[Politics] It isn't easy being Blue.

[davywavy]

Whilst out on the town a few weeks ago, I got talking to a girl in a bar. After a while, for reasons I can't recall, the conversation came round to politics. Suddenly she stopped short and looked at me quizzically.
"You're right-wing, aren't you?"
"Yup", I replied.
"Well, I don't think we should let homeless people starve to death on the street", she said, smugly ensuring her moral superiority over me and my homeless-starving ways whilst necking the booze I'd just bought her like there was no tomorrow.

A friend of mine who shares my political opinions once told me they didn't really like going to social events with many of my friends, because they knew that they would be belittled and insulted for holding their political beliefs. They found it upsetting that they would be insulted by people they barely knew not even for their beliefs, but for what those people considered their beliefs to be without even taking the time to find out the reality of the situation. In other circumstances this sort of behaviour would be considered 'prejudice'. When you're dealing with a lot of people I run into, it's called 'informed debate'. Sometimes it's nice to open LJ and read the wise words of the mind-numbingly gorgeous vulgarcriminal, who is political voice of reason.
The irony of the intellectual intolerance of many people amuses me in a bleak sort of way; most of the people on my friends list consider themselves to be tolerant, understanding and non-judgemental; however this just highlights the basic dichotomy of many people's political views - they're tolerant of any kink, perversion, social attitudes and outre behaviour which they happen to agree with. Their tolerance doesn't extend so far as being polite to people who think that, oh, say, civil liberties have been undermined quite a lot by the current government or that spending thirty-seven billion quid which we don't have every year in a slowing economy might lead to trouble later.
raggedhalo recently made a post in which he compared prejudice against vegetarians to homophobia, and presented himself as being a persecuted minority. Personally I think it's a bit difficult to be a persecuted minority when you're a socialist vegetarian in a student union, but that's just me.
Re-reading his post, it's interesting to me just how much of his argument I can apply to my own point. After all, if he can compare prejudice against sexualities with his own political views, so can I - to object to that would be prejudiced, wouldn't it? Back in the 1980's, being gay would get you socially ostracised and sometimes insulted in public, whilst being Conservative would get you social acceptance and congratulations on your snappy dress sense. And now...?
There's a comparison to be made here, I think...

Of course, I think Joe's comparison is as nonsensical as mine. But it's funny nevertheless.

Comments

[tooth-fairy.livejournal.com]

you're really bored aren't you?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Not really. Most of the time I argue with Jon because I consider it a moral duty.
The way I see a lot of the left wing people I know is that they move in circles in which they rarely, if ever, meet people who are prepared to point out the fallacies in their thinking, and that leads to received wisdom and assumptions being the order of the day - not least in the view that 'right' people agree with them.
I almost see it as a moral duty to debate with people like Jon and Joe in order that they don't get complacent in their thinking.

[tooth-fairy.livejournal.com]

I knew I was right in thinking I was too braindead, have to be way more on the ball to have those sort of conversations.

Maybe I'll be awake one day, then you can try to shred me too :)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Try?

There is no try, only do, or do not :)

[tooth-fairy.livejournal.com]

ok, you can attempt and fail :p

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Now that will be the day.

[tooth-fairy.livejournal.com]

I aim to please

[jonnyargles.livejournal.com]

I'm more a breast than a wing man.