Political centrist in a hard left family. How to deal with this stuff?

aussietoads · 2017-02-18T01:07:38+00:00

At age 28 I think it's time for you to leave the nest. Especially since the nest is looking like it's becoming full of bird shit.

EricAllonde · 2017-02-18T01:43:23+00:00

Many Leftists have gone full retard since Hillary lost, unfortunately. There's not much you can do except ignore them and hope they eventually get over it.

I had a bunch of Facebook friends call me all sorts of names from Nazi down, and unfriend/block me, just because I said that even accused rapists are entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence.

A similar thing happened when I said that even though Richard Spencer is clearly an obnoxious douchebag, that's no justification for someone to launch a coward punch attack on him and in fact violence is never an acceptable response to speech and opinions you disagree with. They really flipped out over that one.

What surprised me the most were the people saying violence was just their way of expressing their right to free speech. Fark, are they really so stupid that they can't grasp the difference between speech and actions? Apparently they are, because I keep seeing that justification used by Leftists everywhere.

If they weren't your family and you weren't living with them, I'd suggest responding with "Attitudes like yours are what got Trump elected. Enjoy the next four years". No, don't say that. But you might find the situation easier to bear if you think it at these times...

PotatoDonki · 2017-02-18T02:56:38+00:00

My entire family are pretty much SJWs, and now my girlfriend has become one. I've never felt more trapped and alone. So, I would also love some advice on this regard.

Vandechoz · 2017-02-18T03:40:01+00:00

I decided last night I would no longer discuss politics with my family.

I do this with religion and my family. Sometimes the only answer I give to questions is silence.

Anyway, like others have said, you need to get out. Free yourself. It feels amazing.

cheerychimchar · 2017-02-18T00:57:04+00:00

Wow, sorry you have to go through this, man. Any chance of moving out in the near future or is that not likely?

LucifersHammerr · 2017-02-18T01:48:24+00:00

Get the hell out of there.
Reframe the issue in terms of class. This the only argument I've found that actually works on these people. Traditional "leftism" was rooted in class analysis, before the feminazis took over. Just point out the absurdity of claiming middle and upper class women are oppressed compared to straight white male homeless men. Also, there has never been a society in history in which the "more oppressed" group worked less than the supposed "oppressor" group. The earnings gap arises largely due to the fact that men work longer hours (in more difficult and dangerous jobs).

If push comes to shove, just pull out the [statistics](www.realsexism.com). Males fair worse in virtually every quality of life indicator. To top it all off, women only pay 30 percent of taxes yet receive significantly more state benefits (and indeed control the majority of household spending).

Another good argument is to point out that men have out-group bias toward women while the same is not true in reverse. This might help your father recognize his own biases, and understand why men in power do not favor other men.

chocoboat · 2017-02-18T04:43:51+00:00

I decided last night I would no longer discuss politics with my family.

This is the correct move. Smile and nod and let them repeat their talking points. You tried using logic, they're not having it, it's time to move on.

They might try to bait you into the discussion, asking for your opinions or asking why you're so quiet during political discussions. Don't take the bait. If you say "because you act like I'm some far-right ultraconservative if I disagree with anything", they'll promise not to, pull you into the discussion, and then they'll go ahead and do it anyway. SJWs love to have a wrong-thinker to defeat.

Just say "I'm sick of politics, it's on TV 24/7, people are always talking about it, it's everywhere and I'm tired of hearing about it constantly" or something along those lines.

In the event you make the unwise decision to participate in a discussion, try to frame it in a SJW mindset. For example, they probably support giving preferential treatment to women and non-whites when it comes to college admissions and job availability.

So ask them "is it sexist/racist to believe that women/non-whites are inferior and not as smart and capable?" They'll say yes. "Then isn't it sexist for these places to expect less of women and have lower standards for them?"

MagicTampon · 2017-02-18T06:46:18+00:00

NomiuJ$JCJXE<sew33-h%1:QWHccTcGOE4M

[email protected]:7dE

suckmuckduck · 2017-02-18T01:30:17+00:00

Keep their birthday and xmas money and buy those Game of Thrones blu-ray set you also wanted to buy for yourself.

damac_phone · 2017-02-18T06:38:32+00:00

I remember an old interview with John Cleese discussing the Life of Brian, and how he never understood why everyone thought it was about religion. To him it was about Leftist politics, mainly the idea that the further Left you go the more time people spend fighting amongst themselves and the less time they spending fighting the actual opponents. He went on to describe a historical pamphlet from revolutionary Russia he had that was published by the Stalinists and spent 10 or so full pages talking about how Trotsky was wrong.

