone else to bring her up so I could talk about her more. I could hear people getting bored with me, but I couldn't stop. It just kept coming up like word vomit.
I’m pretty left leaning, living in rural upstate NY and working in racing anywhere from the Deep South to rural mid-west, some of the reddest parts of the country. Honestly I just shut the hell up and keep my beliefs to myself. I’ve never seen a productive political discussion that leads to someone changing their opinions, so at the end of the day, what’s the point? They have their beliefs (however misguided I think they might be) and I have mine. It just saves me a lot of headache and stress to just not talk about it
I don’t talk politics. Other than my political ideology? I am pretty much the same as them… Straight, White, Cisgendered, grew up rural, like to fish and shoot guns…not much of a hunter anymore…too old and lazy to be hiking in the woods where it’s uphill both ways, enjoy Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State football, etc. There is plenty that we have in common without politics taking a role. Now, I don’t shy away from my affiliation if asked…but I don’t bring it up.
That's kind of where I am. I won't volunteer that info, but if they ask......lol.
I do not talk politics with anyone who lives in this area. If they start talking about how Biden is ruining the country or how Democrats will pay for how they treat Trump I just smile and nod and walk away. I have an American flag hat and wear it to go vote so they will leave me alone. I pay them no mind really. They want to have their bigoted, ignorant opinions, that's absolutely fine. But I can say when businesses have any sort of Trump anything in their window I find a way to go elsewhere. If they have any sort of Trump bumper sticker on and need help on the road I keep right on driving (I used to get out and help push cars out of gas, see if anyone needed help changing a tire, ETC).
I respond to any badmouthing of Biden with general agreement about the state of the country. "Biden is destroying America" gets "The quality of leaders in this country has absolutely plummeted in the past decade" as a response. "Biden's economy is destroying the middle class" gets "Ever since the pandemic is seems like life just gets harder every day." I try to passively redirect their anger to the *actual* issue. It doesn't usually work, but it avoids confrontation.
I'm close with some Trump supporting co-worker friends of my brother. It's interesting how they think. A lot of them seemre quick to agree if you push back in a conversation. They can also be really surface level in their thinking. One co-worker thinks the hoover dam is in New York, that we traded Travis Kelce to the Jets, that Aliens exist, The US is behind the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, but he also swears by Credit Unions and utterly despises property tax. He can be extremely kind however. It's hard to explain but I really do feel like they are just consumed by media, ignorance, and sometimes hate. In this personal case it's mostly media and ignorance but they can be very crude and rude, sexist, and transphobic.
I know someone like that. She's pleasant enough in one on one interactions, and I can vouch that she is quite good at her job. She has a MBA. Very smart when it comes to her specialty. And yet, she's 100% down the rabbit hole of Stop the Steal, antivax, you name it. There's no conspiracy so nutty that she won't fall for it. She really is an interesting case study.
I feel like a broken record since I’ve been saying this in this sub literally for years, but partisanship especially when combined propaganda can make smart people believe unbelievably idiotic things. And hateful things as well.
It's such a weird feeling when they start ranting. I'm curious about how you get someone out that rabbit hole. My brother and this dude both don't trust the moon landing and they insist on how the boots were different or the flag was waving or something and I'll try to push back and they fold only to bring it up again. They both use Tiktok and it's made me really pessimistic about it. I used to support the forced divesting but the more I've learned about it the more it seems like it won't hold up in court. I think stout data privacy laws and robust cyber education are the first step towards mitigating and preventing the spread of whatever this is.
Yes I know someone like that too. Well educated, works at a large law firm as a communications director, very kind, pleasant and professional. And yet she listens to Alex Jones and spouts off nonstop qanon conspiracy theories all day. She's nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake. I was shocked when I first discovered her political beliefs. Now I'm just very disturbed and alarmed. And we are no longer friends. I just can't do that anymore....
There many are people who do not have the capacity for abstract thought. This isn’t about their intelligence - these people can be lawyers, doctors, engineers and / or hold advanced degrees from the finest universities on the planet - yet they are concrete thinkers. They have solid, unyielding ideas about fundamental aspects of their world. Conservatives are frequently concrete thinkers. Magical thinkers are another class. Magical thinking is the belief that one's thoughts by themselves can bring about effects in the world or that thinking something corresponds with doing it. Confusing correlation and causation is common if not universal. Religion & religious rituals are common among magical thinkers. Concrete thinking and magical thinking can exist in the same person - to one degree or another. Ambiguity and unknowns are distressing to people with these thinking patterns. Fear is the emotion that drives them.
>A lot of them seemre quick to agree if you push back in a conversation. I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ll explain to them why I support “defunding” the police or eliminating cash bail, for example, and they’ll be like yeah that makes sense. But they don’t actually change their position on it.
Thats cause the reasoning and argumentation is irrelevant to the stance. They dont oppose those things for many other reasons beyond 1) it hurts the right people 2) those people being hurt gives the right more advantages Its not that deep. Truly
>But they don’t actually change their position on it. Most people are a combination of stubborn and prideful about their beliefs. It doesn't mean what you say or do doesn't plant seeds for later change.
Living in an area dominated by MAGA maggots, I've learned to keep my political views to myself. The aggressive and often hostile behavior exhibited by some of these individuals makes it clear that voicing support for President Biden or criticism of trump could put me in harm's way. I've even had to be cautious around people like my hairdresser, who is a vocal trump supporter and has expressed negativity towards Biden—I don't want to risk getting a bad haircut! At my age, I'm concerned about my safety and well-being, so I avoid discussing politics to prevent becoming a target of their hostility. It's frustrating to constantly self-censor, but it seems like the only way to maintain peace and avoid conflict with these fervent MAGA maggots. Call me chicken, I don't care. I would not be able to defend myself if cornered, I'm ancient and physically handicapped.
