Friends with opposing views

On my twitter, facebook, instagram and more, I have friends that span the political gamut. I have friends who range from the far left to the far right. Just like my friendships, my political views also vary. Seeing as they all share me in common, they and their views are bound to cross paths on my wall. Sometimes the conversations span hundreds of comments back and forth between them. There have been some that I don’t even continue to read because they go so damn long!

0I’m often asked how I can be friends with so and so. This person is loony or this person is racist and so on. Yes, I am friends on facebook with some people who some of my other friends think are racist. They ask me why I’m friends with a racist, and they want to know if I am secretly a racist myself. Obviously, my response is that I am not a secret racist, and despite their political views, neither are the friends in question.

Most of them are people that I know personally, (most) and they are actually good people. They just value the country and her security more than being politically correct. Our views may differ greatly, but I respect their right to an opposing opinion.

I have been unfriended, and I have unfriended people. There was one guy who came on my radio show and used the N word and S word when referring to minorities. He was angry that I was taking some cops to task, and blamed the N words and S words for the cop shooting them. When I asked him what made him think that it was okay to use those words around me, he said “I’m not racist,” but there are blacks, and there are n words. Same as you, there are latinos, and there are s words.

I blocked this guy after that encounter. He’s obviously got some racist views, and even the way he said those words also had some sting to it. There was no denying that this guy was an actual racist. The sad and dangerous part is that he’s a cop in Florida. That’s bad business for minorities over there. I couldn’t even report him because he used a fake name.

However, most people that I know are not racists. They may love to troll the left online, but in real life they are friends with people from all walks of life. Where our views differ is that if someone is illegal for instance, they want them deported, not because they are racist against that group, cause they feel the same regardless of where you are from. They just feel strongly about the nation’s sovereignty. I on the other hand am more flexible with that.

Here is the bottom line really, if you are only friends with people who think exactly like you, then you do yourself a disservice in growth and learning. Also, you will have no idea what’s going on in the real world. You each have the choice to be friends with whomever you want, and so do I. Just because some are right wingers, that doesn’t mean I’m sort of closet racist.

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