Long story short... move out and stop talking politics with your family. You'll never change their minds and they'll never change yours.

xNOM · 2017-02-18T16:13:31+00:00

there's no evidence to suggest it's a function of oppression

There's actually no evidence to suggest oppression of women anywhere, IMO. Every time I ask someone how this would supposedly work, people seem to lose their minds.

But then what the hell can I do???

Nothing, really. My family had a similar blowup. I just don't discuss it anymore. Hang out with parents as little as possible.

You really need to find a way to move out IMO.

DevilishRogue · 2017-02-18T16:57:37+00:00

You are dealing with religious zealots and you are challenge their most fundamentally held beliefs - how do you expect them to react? The important things are to stay calm, be prepared to turn to Google whenever you have a disagreement to get an external arbiter to prove your points rather than doing so personally, and to not make them feel that you don't understand their views by using phrases like "That's what I used to think about the wage gap until I learned how women have far greater career choice than men who are constrained by narrow patriarchal ideals to be nothing more than wage slaves" or "The wage gap is indeed a problem as even though men do nearly all the dangerous and unpopular work like on oil rigs or sewage plants, we still see greater support for women getting into only cushy office jobs and corporate boards."

2017-02-18T18:28:35+00:00

£200

which is like, what, two dollars due to Brexit

in all seriousness, idk about your situation but just, move out and find people you actually like, good luck man

perplexedm · 2017-02-19T05:39:11+00:00

I decided last night I would no longer discuss politics with my family.

That is the most right decision and should've been take much earlier.

Plus, time to leave your house in sweet good terms.

Never budge your position, stand firm. If you want to 'act cool': talk like them, walk like yourselves.

Uniqueusername121 · 2017-02-20T16:21:35+00:00

There is a heavily political sub, r/Wayofthe bern. It's full of TRUE leftists- progressives who have disengaged from mass media in the US/Britain. Because THAT is what has your family by the balls.

It will give you some hope to head to that sub and look around, because there is a ever-growing rift among the true left, which are the people who just want good things for oppressed people---all of them, and the hard left, which is your programmed family.

The Point you made about intensity is absolutely key. Because that intensity is purposeful in the media. If you keep people frenzied with fear and anger, you can take the rights away and they don't fight back, in fact they give their rights away- remember the Patriot Act right after 9/11?

In the current world political climate, you have to fight to keep your objectivity and moderation. But you did the absolute best possible thing, because psychological research shows that the best way to make a person doubt their viewpoint, is to ask them calmly to explain why it's correct. (Even when you know it's not). Try as hard as you can to withhold your views and simply ask them to explain and defend theirs. Then ask one pointed question- such as, "but are women socialized to choose lower paying fields?" If they believe they are convincing you, you can actually force them to think.

While it's smart not to discuss it at all with them, unfortunately that does not do anything to develop the kind of movement needed to combat this problem. I's definitely an option for keeping the peace and one you should use, but if/when you feel like pushing the narrative, use the advice above.

emperorhirohito · 2017-02-21T11:32:43+00:00

Move out dude. If you've got a good job you can probably afford it, though I know how expensive rent can be in some parts of the country. Fly the nest. Leave your sister, her boyfriend and your parents behind. A degree of separation may improve your relationship

user1492 · 2017-02-18T15:43:43+00:00

Buy a MAGA hat and move out.

Unconfidence · 2017-02-18T08:26:49+00:00

Dude let me break this down for you.

Your sister went off to college. There she learned lots of stuff and got to experience the world on her own. She met someone she cares about, who is likely passionate, and learned that she too is passionate about certain things. She became the person she is; she grew up. Because when you say things like this...

But something changed when she went to university and started dating him, and it's changed my whole family.

It seems like you just expected her to never grow in ways that displease you. She grew into someone you don't agree with, politically speaking, and who isn't afraid to disagree with you. As someone with nine siblings, I can tell you, that is pretty much par for the course.

She's changed and she's changing your family too. People change, over time. Hell, many times parents are hiding their leanings or the extent thereof, because they don't want to influence the children; that's how my mom was, hard left but I had no idea until I was older because she just didn't bring it up with me until I brought it up with her.

Of course I'm a super leftist saying this, but...maybe you should consider that the problem isn't that everyone in your family's views have changed, but rather that yours haven't?

Title	Political centrist in a hard left family. How to deal with this stuff?
Author	kutuup1989
Upvotes	18
Comments	24
Date	February 18, 2017 12:52 AM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/5upv71/political_centrist_in_a_hard_left_family_how_to/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/political-centrist-in-a-hard-left-family-how-to.931722 https://theredarchive.com/post/931722

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