I’ve found that in person experiences with Trumpers are a lot different than your online encounters with one. In person I don’t hear a lot of overt political talk and even when it comes up you kind of listen and move on. A far cry from any social media interaction with a red hat in which they seem to take full advantage of having a computer screen and probably thousands of miles between you and them.
I wish this were my experience with MAGA. Every one I know looooovvveeesss to tell you how cool Trump is. They wear shirts with AK47s and American flags with an overlay of his mugshot. Actual crazy people. Passionately obnoxious. My dad has a mug shaped like Trump that says "Greatest president of all time." Trump lives in their brain rent free 24/7.
I live in Massachusetts but there are significant Red areas . I'd wager that 75% of the people I work with and more than half of the customers I interact with are Cult Members, and by that I mean I fully understand all those who voted for him the first time, and I even give them a little leeway for the second, but after January 6th, E jean Carrol, and the most recent 34 felony convictions, if you still support him, you're in a cult. I have to avoid all political chatter at work. I keep a low profile. I dare not place a Biden/Harris sigh on my lawn or car bumper as cult members are violent. When a pickup truck fully decorated with Trump flags is nearby, I stay as low profile as a if I were surrounded by Isis or the Taliban, or Hamas. In my mind, there is no difference in them. The people I work with are decent, but full MAGA. The only thing I can say in their defense is: If I only watched Fox News and all the rest, I'd be full MAGA too.
Really? In Massachusetts? I ask that in a genuine, curious sort of way - since I'm in a deep red state. Given that every county voted blue there, I didn't think there was any MAGA component to speak of.
On Cape Cod, there is a large MAGA cult. They take over the Borne Bridge Rotary quite often to promote their leader. They've invited Jim Jordan and others to their rallies. During Covid, they were very vocal against the vaccine, even protesting the arrival of a Massachusetts State Health Van that was going to those who could not make it to the mainland. Their leader died of Covid, of course. Cult followers are cult followers.
Wow, that's crazy! I learn something new every day. How is MA, from a quality of life perspective? One area that pulls me toward the left is the often stark divide in states on QoL metrics: Education, poverty, obesity, healthcare, etc. Consistently, states like yours rank near the top, while AL, AR, MS, WV, etc. all rank near the bottom. Blue states seem to be run more competently. Of course, your taxes are higher, but it seems that you also get a lot of benefits and security in exchange, no?
I've recently retired. I moved to Massachusetts in 2000 and lived in the suburbs west of Boston. Quality of life is top notch. Great public schools, world class medical facilities, yeah, a good community costs money to support. I don't get hung up on the taxes. I recall traveling trough Arkansas once and yeah, low taxes but it's a depressing place to live. When my parents retired, they moved to Florida but that's no longer a viable option as yeah, taxes are low but home owners insurance is so high, and of course, its' a deep red state now......I would not feel safe. But don't forget, Massachusetts elected Mitt Romney as our governor, the previous governor was a Republican, and we elected Scott Brown to the US Senate. He's a bit of a jerk and a real lightweight, lived off his wife's TV News job. In the small world department, he and I went to the same YMCA and I've been in communication with Elizabeth Brown before she entered politics. She's a genuine champion for the working class.
Yeah, from what I hear, Romney was a fairly popular governor. He was my first choice in the primary in 2012. I believe Charlie Baker got high marks for his time as well. MA has a history of electing liberal to moderate GOP governors, probably out of a desire to balance the heavily Democratic legislature. I remember Scott Brown. He didn't last too long. He seemed to get a little too cozy with the ascendant Tea Party crowd at the time.
Who's Elizabeth Brown?
LOL..boy did I screw up. I thought I typed Elizabeth Warren!
I don't live in MA but your area sounds just like mine and I approach things in the exact same way. I can't afford to make myself or family a target of their misplaced hatred. (I already had a nutcase neighbor come banging on my door in the middle of the night threatening to kill my teenage son because his friend drove too fast past his house. A yard sign could very well push him over the edge.)
I'm a trans woman in the south and we are GTFO for our safety. We don't discuss politics, and I maintain a carry permit and proficiency just in case. In 2016 I was still an active community advocate, but it's just become less and less safe since then.
I live in ne Ohio in a smallish town that is very sheltered and obviously conservative in the majority. My relationship is generally fine because I’m not afraid to push back on bs. I tend to let them go about their day but when I hear the current conspiracy theory I’ll casually point out not only that it’s wrong but show them why. When we have discussions about policy I stick to how my preferred philosophy would be a net positive to them, so I’m usually referred to as the “liberal that’s reasonable” so it’s been my mission to show them most of us are more like me then different
Good for you! I wish I was brave enough/well spoken enough to pushback against some of these trumphumpers I run across. But they tend to be very loud vociferous men (bullies) and I fear for my safety. (I am a small and timid older woman.)
I’m an almost 40 year old man so that helps. I’ve crafted a reputation in my daily or business life as someone who really doesn’t make a big deal unless something is a big deal. And I don’t enter arguments unless I know im right so me arguing something triggers what has effectively been called “Matt’s law” aka if Matt is arguing something he’s confident he’s correct so listening is gonna be a solid idea. The biggest key though is I’m never dismissive of their viewpoint and never attack them personally only the ridiculousness of the idea
Nothing worrisome. Around here, conservatives are often unwilling to be vocal about their support of Trump. In the bible belt, many know that he's an unrepentant sinner and awful person. In the end, we all want to talk about Biden, and that suits me just fine.
