Dammit. I might have lost another friend due to the political climate. That would make two. I don’t have a lot of friends to begin with, so any attrition is devastating.
I am not going to blame myself for this. It’s time I stop making myself the punching bag. In hindsight, I could have just not responded to his initial email, and maybe I would have if I had known that there was no getting through to him. If I knew then what I know now, hindsight is 20/20, etc.
I was presented with a choice. I could nod and smile and keep my thoughts to myself or I could speak my mind. I chose to speak my mind. I don’t know if it’s worth keeping a friend if the conditions for the friendship are that I don’t speak my mind and roll over and show my belly every time there’s a conflict. Of course I am wrong sometimes. But it’s time to stop thinking that I’m wrong all of the time. Maybe I’m right. I never stop to think about that or take that possibility seriously. Or maybe it’s just a matter of opinion and no one is right or wrong.
But let me backup and and explain how I wound up here.
My friend RA sent me an email hating on Trump and his supporters wherein he stated that 30% of the Trump base were low IQ racists. There’s so much wrong with that claim. How do you know they’re low IQ? Was that a poll question? How do you know they’re racists? Was that a poll question? And 30%? So almost 1 out of 3 people who voted for Trump are retarded racists? That sounds fantastical.
It went downhill from there. I would explain why I thought the Left was a greater threat than the Right and provide examples of why I thought that. In return I got… crazy talk. Something about daddy and a golden god and not having a master, with a smattering of bigotry.
Why the constant bashing of white people? Why the bashing of WASPs? I bashed them before but I didn’t understand what that term meant. I grew up hearing it used in school and it was used in a manner that implied there was something nefarious about them. The term brought to mind a sharp-faced woman with a sweet smile but a bitter tongue, carrying unbalanced scales in one hand and a bible in the other. But dude! Do you know what a WASP is? It’s just a white anglo-saxon protestant. That’s like 80% of the American population. Making the WASP the devil is making America and the American the devil. I’m not a WASP, but I’m pretty close. I’m disqualified only because I’m not a Protestant. I’m a Pagan. Damn… that still fit’s the acronym. Why are WASPs so dangerous? Is it because they’re White Anglo-Saxons? Is it because they’re Protestants? Is it because there’s something especially dangerous about the combination of Anglo-Saxons and Protestantism?
It didn’t matter what I said. It didn’t matter what examples I gave for why I held my viewpoint. RA kept on replying with the same irrelevant points. It was like I was arguing with a parrot. If I stated that I believe the Left is dangerous for A, B and C reasons, RA replied about Trump being some sort of Daddy-figure and saviour.
It reached the point that it was insulting. I am not a mindless tool, accepting what I’m told without question. If I’m wrong then tell me where/how I’m wrong. Don’t mention something that has nothing to do with the points I raised.