Ask Lemmy

Some of my family members talk about how good the conservative party is and they'll kick out all the "nonconformists". I just politely remind them that their party leaders hate me, as a nonconformist, and would also kick me out. It seems to briefly confuse them, but they assure me I'm "one of the good ones" and wouldn't be kicked out. The leopards won't eat my face, I'm sure

My entire family is maga, which is awful, but it's literally just them. Otherwise I'm in an urban city, in an educated and liberal profession, and dating an awesome guy with a very sweet family. Being surrounded by normal and healthy people really makes my interactions with my family feel that much worse. :) Sometimes I'll bother to tell them they're wrong, but it doesn't matter. They're not acting out of reason. They're acting out of hatred and avarice.

I'm left of many in my family, several of whom are in the christian nationalist side of things (as best I can tell), one of whom basically worships trump, and others who are mostly right of (US) center. However, they're all on the other side of the world from me.

Rural Japan is interesting. Japan's politics don't fit neatly in the same platforms that would be familiar to those in the US. Even "conservatives" are overwhelmingly in favor of social programs that would be anathema in the US. People in the countryside here range from ultra-conservative to live-and-let-live.

I doubt any would be for legalization of cannabis (where even speaking too positively of it online can get someone in trouble), nor for removing the koseki system (TL;DR every Japanese citizen has a koseki. Families can have exactly one name except in cases of foreign marriage where citizen can keep their name. non-citizens cannot have a koseki. Marriage must be between someone with a vagina and a penis (whether those are from birth of surgical doesn't matter) to have the same koseki and the same rights).

I doubt most people would care much about same-sex relationships nor trans people in general as there's a long history of things like that in Japan.

Exposure to foreigners in general tends to help dispel myths and racism generally and most people in my immediate area realize I'm a decent guy who cares about his family and his village. I'm sure some people hate me because of my skin color, but nothing I can do about that, but I think that would be people in the village rather than my immediate neighbors.

Rural Japan in some areas and demographics votes more for parties to the left. The JCP (Japan Communist Party whose name no longer really fits IMO), has been pushing hard in my area. We'll have to see how things shake out.

Most of the people I interact with have different viewpoints, and I consider it a positive. The danger is never examining your beliefs and just accept them, even when new facts come up or the environment changes.

I'm in Tennessee and probably the only socialist for hundreds of miles. Completely surrounded by maga "christians". Needless to say, I don't have a lot of close friends or family. Almost everyone I know thinks tRump should be king for life. god's chosen, and all that nonsense.

I live in a very blue area, but most of my coworkers are conservative. I spend a lot of time at work so inevitably political topics come up here and there. I have to handle them with kid gloves when we do talk politics, but they do extend respect to me and can agree to disagree with me. Well, as respectful as they can be considering some of their conservative political beliefs.

I live in Texas… I consider myself Progressive… yeah it sucks. Only saving grace is I live in a city and most all my friends are liberal, so I can be open with them.

Outside of there though, i used to have to stay quiet, but lately, if someone brings up something political, I very much am more outspoken about telling them my thoughts. I usually get disgusted looks, but don’t care.

Some though, are truly just ignorant. Was talking with one person about Madhani and she asked “isn’t he trying to make everything islam there?” I told her about all the things he’s doing, including a coop grocery store for lower prices and she was genuinely surprised.

We just moved cross country out of a loud Trump 2016 and 2020 area to a firmly blue state.

I will admit I see a lot fewer Trump flags/hats/shirts than I did a couple of years ago. I don’t care though, I’m not going to be surrounded by closeted MAGAts. Just because they are too embarrassed to fly the flag now doesn’t mean they won’t in the future.

I'm 45 now. I grew up in a generally conservative community as well. Now I work in TV news and there are strong stereotypes about journalists. But people mostly think that about national journalists who generally live in major metropolitan areas. I work in local news, and I've lived in Georgia, Alaska, North Carolina, and Florida. I've heard co-workers bad mouth all of the presidents, and posit that at least 3 of them (from 2 political parties) intended to enact martial law to stay president.

Having similarly political minded people around you can be soothing to a degree. Like you said, you'll be thinking about things that others have figured out for themselves a long time ago. But some of those things are personal decisions anyway. Even given an answer you'll have to think about how you feel about trade-offs.

What's good is when you find someone of similar temperament and kindness. Even when you disagree, there doesn't have to be anger and resentment because you'll both feel that effort was made to do things the right way, even when you come to different answers about the best course.

Good luck with that.

I am an anarchist in rural GA, so... completely surrounded.

I live in Canada and on an island where the capital city is historically extremely liberal and leftist, but immediately outside of that city it is conservative country all around. Its pretty wild living 25 minutes out of the city where I can go from being out in full pride gear to feeling less and less safe the closer I get to home.

I'm a leftist on a leftist region of Italy so you'd think not that much but actually I am quite surrounded.

Of course, friends and immediate family are generally aligned with my views (at least on things that matter the most) so not much of an issue there, but outside of that there's been a surge in fascists as of late, then there's the "leftists" who are really just campists with whom I disagree with on very important topics like Ukraine and unfortunately they are very loud to the point the entire left, from the center-center-left of PD to the far far left are all either shy on the topic or openly pro-fascist ruzzians to cater to these campists (there's only a couple exceptions among parties, among the actual people support for Ukraine is higher even among the left) but the worst people of all are probably the apoliticals that likely make up a majority of my generation around me. I have had more pleasant and productive conversations with some fascists or campist "leftists" than many of the apoliticals who actively refuse to engage in politics even when they directly affect them.

So I am not necessarily surrounded by people I fully disagree with on everything (the fascists are still a minority) but I definitely am somewhat surrounded by people who I strongly disagree with on very important topics still.