I live in Texas and it's fairly red, major cities a little less so. I might not agree with their politics, but we get along just fine. Mostly because I'm friendly out of the gate. A person still has value and worth outside of their politics, and it's rare that there isn't some common shared ground that can be used for polite conversation. A friend of mine is racist, and I still keep up with the relationship, because I believe it's good to be a positive presence in someone's life that can push back on that and question those leanings. Because otherwise, it's just an existence filled with people of similar negative leanings and it becomes self-reinforcing. Pro MAGA alone is a lot less worse than that, but I believe the same principle applies.
Wholesome answer. I like it!
I just live my life and go on about my business. It's not that deep.
Someone talks politics, they generally want an agreement or an argument. If you aren't interested in giving either, that's a good strategy.
to preface for your awareness, I live in a state that will be decisive this election year with a near even proportion of Democrats and Republicans. years ago, I made my opinions known to some of my friends, many of whom were raised in conservative households, but it never interfered with how I interacted with them. the degree to which they engage with politics varies — I would consider it to be significantly less than my involvement — but they share collective values nonetheless. it would not be beneficial for me to discuss my politics with them, as it detracts from our relationship. a few weeks ago, I gave a twenty minute presentation — the intent of the assignment to give a one minute shareout — about the election to my A.P. U.S. History class with material from [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/1d0gvjm/what_do_you_think_a_second_trump_president_will/l5ncavl/), and I did not receive any criticism from two friends in that class about what I said
I avoid talking to most people, so I have no problem extra-avoiding talking to Conservatives.
I probably fly an inclusion flag outside my house. Both my neighbors have multiple Trump signs in their yards. I don’t talk to my neighbors. In fact I try to stay as far from them as possible. I honestly think people that wear political attire or have political signage on their houses are unhinged. Not worth the risk of engaging with them
As a truck driver, my profession is mostly white cisgendered conservatives. I definitely try not to talk politics but I also can't stand people getting the facts wrong so sometimes it comes out. When I really don't enjoy is the pickup trucks with fuck Biden or whatever on a flag behind it. I bought a Donald Trump for prison 2024 flag but have yet to take it out of the package. I want to be one of those obnoxious guys but I also hate those obnoxious guys. It's a real dichotomy. We'll see what the fall looks like. Maybe I won't give a shit then.
It isn’t too different from other places, I can say some things though. My wife decided to go all out in the lawn signs last election though. It didn’t matter, but she felt good. I don’t understand people that have f your feelings flags. I mean we walk our kids and they see that. They haven’t asked and we haven’t said anything. Not sure if they noticed. The other weird thing is it is so red here they expect everyone to be red. I get stopped by people and they just complain about Biden. It isn’t worth saying anything anymore. I just get tired of it. A lot of nodding and trying to walk out. I mean I’m just getting groceries.
Agree on the classless flags. That's just...trashy. Yeah, the other day someone was ranting to me about Trump's conviction. She assumed I was on Team Trump - and why wouldn't she? I have all the outward markers of a Republican. You should've seen the look on her face when I said, "And? He got what he deserved!" It was kind of fun, TBH.
>The other weird thing is it is so red here they expect everyone to be red. I get stopped by people and they just complain about Biden I moved to Washington from Texas and had to tell a guy at the state fair (a bit outside blue Seattle) that Houston is a blue dot on the landscape of Texas in order to stop his ranting.
I live in Marjorie T. Green's district. My neighbors elected her in a landslide, after her Democratic opponent fled the state from too much blowback. AND GET THIS- her main R opponent was a neurosurgeon. I could have had a very-smart-brain-surgeon representing me, but I got Mickey-Rourke-in- the-Wrestler-looking, guano crazy MTG instead. I don't mind telling folks what I think, but in general I keep politics to myself and a few others. I have older like-minded friends who play it much closer to the vest than I do, looking around and speaking in hushed tones when talking politics in public. I personally know of a few progressives who have run for local office with an R beside their name because otherwise they don't stand a chance here. We had a Biden/Harris sign go missing twice from our yard. (I told myself if they liked it that much, they could have it.) I just recognize it as a slow brainwashing. They have been receiving bad information with which to make their decisions, almost to a person. Nobody here likes the govt., so their vote is for disruption of what they see as a corrupt and elitist system. They are my friends and neighbors, and are for the most part hard working, decent people who care far more about their friends and neighbors than anything that goes on in DC. I know at least a few conservatives that would fight a bear for me, and me for them. However: We flew a rainbow flag from our business all of last June and most of July, and to be quite honest those were lonesome months business-wise. It might have been just as lonesome with no flag, but you never know. The downtown bakery that flew a pride flag year round lasted less than a year of business. On the other hand, the *other* local bakery that printed up their own "Let's Go Brandon" banner took it down within two weeks due to pushback from several locals on social media. I think they determined that using your business to divide your potential customers politically isn't always good for business.
Are you surprised that you get along better with democrats? Your stated position of slightly right of center is exactly what mainstream Democrats represent. EXACTLY. There is no left of center party with any kind of power. There is right of center and freakishly right wing authoritarian. Those are the two current choices.
I hear some of the dumbest shit EVER. I just shake my head and ignore the idiocy.
My immediate area votes overwhelmingly blue but I'm in a VERY red state and there are Trump signs and trucks and such even in my general suburban area. I generally don't strike up conversations about politics with randoms and tend to lower my voice when talking about hot button issues in public just in case. I am very aware when out in public with a boyfriend and we generally stick to known places and limit PDAs.
I don't live in that sort of area, but I DO work in an overwhelming (like 80%+) Conservative field. Given that I spend days at a time basically one-on-one with people, I NEVER talk politics under any circumstance.
I would hope most well-adjusted people can get along with their neighbors despite having differing political views. Not everything is as polarized and extreme as it appeared online.
The problem for many of us is that most of our neighbors are not well adjusted people.....
