American Thinker:
By Robin M. Itzler
“Amy’s” and my friendship grew out of a shared love for animals. But when it came to politics, Amy saw me as a misguided deplorable who was in the cult of “orange man bad.” Of course, I assumed she carried Mao’s little red book wherever she went. In 2016, Amy left California for a Florida retirement closer to her family, and our friendship was limited to telephone calls and emails.
Across 3,000 miles, there were times our friendship was strained during the chaotic 2016 primary season. It came to an explosive end a few months after Trump was sworn in as our nation’s 45th president. Amy was angry, and I was ecstatic. We stopped emailing and calling.
Two years later, around Mother’s Day, Amy sent a card to my mom. I texted the sad news that my beloved mother had passed away, and her mail was being forwarded to me. Amy and I reconnected. However, to avoid future issues, we blocked each other from social media accounts.
The pandemic put a planned visit on hold. Occasionally, a political comment seeped into my email or text. Because I am very active in Republican politics, founded and write the weekly Patriot Neighbors newsletter, and regularly contribute articles to American Thinker, politics is a big part of my life.
It bothered me that I had to censor myself for a “friend.” more here
h/t NAAC
That’s actually quite sad
Wish Amy the best of luck and move on with your life. You’re never going to “agree to disagree” with her. (God, I hate that expression.)
I’m having a vision here. I can see Amy’s house, Subaru Outback in driveway with a “In This House We Believe……blah blah blah…..” rainbow embellished yard sign. Here comes the vegan delivery from Whole Foods. Oh, there’s the “coexist” bumper sticker on the Outback.
*sigh* this hits a bit too close to home. 😔
At least “Amy” isn’t a relative.
Like Robin, I don’t care if my liberal friends talk about their politics, but they go ballistic if I hint at anything ‘conservative’. Why is that?
My life has been conducted to never develop friendships with people like Amy. I have enough problems without fostering that kind of heartburn.
Sad when that’s a friend. I deal with that with my mom and it feels downright tragic… Gotta love her in a way that respects her role in my life but can’t really engage or respect her in a way that integrates her in my current life and concerns.
And I struggle with how to reconcile her supposed love and concern with the fact that she votes against everything that matters to my future –or how to conspire with my sister to reassure her that she already sent in her mail-in ballot, dontcha remember?… Heh.
Ceased relationships with 3 friends over politics. Each of them Democrats (lo-fo Dems, to boot!). This was over oblowme. I listened/read their missives to me and would respond cordially but firmly to their twaddle. But they could not/would not afford me the same courtesy. One even warned me not to speak in response because, as she said, “Remember, I’m a Democrat.” It was then that my lizard brain took over and ordered her out of my house. I haven’t spoken to her since and it’s odd — because we live in the same neighborhood and go to the same grocery stores, travel the same street, etc, that I haven’t even seen her in all these years. Yet I know she still lives in the same house.
The other long-time friendships ended just as stupidly. One, because I wasn’t congratulatory enough because oblowme was the first black president (my friend is black); the other because she went to Trinity to get a degree in Russian poetry and now knows how the rest of America should live. You know the type.
The only one of the three is still an enigma to me. He is clearly a cultural conservative and he blew up our cherished friendship over a card-carrying Communist because of skin color.
Men. We know how to be friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGuml-tc75A
…does make you wonder just how deeply our “friends” feel about us if they would prefer to end those friendships over having any real debate/discussion and allow us to be free thinkers.
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
She is not a friend. She’ll be yours if you talk liberal BS. Run, don’t walk the opposite way as fast as humanly possible.
I’m going to side with Amy on this one. Robin’s being the IN YOUR FACE A-hole here. Yes, conservatives, especially the self-righteous type can be as massive an A-hole as any liberal, and should be called out on it.