Practically 100%.

I live in the only red district in Hawaii. I have a few anarchist friends and left leaning folks I cruise with, but by and large , if anyone here is political, they are maga.

That being said, I do go work on progressive campaigns in progressive areas. But here it's red red red.

Bloody completely. I’m in Utah, and not the progressive pocket of SLC, but ultra conservative Utah County. It is completely maddening.

Though there is a decently sized neighborhood in my city that is like the Berkeley of this area. I want to go to there, but it’s expensive.

I'm in a red region of a blue state. There's a good amount of Trumpism around. Most people I talk to made it through school without learning history or civics. They don't understand the economic issues and mostly vote red because they believe that the Democrats want to take their guns away, turn their sons into daughters, or give their money to brown people both at home and abroad.

I have slowly but efficiently removed every single Republican from my life (except for my grandmother, because I love her to death).

If I find out that you are a Republican, that will be the last voluntary interaction we have.

My friend group consists of a mix of people on the "far-right" wing and the "far-left" wing. Some of them are political active, some are active politicians. None of them are racists. My experience is that they all want the same for our society, they just disagree on how to get there. All discussions are civil and we don't think less of them on the opposite wing.

Disclaimer: I'm not in the US. Obviously.

I'm in Missouri, but in a major city here, so there's a big mix.

The inner-city is strongly liberal, as in we support our own taxation because we like the services liberal. The suburbs are deep, deep red, and they think they should dictate policy to us because they commute into the city often.

Anarchist surrounded by capitalists and the state...

Disclaimer: am Canadian, will be discussing using that lens.

On a daily basis, most people I interact with are about where I am. I probably have different reasons for believing and voting how I do, but if an election were to be called tomorrow, all my friends and most of my co-workers would be voting in roughly the same direction as me.

My family is a mixed bag. On the one hand, my father has never voted for anyone further left than the old Progressive Conservatives, and has even voted for the Christian Heritage Party on occasion. My mother also normally votes conservative, though she has confessed to be that she finds American-style conservatism in general and Pierre Poilievre in particular to be too odious to stomach and so I think she may have been spoiling her ballots recently. I don't know how my one sister votes, but her husband is a also an outspoken conservative, being a card-carrying member of the CPC.

On the other hand, my other sister has never voted for anyone further right than the NDP, and her husband is apathetic - he thinks all politicians are the same and doesn't bother voting.

Holidays are generally fine, as political opinions are generally off-limits, though inevitably at some point my father and brother-in-law (the CPC one) have an extended grouse session about the state of the country and how much they hate the Liberals.

My town is very much a blue maga kind of town. Middle class suburbanites who are totally not racist but...

Something particularly bad is there's a community center that I walk by when I'm going to some stores that just has zionist shit plastered all around the building. It's really disgusting.

My friends from college are generally more aligned with me. Although some of them are a bit less informed on stuff so come across a bit libby sometimes.

I'm in a blue pinprick in a red state and all my family and all the surrounding towns are deep red even after Trump 2.0. I'm not sure they actually support the policies and positions but it's what they THINK their position is and it's what their "identity position" is (my dad was a Republican and his dad was a Republican and I'm a Republican). It's tough. I would love to move but it's easier to move TO something than from it.

We have had more than a few family battles to say the least.

It's very mixed where I am, no matter what axis you spin it on. Say what you will about Florida but on our block there's a Muslim family, a hardcore right wing old couple, five 'interracial' families (as they used to be called), an old old lady house, a house full of hipsters, three sets of transplants from up north.

At work mostly seems to be at least anti-trump, my boss is an Elon Musk fanboy though.

I think it's not good to wall yourself off. Unless you are in physical danger from your opposition (wall away in that case) it's much better to set a good example and explain your ideas when asked or inspired to.

My state is overwhelmingly conservative and I stick out like a sore thumb that wants universal healthcare.

I filter out the vast, vast majority of people and basically have a dozen people I know and hang out with who are also not conservative.

In a map shown somewhere on lemmy this week I'm square in the middle of red where 80+ percent voted for trump. I'm surrounded by trumps chumps.

I’m a weird mix of both. I’m a blue dot in a sea of deep red… But I also work in the arts, so my coworkers all tend to be extremely blue. So in my work circles, I’m surrounded by blue. But in my personal life, I’m surrounded by red. I get both extremes, to the point that I’m seen as the rainbow sheep of the family, but I’m the most cishet person in my department. And ironically enough, I also heavily suspect that I’m the farthest left in my department, (I’m firmly in the anarcho-communist hole) despite the fact that I’m the only cishet person in the office.

It can be good for getting the current talking points from conservatives. I like to stay on top of that kind of thing, so I can see how they’re forming the views they are. Even if I fully disagree with the reasoning, or recognize that they’re working with incorrect/incomplete/biased sources, it can be helpful to know how both sides are approaching certain topics. It makes debates easier, because I have a fairly good grasp of how conservatives think. I’ll see a major event hit the news, and my coworkers will have a vastly different take on things compared to my family.

On my island generally people are very close-knit (at the village level) and unfortunately give too much credit to right-aligned politicians, especially when it comes to immigration. The place is a migration crossroads, and there's always vultures ready to rile people up for political gain. Otherwise very community-minded, kind people who are abundantly helpful and welcoming. Make it make sense

My county always votes red by a landslide, but I keep showing up.

I grew up in the Midwestern US where it felt like a 50/50 split. I’ve lived in California for the past ~12 years and while I enjoy not being confronted with far-right ideas it is tiring hearing everyone kind of mindlessly nod along to liberal ones. I actually sometimes miss debating opposing viewpoints.

I grew up in a conservative hell, have lived in very liberal cities, am an anarcho-communist.