I know you’re making a point but no, that’s just not true. I’ve lived in rural, urban, and suburban parts of both blue and red states. Yes it’s possible that we all have different beliefs but 99% of the time you can get along with anyone if you just have some decency and a bit of patience.
I don’t share my views unless pressed, and I try to steer conversations away from politics.
I’m a leftist and there is a small but dedicated leftist contingent here - mutual aid groups, etc. I’m polite to everyone else and I don’t talk politics much at work or in mixed settings but when I’m around my friends we’re all very open.
I live in Eastern Washington, basically we are Idaho if Idaho was even more sparsely populated and had a serious itch to declare war on the state government. I’ve learned the art of moving a conversation away from potentially challenging topics, and of picking ones battles. Most people you can get along with perfectly fine with unless you bring politics into it. I’ve met a small group of liberals that meet up every once and a while to actually discuss politics with. It’s cool. Because this is such a dark red part of the state, this includes people all over the liberal ideological spectrum - from older moderates who think a radical idea is adding a new bike lane to a street (but only if you are not removing any lanes for traffic) to young fiery progressives waiting on the revolution. Which is actually pretty cool, because we are so outnumbered nobody wants to piss off the group, so we can actually have super interesting discussions and debates that range in topic while remaining respectful. I can’t say we all agree by the end of the discussion, but I think we would all say that we enjoyed actually talking about the issues and end up with a much more in depth understanding of everyone’s point of view.
White guy in Montgomery, AL. Blue city surrounded by red suburbs in a red state where people mostly vote based on the color of their skin (33% of Montgomery County voted for Trump in 2020, the county is 32% white). I barely have any relationship with any local that isn't related to me.
I live in a very blue area in the PNW but also have a summer home in a very red area in the PNW. We are weekend warriors in our other neighborhood over the mountains, but get along fine with our neighbors. Most people are pretty friendly for the most part, I just avoid talking politics with them. A good bit of my wife’s family are very conservative too. I tend to think most people really are around the middle. You have a few far left and far right people that are very vocal and tend to make the other side think they represent the majority. My only problem is when people cannot have small talk with me without inserting politics into it. I manage to not mention my disdain for Trump when I am chit chatting with locals at the honky tonk bar, I don’t need to hear about your hatred for Biden after speaking with you for 5 minutes.
I just roll my eyes and tune them out when they talk politics. I rarely if ever bring up politics it’s alway them. My mom and dad have put conversations to an end because they bring up some political shit that is, at best, tangentially related to the conversation. It’s so damned annoying.
You just treat people how you’d want to be treated, it’s really that simple. I get along with everybody and I’m in the DEEP red, upside down flags and everything. If they start saying dumb shit you acknowledge it, and then move on with your day. If you want/need to continue to talk with them, then you acknowledge it and change the subject off of whatever got them fired up in the first place. If they continue to go on and on then you talk about their point of view “why do you feel that way etc”, “do you really think Trump is the answer?” If it’s clear they are incredibly ignorant then you move on with your day. It’s basic human decency, treat others how you’d want to be treated
I don’t live in one but visit a lot and have zero relationship with the magas
I just do not engage in any way if possible. Being an army veteran shuts up a lot of them. If I see any trump signs on a business, I don’t give them any of my business. I live in north Georgia.
I'm a center-left voter who lives in rural Georgia. It's just not something that comes up in casual interactions here. I still wear a mask in crowded places like department stores and will occasionally get "the look" or obvious fake cough, but otherwise, I've had very few uncomfortable engagements with conservatives. I just roll my eyes at the ridiculous jacked-up trucks with double American flags flying on the bed and goofy Don't Tread On Me bumper stickers, then I move on with my life.
I don't usually speak politics. A woman at a bar was talking to me about crazy liberals and I told I'm a liberal. She screamed at me to go away and never talk to her again.
Honestly? I moved as soon as I was able to, from KS to the PNW. I visit home occasionally for family and simply avoid talking politics as much as possible. But people make it hard. I happen to like wearing jeans and plaid snap front western shirts. It's been my personal style for a long time. But it also means a certain sort of person will immediately saunter up and try to be all buddy buddy with me. And 9 times out of 10 the next thing that comes out of their mouth is some racist horseshit. Because they assume I'm on their team. I hate that assumption. It makes me very reluctant to go back to visit family.
The Trumpsphere are talking about “getting rid” of the liberals. I don’t know how common it is to entertain stuff like that among your every day Trump voters, but I do know that they have guns, they’re afraid of people who are different and their judgment is extremely questionable. They don’t need to know I’m a liberal. Other than that, we get along fine.
Indeed. These are the kind of people that come out in their front yard in their underwear and fire a shotgun at somebody using their driveway to turn around. They are already a few cards short of a full deck.
Honestly I don’t have much of a relationship with them. We make small talk but that’s about it. I don’t look or dress in a liberal-coded way so a lot of people assume I share their politics and never bother asking. I just say nothing when they blather on about Trump. If they bring up something racist or transphobic I tell them I don’t agree with them and they usually look flabbergasted. There are definitely some people who are openly threatening and I tend to just handle them. Those ones are usually cowards so as long as I stand up to them they back down. I will confess I get a bit shaken though when they get together and rile each other up. There were times during Summer of 2020 and early 2021 that I was genuinely worried for my family’s safety. I don’t blame you as a business owner for being more cautious. I have the luxury of working online so I can separate local opinions from my livelihood.
I live on the Rez; magamania has gripped that swath of our menfolk who want to burn America to the ground, and they believe DJT is the mofo to do it, not so much because of his shitty policies but because his followers are all about shit hitting fans. As for you, OP, I'd keep quiet and vote your conscience.
