Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Friend's Politics
Old 04-11-2010, 05:02 PM   #1
Recycles dryer sheets
winger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 280
Friend's Politics

Is it just me? I don't want to hear about friend's politics anymore. They forward things that appear to me to be mostly lies, with a little truth here and there. If I send a link to factcheck.org, or snopes.com, they become defensive. Even nasty.

It has slowed a little since the HCR debate is over, but I'm sure there is more coming.

How do you handle it?

I have former good friends that I don't want to be around now. They probably feel the same.......
winger is online now   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 04-11-2010, 05:08 PM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
bbbamI's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,293
I never open them...just opt for 'delete'.
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
bbbamI is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 05:13 PM   #3
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ziggy29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
If it's e-mail I tend to ignore them. If it's on a place like Facebook where one of my "friends" keeps posting partisan political garbage that start flame wars, I block them from posting on my wall.

I don't understand why people foam at the mouth about divisive politics to a wide audience of people they supposedly love and/or respect when the chances are that you will alienate half of them (and I'm not talking about a message board environment). I don't understand that obsession.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
ziggy29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 06:19 PM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
kyounge1956's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbamI View Post
I never open them...just opt for 'delete'.
Me too. One of my fellow church members occasionally gives me mailings from groups he supports. Since he's politically much more conservative than I am, these end up in the recycle bin.
kyounge1956 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 06:33 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
frayne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Chattanooga
Posts: 3,871
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbamI View Post
I never open them...just opt for 'delete'.
+1
__________________
Earning money is an action, saving money is a behavior, growing money takes a well diversified portfolio and the discipline to ignore market swings.
frayne is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 06:36 PM   #6
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
kyounge1956's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29 View Post
(snip) I don't understand why people foam at the mouth about divisive politics to a wide audience of people they supposedly love and/or respect when the chances are that you will alienate half of them (and I'm not talking about a message board environment). I don't understand that obsession.
I don't understand how so many people—and I mean both left and right wing—have gotten so angry and polarized over politics. However much you may disagree with or dislike them, GW Bush wasn't a second Hitler, and Barak Obama isn't the Antichrist. ISTM there is also a big element of fear in all this. There seem to be a significant (and increasing?) number of people who seriously think the excrement is shortly going to collide with the rotating ventilation enhancer. Where did that come from? Why are so many people so scared?
kyounge1956 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 06:46 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
samclem's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyounge1956 View Post
Why are so many people so scared?
I think the housing price bubble burst and the financial meltdown made a lot of people consider some possibilities that they'd comfortably ignored before. It sure got my attention.

That's where the fear came from. I think other stuff is causing the anger--on both sides.
samclem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 07:01 PM   #8
Administrator
Gumby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,924
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyounge1956 View Post
Why are so many people so scared?
There is an entire broadcast industry devoted to "scaring" us for their own ratings. Similarly, politicians have found it to be in their own self interest to have us all scared of the "other".

I think if we all sat down and talked to each other, openly and honestly, we would find that we are more alike than different.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
Gumby is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 07:45 PM   #9
Administrator
Alan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,022
I just delete such e-mail, but actually get very few.

I do have one good friend back in Louisiana that I've known for almost 20 years who is a little to the right of Atilla the Hun but we understand each other really well and after he'd forwarded to me a couple of offensive e-mails I asked him to remove me from his distribution list which he immediately did.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
Alan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 08:17 PM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
I get emails forwarded from liberal friends and I usuallly find them interesting. These friends are not trying to annoy me; in most cases they have no idea what my politics are, or if I even have political opinions.

My type of conservative is not around much any more; I am more Edmund Burke or Benjamin Disraeli than Sarah P or the tea party.

It seems to me that both modern conservatives and liberals are sadly lacking in wit.

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 08:23 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7,968
Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
I get emails forwarded from liberal friends and I usuallly find them interesting. These friends are not trying to annoy me; in most cases they have no idea what my politics are, or if I even have political opinions.

My type of conservative is not around much any more; I am more Edmund Burke or Benjamin Disraeli than Sarah P or the tea party.

It seems to me that both modern conservatives and liberals are sadly lacking in wit.

Ha
I am an equal opportunity 'pisser offer' - send me a 'Ford' and I will counter with a 'Chevy'.

A man with a Curmudgeon Certificate(from this very forum) has got to do something to earn his spurs.



heh heh heh -

P.S. I think I'm the last living 'liberal' on both sides of the family tree and my doughnut shop buddies run close to 100% Republican so my E-mails run the other way. So I get to poke fun.
unclemick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 09:22 PM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
dex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 5,105
Quote:
Originally Posted by winger View Post
If I send a link to factcheck.org, or snopes.com, they become defensive. Even nasty.
I'm not a psychoanalyst but I play one on discussion boards.

There are people that:
- can discuss objectively - meaning as an idea being discussed is outside of them - the idea is separate from who they are
- the idea is part of who they are - to disagree with the idea is to reject them
- the idea is part of their social fabric - they want to belong to a group - similar to teenage cliques
- democracy has been taken to an extreme - all votes are equal therefor all political opinions are equal, regardless as to the knowledge or facts upon which the opinion is based
- feelings are more important (and is all they have) than thinking

What is interesting is the thought process of people - what they choose to pay attention to and the inferences they make from that information. How we think leads us to what we think - if we do think.

