are you disappointed by longtime friends or family members

in that they believe really retarded shit?

I grew up in a small town. If I kept touch with any of my high school friends, I'm pretty sure there'd be a few birthers in there, and a downright scandalous number of Libertarians besides.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

bitch, are you drunk?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Some of my best friends are the complete opposite of me when it comes to opinions. So I suppose if what your asking is that I am disappointed that they don't see my point of view, then yes, I have plenty

I'm a die hard Liberal Christian, whereas must of my friends are Conservative Fundamentals

And then there is my Father, who is a man who thinks Obama can do know wrong. Don't get me wrong I voted for the guy, but he isn't perfect.

But yeah, I guess in short, what is disappointing to me is I have friends and family that just won't listen to any other side of the issue, and won't be open minded. To me, that's "retarded shit"

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

While not exactly friends/family members, I am surrounded by deep red people on a daily basis. I've always given thanks that my own family members are largely rational, sane people who have been a constructive part of my life. When I leave the metaphorical house, though...

One of my housemates is a Limbaugh listener and neocon who is going into police service, and mentioned out loud that police academy was awesome, because now he'd "be able to walk around all day packing heat." His brother is ex-military and just signed up for a second term, and while discussing the cultural ramifications of why someone would think throwing a shoe at President Bush was an insult, said "Of course they think feet are dirty, that's cause they never wash 'em."

One particular day at work an old fart took me aside and started talking about how 50 or 60 years ago the area we were standing on was nothing more than tall grass and fields. "You could pay a darkie a quarter to lay her down in the field," he whispered conspiratorially. I don't think he recognized shocked abhorrence when he saw it, but I cut the conversation short anyways.

Frankly it's always bothered me that I don't call people out on their shit more often, but I try not to burn bridges if I can help it. It's kept me in a job, at least, and my housemate is still paying his rent, so if they're of some use to me while they're breathing, fine. Otherwise, fuck 'em.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I was recently very disappointed in a couple of good friends, who I thought were more intelligent/open-minded in their beliefs... one of them is a freaking Buddhist (in a Christian family), for crying out loud! And then somehow they're really conservative politically.

Normally I can see things from each side's POV, because it's in my nature to do so, but there are a select few political things that I have extremely strong opinions on simply due to my own personal experience. And when some of my friends say shit like, "God I want to marry Sarah Palin" I die a little inside.

I won't even go into my family, because I don't understand how they can buy into this "Obama wants to turn America into a communist country" shit and compare him to Hitler. Honestly? HONESTLY? I mean, really. It's stupid, plain and simple.

Originally Posted by Skexis

Frankly it's always bothered me that I don't call people out on their shit more often, but I try not to burn bridges if I can help it. It's kept me in a job, at least, and my housemate is still paying his rent, so if they're of some use to me while they're breathing, fine. Otherwise, fuck 'em.

This is me.
If I find myself stifling the 'calling-out' enough, though, it can become an internal issue with me, and it'll start to poison my view of the friend. Which bothers me, but nothing is ever resolved through endless arguing, so I just try to avoid the hot-button topics.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I can't really think of anything; my friends have the same views as myself politically and religiously. I can't say the same for my parents though. My mother refuses to tell me which party she backs, but at least she's very outspoken about the wankers in the BNP. Both my parents believe in god but I'm not so obtuse that I'd have a go at them for it, if that's what they choose to believe it's up to them and I have no right to try and change that. Besides, they don't believe in organised religion and they've never forced their beliefs on me or my brothers.

I've known friends of friends who clashed with me. One of them in particular was a lecherous racist, and I've never so despised someone in my life before. I hate political correctness gone mad as much as the next person but this guy was genuinely being offensive. I didn't have the guts to stand up to him though; I just moved my drinking to another room and refused to talk to him all night.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I don't know that a care a whole lot about people's beliefs. Most people I know tend to be fairly middle of the road. My extended family has some fairly extreme views, but I understand where it comes from and I'm not particularly bothered by it.