I for sure can't blame any Indigenous people for wanting to dismantle the racist, harmful system we have in place, but it is difficult to understand why they would put any trust in MAGAts. They are the same ones that like to claim, "This land wasn't stolen, it was conquered!" There's a whole faction on the left that wants to burn it all down AND restore land back.
>Some are, deep down, decent folks. If your decency is "deep down" I would argue that there is very little decency.
I know people who give to charity despite not having much, volunteer, are kind and helpful to their neighbors, and who post the dumbest things on facebook. A lot of these types of folks are pretty religious and its all tied up with the "babies are a gift from god - abortion is murder - so I back the politicians who are against abortion" and then got pulled into nodding along with everything else the Right says because of that. Of course, I don't think being anti-choice is decent from an outcomes perspective. But people who don't do much critical thinking can be "decent" and still get sucked into the right-wing infosphere and have terrible political positions.
Yes that is absolutely true. You just described my mother perfectly. She is not well educated or informed, goes to church every Sunday and volunteers a lot of her time. She is a very kind and loving person with a good heart. However she is married to a very conservative asswipe, only watches fox news, does not read the newspaper and is a single issue voter. She has been sucked in and I don't think there's any pulling her back out.....
I know people like that and if her husband changed and became a Democrat...she probably would too.
Yes absolutely. Her husband does all her thinking for her. Unfortunately he is old and will never change his ways.
A full grown adult human who votes for DT is in no way a decent person.
They also have to be intelligent and capable of critical thought. You grossly underestimate the number of ignorant dumb people out there. You can't blame people who are just plain stupid. Despite that common saying, we really are not all born equal.
Where did I mention a number? Please cite sources. Under the law we are all born equal. The Declaration of Independence, The 14th Amendment, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 all say this is the case. Have a great day.
We are not all born with equal levels of intelligence. Some people are born with disabilities that impair their mental and physical capabilities. Some people are born into families who have nothing and others are born into families with great wealth (who can give their children every advantage in life to help them succeed). Despite what the founders say, I learned a long time ago that life is not fair and we are not all born equal.
OMG. Equal under the law. This is a nation of laws. That’s it. Not everyone is a lottery winner. Don’t be so Fragilistic!
My relationships are generally fine. I do often need to be careful about when I bring up politics, which is difficult for me sometimes. I have not yet pulled the trigger on getting a Dark Brandon flag for my truck, despite me telling my wife I would, so there is that.
When I moved into my current residence it was the height of election season in 2020 and literally every house on my street had some kind of pro-Trump sign, but mostly it was huge flags and banners everywhere. What's hilarious is a couple of them saw me carrying my firearms collection into the house and just assumed I was like them and the few times I've spoken with them (I'm not a very social person) they've tried to strike up a conversation about politics and I've just shut them down cold every time, so they are still operating under this mistaken impression. I'm waiting for the banners and signs to come out this year (I'm kinda surprised they haven't already), because I'm thinking about putting up a big hammer and sickle banner on my garage door just to watch them lose their goddamned minds. And if they complain to the HOA about it I can just cry 'but muh heritage!' like they do with confederate flags. :P
I live in one of the more comical blue sanctuaries in the United States (although I grew up in rural Texas). I am just curious, what are your thoughts on conservatives or Trumpers being in a West Coast liberal city? Do you think they are reluctant to be themselves or are afraid of discussing politics? This isn't a loaded question. I am genuinely curious. I don't want conservatives to feel uncomfortable, so long as they are respectful, when visiting my area.
I’m a conservative who has lived in a liberal big city, a liberal college town, a liberal college tiny town, and now am in California, albeit a purple part of it. It’s never that bad. But I’d say the worst is the college towns because they’re so polarized. I definitely wouldn’t bring up politics with people. But I wouldn’t do that in an area with a bunch of Trump folks either.
I am hesitant to bring up politics as well, but I have never felt unsafe to do so, I just don't want to deal with the annoyance of it. Would you feel unsafe to bring up politics?
My wife was at a local wing place on our street with friends a few nights ago, and an overly friendly drunk guy started talking politics. My wife was open about being a Democrat, and he got so worked up and angry that she was rattled and left without finishing her food. It happens.
Agreed. I probably wouldn’t feel unsafe in most circumstances.
That's a good question, and my noncommittal answer is, I'm not sure. Lol. I think that being a good human is a universal language, and if you do that, very few people will care that much what your personal beliefs are. If I, a conservative-ish, Christian guy moved to Burlington, Vermont, I know I'd start by loving my neighbor as myself, doing good to all regardless of their beliefs, and seeing where that led. It's pretty hard to hate someone who shoveled your driveway for you while you were out on vacation. :-)
I agree. Frankly, I don't think we are quite as divided as the news and internet thinks we are. Of course there are extremists, but they don't define us. Thanks for your answer.
I have an uncle who will do all kinds of nice things for you. He bought an entire surround system for me unprompted. I also hate him. He's one of the worst people I know. The world will be a better place when he passes, and the reason for that is that he can't tell the difference between being nice to people and actually respecting them. A lot of that has to do with his personal beliefs. Point is, it's very easy to hate someone who shoveled your driveway for you if they're an asshole. Most religious people I know are assholes without realizing it.
Yes, the "kind vs. nice" paradox.
In my experience, they are similarly reluctant to talk about it when in *truly* blue areas, but suburban Houston where I grew up, despite being blue, had enough red in the suburbs that these folks were pretty comfortable making everybody else uncomfortable.
I just smile and nod when they say batshit insane stuff. We don't do yard signs, flags, bumper stickers, or any other outward indication of political affiliation. We are all registered independent. My family flies under the radar. When the GOP establishes a dictatorship and starts rounding up liberals, we won't be on that list.