One of my best friends is a leftist democrat. He comes from Kennedy Country and was raised that way. I’m from a military background and have different perspectives. We’ve been friends for over 35 years, and neither of us wants to Eff that up over politics. At 61, we don’t have enough time to make too many more life-long-friends so we practice the long-abandoned, adult art of COMPROMISE; our lives don’t have room for self-righteous preening. We talk about our shared love of guns, cars, food, whisky, and our years of traveling the world together for work. We’ve solved all that ails the planet over countless Martinis and fine cigars. We’ve supped at one-another’s table for decades and hope to for the rest of our lives. Our wives are friends. And we refuse to let our voting choices dictate our friendships.
Please don’t get sucked up in the moment and let yourselves be defined by the current passions. This, too, shall pass, and one day we’ll all need to re-learn how to reach across and shake hands in friendship.
This is so, so sad. Makes me think of my relationship with one of my best friends from childhood. She lives in Maine and I live in NY. She did not want to come to by 50th birthday gathering because Trump won and she knew Ghost and I were supporters and that our friends probably were, too. Ghost talked her into coming and all OK and she felt foolish but still a Hilary Lover! With the shock of Ghost and all she wouldn’t come to Wake but showed up at funeral all masked up and she told me she will always wear the mask. Feels more secure. Well, so be it. Wear your mask and stay safe in your bubble. Had enough and I DON’T CARE!! This woman was smart “stay in CA” Amy will be in her safe zone and one of them. It will never change. Please don’t think it will. No matter how long you know them.
God Bless us all!
Maybe you’d both be happier if you just broke off the friendship.
Ahhh… wymyns. So glad they rule. All. Now.
No longer my circus, so no longer my monkeys.
Liberals are BABIES!
fnuck, son of fnord, making a little sense.
ABC maintenance meetings used to be all dudes. Anybody could tell anybody, “Hey, man, YOU are a retard.” Then things started to shift. Why is there a woman in the room? Why are there two? Why are there five?
Women say shit like, “Put a wall here.” That’s all fine and dandy, but we have fire code… you know, sprinklers, electrical shit, stairwell access in the event of fire — not to speak of lowly shit like telephones and on-air buildouts… HVAC… noise remediation… doors… lamps and lighting…
I had to go.
when someone believes humanity would be better served by being a vassal to those that have much greater wealth (& power), then it’s time to wipe your shoes on their welcome mat & walk away w/ no looking back, never to return
freedom is a precious thing that needs to be fought for daily & very few people, throughout all human history, have enjoyed it. we had it & gave it away.
today’s masses have been indoctrinated into believing that Big Government/Big Tech/Big Phara/Big Med/Big Media/Big Brother is best … it has become their new religion … Lord God Human is all-powerful! so powerful we can stop the rise of the oceans; save the planet! just mask up! I am woman/black/latina/trans/LSFMFT+, hear me roar! I am Omnipotent! … now, obediently address me by my preferred pronouns!!!
… it’s better to end this type of relationship w/ these types of people before one gets dragged down in their delusions & inevitable misery
Great article and very true.
Sad.
Liberals expect everyone to listen to them and not dare have different viewpoints. Seen it happen to a lot of people since the Dems went full left tard.
The Borg.
How can you consider someone a ‘friend’, if they won’t allow you to think for yourself, or to, gasp!, dare to disagree? If you had different tastes in music, fine, don’t share your music, but to disallow you your God-given right to think for yourself??
Friendship, even civility, REQUIRE honesty.
This is what it’s like with my two step sisters. Eggshells.
This is why “tribes” worked better in the old days, most of the time.
It’s the lack of trust that the conservative friend has to be told to not bring up politics that’s the breaking point.
My general rule is to not let stupid people say dumb stuff in front of me without a challenge, otherwise they might assume I agree with their stupidity.
There are 9+ billion humans. Gnomesayin?
Some day REAL researchers will find that the liberal/commie viewpoint comes from mental illness; it’s not a political ideology at all.
It’s that small portion of the brain that gets lost & ends up lodged in the gluteus maximus that they do most of their thinking with..