lots of other thoughtful responses here but simply put, no. if someone supports a harmful political figure, they likely believe that figureās beliefs or they at least donāt care enough about each impact of that politicianās whole platform. we canāt only think about how things impact ourselves; being kind to others is the bare minimum.
and there is nuance, like if someone believes we canāt abolish the police but thinks the current system is bad, so they support a politician who increases social services (that prevent crime), thatās different from someone who supports a politician that justifies police violence. the latter is highly, highly ignorant; but the former acknowledges social issues, which indicates space for further dialogue and growth
from an organizing perspective, i do believe in educating and calling in etc but those are learned skills and also a totally different thing from friendship and dating. you probably canāt just āfixā the views of friends or partners, and should not just leave that as a caveat of your relationship nor put up with their beliefs because you think you might be able to educate them.
article linked is specifically about dating but itās a good, brief essay
Jul 14, 2024
Related Recs
š
to set the stage here I organized as a college student/adjacent to a political cult (was never 100% brainwashed and pulled in) so this answer is going to diverge from many other answers. Iāll say in my opinion that trying to divide or merge person and politic is a zero sum game or detrimental for my personal life and political consequences at large
I donāt allow myself to get into situations where this would be remotely possible and that either comes off as extremely myopic or cushioned from reality but Iām choosing to accept that. In my friendships or making new friends I try to be a remotely ok judge of character to determine if political beliefs will inflame the friendship
no amount of brain power would make me consider changing someoneās mind on politics in a friendship but its likely im on the same page of people who are moderate or political disengaged to discuss freely about it
Hannah Arendt once observed that the personal and political spheres merging creates this space where we can no longer āactā in politics but we behave as economic actors or consumers. I think sheās on the money about this to this day - politics on the whole are very much boiled down to a market choice for me and not visible in my personal life much
Jul 14, 2024
ā
I love talking about politics with my friends! I will say that my friend group is full of likeminded people. If there is a disagreement within the group I feel that because we have a similar mindset we are able to see where the other is coming from even if we donāt agree(?) if that makes sense. Ofc identity politics plays a big role which might create an idea of community or make others feel left out.
I think where we are in society today politics cant be avoided. Politics and policy is everywhere that even a simple conversation can be tied to so many aspects of it. I think discussing it with friends, people you trust and know have similar perspectives or ideas allows for a safe conversation (at least in my case).
Jan 24, 2025
ā¤ļø
in 2023, i would have def considered myself a dem/liberal. but since then, i've done a hard shift wayyy to the left because of all the ongoing issues in the world. but majority of my friends stayed liberal.
i tried to talk to them about palestine, they didn't seem to care. i try to talk to them about capitalism and it's affects on society, they don't care. and i know it's because all of it doesn't personally affect them, which drives me INSANE. everyone is stuck on identity politics (which i completely understand, and am not saying its not important), but it's been frustrating trying to get people to understand its a class issue. and there's been almost 0 support until trmp got into office and now everyone wants to talk "politics".
i honestly tried to cut out so many friends because the lack of empathy hurt me that deeply, BUT since then i've just come to realize that we truly are all just victims to capitalism :( it's not their fault they've been so individualized and complacent, but it is their fault to not stay educated. so i'm always open to discussing with friends, i've just had to find new friends with similar beliefs in order to keep my sanity.
in the end, being leftists, we just gotta focus on the community and helping those around us, even if they don't care or their beliefs dont line up with ours. that's the only way to get people to understand and empathize, so i started trying to implement that more into my life, as hard as it is sometimes.
Jan 24, 2025
Top Recs from @marxinista
š¤
being traditionally cool is really quite boring and iterative, and itās actually very cool and sexy to geek out about something you like or share bits of knowledge on a topic youāre passionate about
Aug 17, 2024
ā°
i had it for a little over a year until i was like wow this is actually terrible! i genuinely think it has negatively impacted society by ruining peopleās attention spans, having a horrific algorithm, and most of all by the most mind-numbing or outright harmful trends -
fake words that people now use IRL (āunaliveā), trad wife tiktok, shein hauls, body-focused fitness vids that encourage fatphobia and unhealthy habits, shallow political/feminist theory and queer discourse, āalpha maleā podcaster tiktok, encouraging overconsumption in general, trends ruining local spots or niche thingsā¦ the list goes on
Aug 17, 2024
a million times cooler than the lackluster āsleekā tech color palette used today
Feb 22, 2025