There was a great article in Newsweek or Time titled "The Death of Shame" that helps to explain the situation. The title is used a lot. It is from the 70s or 80s and I can not find it on the net. It starts out by stating that what is a shameful acts in a society is not important - that can vary. The important part is that an individual learns - is taught - by society what is shameful. The teaching aspect is important. The USA has stopped teaching. The individual is rudderless. It goes on from there and is relevant to your question and what is happening now.

What you describe is not new. The internet makes it easier for the people you describe to express themselves.
__________________
Sometimes death is not as tragic as not knowing how to live. This man knew how to live--and how to make others glad they were living. - Jack Benny at Nat King Cole's funeral
dex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 09:28 PM   #13
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Galt's Gulch
Posts: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
I get emails forwarded from liberal friends and I usuallly find them interesting.

As a far right conservative I also enjoy getting emails from liberal friends.
John Galt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 09:31 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
samclem's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Galt View Post
As a far right conservative I also enjoy getting emails from liberal friends.
Can I forward the ones I get to you?
samclem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 10:07 PM   #15
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,890
I consider myself a centrist (conservative on some issues, liberal on others), and I can't remember ever receiving (sending) a political email from (to) either friends or family.
FIREd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 10:13 PM   #16
Recycles dryer sheets
winger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 280
But the entire premise is often built on a lie. How can you rationally discuss whether Obama is the antichrist, or GWB is a Nazi?

Sorry, bit I lose all respect for people who send some of these "facts".

One of the first things I learned about investing was "There is more than one road to Dublin." I'm certain that applies to many things in life.
winger is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-11-2010, 10:59 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
youbet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,149
The exclusively political emails aren't a big deal to me. I probably spend less than a minute a week deleting them.

What bothers me is when friends from various groups and acquaintances from areas of my life where politics shouldn't exist blend politics into otherwise normal communications.

Example: College buddies from undergrad school (class of '69 - wooohooo!) including political commentary in newsletter submissions. Or hobby buddies connecting negative trends in the hobby to vague cause and effect relationships with political administrations. Etc.

Some of 'em just can't let it go. Their political convictions always have to be expressed and usually in inappropriate places. It seems very much like religious evangelism. It comes at me from both the left and the right.......a problem with being a middle ground independent.
youbet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2010, 12:48 AM   #18
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
kyounge1956's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem View Post
I think the housing price bubble burst and the financial meltdown made a lot of people consider some possibilities that they'd comfortably ignored before. It sure got my attention.

That's where the fear came from. I think other stuff is causing the anger--on both sides.
No, I think this has been going on since before the meltdown, and I think the fear is contributing to the anger. A wise man once wrote "Hatred...is therefore often the compensation by which a frightened man reimburses himself for the miseries of fear. The more he fears, the more he will hate." (italics in original).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby View Post
There is an entire broadcast industry devoted to "scaring" us for their own ratings.
Yes, but why is scaring people good for ratings? Who enjoys being afraid? I don't think this is "fun fear', like ghost stories or horror movies, where the fear is fun because it isn't real. Many people seem to be genuinely afraid.
Quote:
Similarly, politicians have found it to be in their own self interest to have us all scared of the "other".(snip)
It's obvious that fear can be a powerful tool for manipulating people. I wonder if some of this fear is the aftereffects of the 9-11 attacks. It's even easier to create fear when there are scary people around and you can't tell yourself "it's only a movie".
kyounge1956 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2010, 03:29 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
freebird5825's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
Opinions and derrieres...everybody has both. In some cases, well separated. But in other cases, co-located. Fact of life.

I have learned that there are 3 polarizing topics one should avoid at the dinner table, social events and now email: politics, religion, and sex. I'm good with the first two, still w*rking on the third one.

In all seriousness, it is very good if people are expressing their own opinions based on facts and some sort of thought process. However, the mindless parroting (verbally or by forwarding emails) tells me that, by and large, people aren't really thinking, just mimicing the latest soundbite.

My audio filter is set to narrowband, my delete key stands at the ready. Except for the third topic of course.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
freebird5825 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-12-2010, 04:13 AM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
Agreed... Often Friends and Family have done little more than listen to a sound bite on a campaign or PAC advertisement. Since many people get their news from sources that lean in toward their party politics... they usually swallow it hook line and sinker.

Pure unbridled rhetoric and hyperbole works on many people.

The latest Health Care bill could be a case study.

My favorite situation to cite is a school teacher friend who is retired and an almost an extremist on big govt, taxes, etc. Claims govt funded health care is an abomination of capitalist principles and leading us to communism.

Of course, she worked in the public school system and ER'd with her generous pension and very nice health benefits. For some reason she doesn't see her the contradiction in terms of how her salary, pension, and health care were/are funded.

IMO - for most average american, the no big govt mantra stops when it comes to the benefits they receive.
chinaco is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Help for a friend's 401k Choices fatman22 FIRE and Money 2 01-26-2009 07:03 PM
Your help with friend's financial cutbacks? Fireup2020 Other topics 11 04-05-2008 10:55 AM
Friend's Son was Molested TromboneAl Other topics 20 03-26-2008 06:59 AM
Jealous/envious of a friend's finances Eyerishgold Other topics 31 12-05-2007 07:01 AM
Question About Friend's Expectation For His Widow's SS Benefit haha FIRE and Money 14 12-17-2006 09:35 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:03 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.