However, I have a few friends from high school and college that are fairly disappointing as far as behavior goes. It makes me sad when people don't grow up. =(

FELIPE NO

My mother is "spiritual." She's not religious, but she attends church services with friends given an opportunity, can't understand that catholic anti-contraception misinformation campaigns are a bad thing ("they should be free to practise their beliefs"), and sees nothing wrong with hardcore institutionalised religion. She's more uncaring than she is agnostic - her apathy extends to politics and economics, too; she hadn't heard of the global economic downturn until I explained why it took me three months of living here before I could find a job.

Thinking about it, my entire family is completely areligious... Which makes the fact that I spent ten years at a fucking christian boarding school all the more confounding and difficult to come to terms with. Oh well!

I've also got an uncle on my mother's side I'm disappointed in for doing what he does: Going on years-long benders and going years without being in contact with his family at all. He has two kids who've grown up without him. He's apparently in rehab at the moment, but in the past twenty years he's had some rather suspiciously well-paid government jobs - for a while he was a driver for an ambassador, and he came back from one of his disappearances in the early 90s speaking fluent Russian and refusing to talk about where he had been. He's extremely intelligent and capable, but he seemingly doesn't give a fuck about the well-being of people close to him, and I'm afraid of winding up like that.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Rangel

Some of my best friends are the complete opposite of me when it comes to opinions. So I suppose if what your asking is that I am disappointed that they don't see my point of view, then yes, I have plenty

Less that and more believing in some insane shit. I mean, I don't have facebook and I don't follow anyone's twitter feeds but I thought it was pretty common to discover your friends don't actually believe that the moon landing occurred, or think that Obama is a secret Kenyan and that the entire state of Hawaii is in on the conspiracy. Or finding out your parents are secret teabaggers, and not in the good wholesome balls-on-nose way.

I guess the best example I have is that my mom came out as a raging conservative over the last election. She's one of those women who wanted a woman president No Matter What. She has demanded that I apologize for calling Sarah Palin's family white trash, but even she thought that the birther movement was completely retarded.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Oooooh, I see what you mean now.

Strangley enough, My entire dorm this year at College didn't believe 9/11 happened, It is impossible for a women to be stronger then a man, and that black people can't play hockey.

It was a fun year...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rangel

Strangley enough, My entire dorm this year at College didn't believe 9/11 happened

Haha, when you word it like that you make it sound like they think the WTC never fell and it's all a huge conspiracy by the Elders of Zion or something.

But that could never happen. I mean, it was televised.

Right?


.......right?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Hmmm.....I'd have to say that Finch is one of my old friends that I was disappointed in. She was one highly motivated Soldier when we were stationed at FJ. Now that she PCS, her whole perspective on life has changed. She reverted back to her formal self before the Army and is getting into trouble.

*sighs* I guess it couldn't be helped. Still hoping for the best.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I can think of two people of the top of my head that would fit into this category.

The first is one of my good friends, and we tend to agree on most things, though he's a hardcore believer in libertarianism and he worships Ron Paul as though he was the new Messiah. Now, I'm not saying it's all bad, but when he starts talking about how the free market is the only solution to everything, without being able to explain to me just what the idea of a free market entails, the conversation tends to get heated.

The other person I can think of is my brother's godfather, who was married to my mother's sister until about two years ago and is the hardcore right wing type. My brother happened upon him in a bar back home after the separation, and after saying how he was glad to see him after so long, proceeded to ask him how he was doing When it was my brother's turn to answer his questions, he proceeded to tell him that he had finished his military training and was now officially a military policeman. When my brother was asked when he was leaving for Afghanistan, my brother replied that he wasn't planning on going and would refuse to go if he was forced to, since he didn't believe the war was justified. The only reply he got was to be called a sissy. No one in my immediate family has been in contact with him for a while, and I wouldn't be terribly sad if it stayed that way.

Besides that, I think most of my family and friends are pretty much on the level and I'm pretty grateful for it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

I'm afraid of winding up like that.

I'm not convinced you're the type to be headhunted for Mi6 dude, I wouldn't worry about it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Come to think of it I once met a guy at a party who was convinced of the lizardmen conspiracy. You just can't fight against a belief like that; he might've snapped my neck and claimed I'd shown him my "true form".

FELIPE NO