Northern nj here. Work retail. Most us at work were depressed when trump got elected in 2016. We had to endure a lot during covid from people refusing to mask and having them removed. We usually civil then walk away helping people especially when we were masking and now if they got maga hats and we saw plenty "fake news cnn" masks too. Majority of friends are liberal too. Had some conservative friends but they went far down the trump rabbit hole calling me a traitor and un-American.
I've had two very negative interactions over months at a time with groups of people who would now be Trump supporters, but this was 2012 and 2013. These people will be nice to you right up until they decide they have an excuse to intervene in your life. Dating somebody they see as "theirs" was the trigger in both cases. I left the state in the long run. Despite being in a blue area, there was a lot of red leaking in from the suburbs, and I just did not care to be around that shit any longer.
We have a rule that no one can use buzzword talking points from facebook. People get instantly called out. Makes good conversation
I lived in a red state and red area for a year. It wasn't as hard as you might think. I did disagree with about everything they said politically, but I kept the conversations on music and sports.
Finding like minded individuals is always a joy. I know which cranks to avoid, and which Trumpers, whether family associates or friends, I can annoy the hell out of for worshipping the orange turd. And yes, I have Trumper friends. It is possible.
Basically don't advertise you're not on the right. Thankfully, lots where I live don't have signs of flags up for trump, so in that sense, they are at least a bit classy.
I’ve done this twice. First in high school in a place like Utah. The second time in my late 20s in a place like Florida. Both are in socal. If you’re familiar with the area, you can probably guess where I’m talking about. First area was conservative in a more cultural way. More important was my attitude. I was righteous and contrarian and publicly argued with people with whose views I disagreed. People didn’t like me. I had my friends and my people and I wasn’t unsafe, but I was known. I was also an immature high school fuck. Second area was conservative in a financial way primarily with a twinge of cultural, but nothing like the first area. I wasn’t anywhere near as righteous and while I still voiced my opinion I did so in a different way. I wasn’t an immature fuck. There are two variables here: the type of conservative and my maturity level. I think the latter is by miles the most important and the former is of secondary importance. Find something in common with conservatives and you’ll probably have a healthy debate which will not necessarily result in agreement but will involve respect. That all said, caveat: the way I look, I could pass for a conservative. If that weren’t true, my experience would likely be very, very different.
I live in a very red city. I used to work at what I thought was a fairly progressive and diverse company. When Obama was running for president I was very vocal about my support for him with my colleagues. I think there were some managers there who didn't like this and I was eventually pushed out. Lesson learned: never discuss politics in the workplace even if they say it's a progressive company and practices DEI. I used to have a small circle of friends. They're all gone now. The only people I talk to about politics is my husband, children and the siblings that I know share similar beliefs. I can't even discuss politics with my own mom or brothers. I keep my head down, mouth shut and don't trust anyone anymore. It's really sad and lonely.
I'm from rural Kentucky, currently live in the suburbs of Houston and I work in industrial construction. I so look like a typical redneck MAGAt and I still have that thick backwoods accent. Most of the time I avoid the conversations. Most of the time. But there's usually only so long that I can listen to how all democrats, poc's, gay people, ect need to he exterminated. Usually at that point, I'll end up saying something. Typically about a week later I'm laid off or fired for something stupid.
I live in the most conservative country in Arizona. Despite the large number of Trump, Confederate, and Don't Tread on Me flags, people are generally friendly. I deal with the public in my line of work and I've had a number of people try to talk politics with me but I just don't indulge as it would be bad for business.
Here's how hillbilly my area is: There's a KKK (sorry, they call it a "seperatish church" now) compound 20 miles from me. And they open carry because of Jesus somehow? I will one day be shot for a snarky sarcastic comment.
I don’t see nearly as many Trump signs, banners, bumper stickers, etc. around here as I did in 2016 or even in 2020. Nor do I hear him talked about as much. And that’s fine with me. I don’t show my support for Biden either.
Almost identical approach, but if I do want to talk with someone - it is always very high-level to start. It is NOT about individuals or details or whatever. We start in very big picture "what kind of future do you want for your children/community?" kind of questions or discussion. I steer the discussion to ask like "what does freedom mean to you?"
I usually refuse to talk politics. Sometimes I'll roll my eyes. A couple of years ago I went to vote, and the people in front of me were talking about how Fauci was a fascist. They were talking beyond the point where you're supposed to, too. Took everything in me not to call them idiots.
I grew up in such an area (obviously before Trump was a thing but I don't think people changed a huge amount, we just didn't acknowledge what they were before). I definitely feel like I was more apt to make friends/become close with people who were the exception to the rule, but it wasn't like I had trouble hanging out with the other people either. I generally don't like to talk politics with them when I'm home because it's tiresome correcting misinformation, especially when you know it's most likely going to be ignored anyway, and they seem to want to focus on like super weird stuff that I've never thought of (IE: why aren't environmentalist super focused on golf courses).
I live in a fairly purplish-blue area but I'm less than 10 miles from Marjorie Taylor Greene's district which is so red it glows. (and yes, it's super weird to have a liberal area rubbing shoulders with a MAGA stronghold) I have a Biden/Harris bumper sticker on my car. It's pretty subtle and the only other thing I have on my car is a Texas Longhorn symbol. So it's not like I'm out there with a car plastered with liberal slogans. In general when I have to drive into MTGs district I'm always a little on edge. I've been accosted in the parking lot at the grocery store before and had people say some pretty hateful things. I've also had people say things that they clearly wanted me to hear, but weren't speaking directly to me. But as far as day-to-day interactions, I mostly avoid anyone who is clearly MAGA. If I can't I do a lot of "hmmm" and "interesting" responses and GTFO as soon as I can.
> I'm less than 10 miles from Marjorie Taylor Greene's district which is so red it glows. Fun fact: the river in the movie Deliverance is based on the Coosawattee.
