I've stopped talking to two neighbors due to politics

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Gentleman Argentum
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Age: 54
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02 Jun 2023, 4:29 am

stratozyck wrote:
Both are on opposite sides, literally and politically. Its not that I never talk to them now, I just avoid them. One was on FB and she posts political stuff non stop, like 4-5 times a day. The other day I replied to one and got into a discussion with one of her friends who called me a bad person because I didn't think we need to do more anti poverty spending. Mind you: not cut it, just not more. The context was I said I did not believe the US was a horrible country to live in because of lack of poverty support.

The other neighbor is a Trump MAGA who more or less forced me into a bet about the 2020 election. When Biden won, he refused to recognize it and then said the election was wrong.

Take it from me, an Economist, PhD and all - politics is not worth making it part of your identity. Also, remember that it is narcissistic to think you can change other's minds. I guess thats where I failed with the FB comment. I just can't resist it sometimes. Economics taught me not to be so... "EVERYTHING IS MURDER" about public policy. Also, it taught me that the political parties pander to people, and that the system virtually guarantees mediocrity. Getting worked up about it is as useful to your life as getting worked up about the weather.

That is all, I am not here to discuss any political points unless someone really wants to. I won't try to change your mind, just defend my worldview. My worldview isn't "definite" in that I don't think the world is black and white. Everyone else seems to like black and white type thinking.

One fun part of being an economist is I can be accused of being a a Republican by one person and then a Socialist by another in the same day. Its actually happened!


Even if I agree with or sympathize I avoid talking politics because some people do get emotional, like your neighbors. They will accuse you of being "The Enemy" because there is always an enemy in politics. "Bad guys that are up to no good."

I think it is because the news sites press the emotional buttons of people. What is on news sites is not necessarily what is news but stories calculated to persuade people to feel a certain way. This is true of all sites. Other stories get buried and those tend to be the most important ones that reveal what is really going on. I don't think it is really possible to find out what it is going on, only what we are intended to hear. The only reason there is political controversy is that there are cliques in the elite, and individuals jockeying for power.


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