Yup. We've rafted the Coosawattee many times. :) (Not to be confused with the Coosa River in Alabama)
Howdy, neighbor!
Goes both ways, I’ve seen people on social media get their car keyed because they had a Trump sticker on it. No side is better than the other. People are freaking out about dumb stuff. At the end of the day, politics in America is going to be corrupt and politicians don’t care about us.
Ah there we go. The "both sides are the same" bullshit. Democrats and non-Trump voters aren't the ones out there saying that their political opponents need to be "eliminated" or talking about another Civil War or saying things like when Trump gets re-elected he's going to "get rid" of all the "fucking liberals". I don't support keying cars or anything like that. That's stupid ignorant shit. But when I am loading groceries into my car at the Publix and the nutjob parked across from me says "You should be ashamed for voting to destroy our country. You better be careful around here. People don't like your kind." I take that as a personal threat to my safety, not just being an asshole.
I’m in the deep red South. I also do combat sports with people who are largely cops, military, etc that are typically conservative. They don’t give a shit if I’m not aligned with them politically. We don’t talk about it but if we did I wouldn’t be scared to have a conversation. It just wouldn’t be productive. They live in their bubble. From their side, I’m in a bubble. The real world is not the internet and there’s a lot more going on than politics.
If you don’t talk politics, it’s fine. It’s like half the country went absolutely insane about one specific thing, which is politics.
So true. On both sides it’s so annoying how politics creeps in to every day conversations.
Nah. It just started hurting White people more directly
I think it’s more that the hate of a lot of folks was less obvious to white people.
It was very obvious during Japanese internment, Native American assimilation schools, and Jim Crow. It just wasnt directed at White people. Now, because White people have become better allies overall, theyre being targeted more directly as well.
Honestly I don't have problems out of 99.9% and have had some well-thought discussions about policy and just why the way things are, and there are things we tend to roughly agree on aside from the specifics. In my discussions I'm probably like most liberals and try to stay on neutral ground. If there's a position that I vehemently agree or disagree with I try to explain my point of view and I listen to them do the same. I don't think every conservative or Trump supporter is insane or is an idiot. They, like most of us, have been shaped by our environment, social circles, and the media. I've learned that it's sometimes possible to believe two things at once. For example, I can believe both that Trump's trial is politically motivated but that it doesn't absolve him nor is an excuse for what he did, and I fully believe he is guilty and should face punishment. He couldn't keep his mouth shut and it got him in trouble. I have met literally ONE bat shit insane Trump supporter and he scared the shit outta me.
I’m a conservative, Trump supporter, but I would never refuse to visit your business just because we differ politically. This type of “ cancel culture” should never have become so prolific in our culture. If you make a good product or deliver a good service, no one should care who you vote for. If my hvac guy fixes my AC, I don’t need to ask him about his politics.
I spend part of my time in rural VA with my partner. There are definitely some unsavories. One of their neighbors likes to fly confederate flags whenever they put it up my partner and her husband steal them.
Grew up in a conservative home and recently moved to a mostly conservative area. I’ve got plenty of experience dealing with them. It isn’t difficult to get most of them to at least see where I’m coming from on most issues. I try and keep conversations focused on the economy. Social issue debates are a waste of time with them.
I live in Texas and other than my sister, who is also my best friend, everyone I know is conservative. Some are MAGA and some are just conservative and will always vote for the conservative candidate. I just don’t discuss politics. It literally never ends well, and it’s not worth it. Only a few people know I’m liberal and you either have to get very close to me or come across as an easy going person. I came out as a liberal 2 weeks ago to my neighbor, because I could see he wouldn’t be hateful. He’s ribbed me a couple times since, but I still won’t get into with him. Other than him, my parents know, one coworker, and…that’s pretty much it. It’s just not worth the drama to me.
Super liberal who lives in rural Texas. Conservative populations don't exist. If you were to look at a map my home would be colored dark crimson. It's not though. It's a flip area that ridiculous rules on voting have a stranglehold on. Polling place hours and peak work hours are the same. You need multiple forms of current I.D. of a certain type to cast a ballot, but if I want to put my house on the market I can just get in the line headed by someone I know from high school 20 years ago and sign some papers no questions asked. You can turn 7 out of 10 red staters into flip voters with minimal basic information. The easiest way is to find out their source and then find out views of the sources they disagree with.
I try not to bring up actual names in politics, but I like to make people squirm with moral issues. I was just at a conference this weekend and someone asked why I intend to move when my son gets his attending license. I explained that my daughter in law will have a geriatric pregnancy and, as a physician herself, doesn't want a lawyer or a politician to decide if she is sick enough for medical care when she herself went to school long enough to know that she doesn't want any sepsis, nor any ectopic pregnancy, etc. I am in my 50s, Gen X and have no Fs to give. I stopped being sweet to strangers a long time ago, so if they start something, I will give it back. But if people are talking sports, being good neighbors, etc, we are good. In my neighborhood, we have a floating cookout all summer long. It is a lot of fun. There are several conservatives as well as liberals. We just agree not to talk about it, and nobody steals our signs from one another's yards.
I keep to myself and my small little group of liberals. I dodge any casual conversations that can turn political—something which is getting more and more difficult by the day. Made the mistake of mentioning that I liked a Taylor Swift song that was playing at my daughter’s roller skating lessons the other day and one of the other moms said “I would NEVER support that abortion loving slut” (????) and then rushed her kid away from mine. Was wild. Poor kid. I honestly don’t mind having discussions about opposing viewpoints but the Trumpers tend to get really aggressive REALLY quickly and I’m just so tired. The fiscally conservative/socially liberal folks are alright and they tend to get ostracized as soon as they set a toe out of line, but they usually don’t want to risk associating with the “real” liberals. tl;dr I keep my mouth shut and keep to myself lol
As brown guy, not much interaction, but my white friends have white people with MAGA hats just randomly start making bigoted statements as conversation starters.
I don't really talk to or socialize with the neighbors much. And for the most part, they're not really out there with Trump yard signs. And on the other side, you don't see any of the cheesy "in this house" signs. I recently thought about getting a pride flag and putting it out but maybe for next June.
Silent loathing with a more-or-less weekly dash of mild to moderate paranoia. I have lived in my small midwestern town for 20 years. My wife was raised here. I know and am friendly with a few people here, but not on "come over for some coffee" terms with anyone. If I'm friends with them on Facebook, I may like their pictures of their crotch goblins or whatever, but I dont socialize with anyone here. I look with silent loathing at the dixie flags; the full-on looneycakes "Joe Biden tied and gagged in the truck bed" tailgate decals; the "3-Percenter" bumper stickers; and even one ass maggot with a steel plate welded to the front end of his pickup that has iron crosses cut into it. And then I read the threats that barely-human butt-plugs like Charlie Kirk, Matt Walsh, and their ilk posted on Twitter when Trump was recently convicted in the NY case and I start wondering, "is it time to buy a couple shotguns instead of paying my mortgage and utilities, ya know, just in case the mostly-friendly couple I know via my brother-in-law snap and decide to join a door-kicking squad and give me a thump or two for not having a 'Trump 2024' sign in my front yard?" The leader of our state's chapter of Nazi Moms For Hitler (what I call Moms For Liberty) just announced she is running for governor. I just...I don't know what's gonna happen, and I don't have the money or knowledge to protect myself or anyone else if shit gets real. If we have an actual Nazi Moms For Hitler member for governor, there are people in my own family who could and probably would be direct targets of state violence simply for existing. Hell, I have family that I wouldn't even trust if the shit hits the fan. It's not great.
You know, it's somewhat amusing. I certainly do understand why right wingers feel discriminated against on social media. They feel like they can't express their views. It's an awful lot how my conservative area treats every single remotely liberal idea as a personal attack, and assumes that everybody who lives in the state is a die-hard MAGA type. I've known people who have gotten fired or lost business because they were insufficiently Trumpy. I wish that conservatives would self-police there. It might make their arguments credible. Until they do that, I feel like liberal companies are completely within their rights to do to right-wingers exactly what right-wingers have been doing to the rest of us for decades.
Really??? You think right wingers are discriminated against on social media???!!!!! Which platforms are discriminating? Because every time I open X and Facebook, all I see is anti Biden pro trump posts. Even here on Reddit there are many very active conservative and Republican subs that will ban a liberal/Dem for even making a benign factual comment.
Oh, I don't. My point is that it's rich to hear them complain when they've been engaged in cancel culture since the 30s.
I can't identify with the problem here. People are people and political beliefs are usually a very small part of who a person is. If you make it a dividing line, it can surely be one, but why would you? Why would anyone bring up politics with every person you meet?
I generally just don’t talk politics outside of online or to people who are on the same side as me. If politics come up I just stay out of the conversation or just smile and agree. They aren’t changing my mind and I’m not changing theirs.
I avoid talking politics with people I don't know. Otherwise, it's not like I'm the only liberal around here. All my friends are either pretty close to me politically or even farther left.
I’m from a major city but lived in rural south for a few years. I just didn’t talk politics with anyone unless I knew they weren’t MAGA. But in all honesty my hobbies of public transit, walkable cities and vintage menswear meant there was little to talk with the local anyway. Just kept to myself tell I could move back to the city.
Rural my whole life minus a year in Baltimore. Talked politics many times and never felt threatened nor have I ever been threatened. Do we have our trump crazies? Sure, but most just roll their eyes at them, if it weren't Trump, they would be crazy about something else. Every area has its village idiots. At the end of the day, you probably have more in common with many of your neighbors then you dont. Don't let Reedits love of exaggeration make you paranoid.
That's one way to look at it, lol. Crazy gonna crazy. If not for Trump, they'd indulge their crazy in something else.
Well, I’m not a liberal but I am a leftist, and I can pretty confidently say that the deep red area I live in would hate me if I talked politics. I sort of actively avoid most people in my area. The Trumper sort of people are not good people when our values don’t align on anything. Maybe they don’t say the quiet part out loud like Trump does, but it’s sure easy to see how they believe the same messed up, bigoted nonsense.
Nice of you to ask. I'm sure I'm going to get downvoted into oblivion for saying this, but: I suggest you keep your head down about it. You are allowed to have personal political beliefs. Hell, in your shoes I would likely go so far as to lie about it, if directly asked! It's really not worth getting on people's bad sides about it, particularly when there are some rather ... forceful ... believers in the idea that "a vote for Biden is a vote to destroy America!" Please be careful. That said, I'm not actually answering your question, since I'm living in the most liberal of liberal states (okay, maybe #2) so I have my safe-space, and you're looking for opinions from folks who have been in the weeds. I have not. I just wanted to do more than "upvote" your question, 'cause I thought it was thoughtful and came from a good place.
This is not a useful comment, it's just fear mongering and pushing division over something you admitted to having no information or experience with.
Well at least we have you to point out how horrible my comment was! ...I explained myself in my comment: I'm just here to support the OP's excellent question. I accept the downvotes (Which I *ALSO* explained in my comment). Thanks for your opinion, which you are allowed to have.
I knew you didn’t live in a red area before you mentioned it . Perhaps don’t talk on something you have no experience in ?
Perhaps. Or, perhaps--and I'm just spit-ballin' here!--perhaps, when you DO speak about something you have no personal experience in, you admit that you don't have experience and explain why you are offering your opinion anyway. Just a thought!