Won’t Get Fooled Again

[karmasoup]

Learning Curve

I married a man who doesn’t like to make a big deal about his birthday.  I don’t understand this, and I can’t relate to it.  I come from a big family, where every birthday is an opportunity to express to a loved one, in a very specific way,

“I’m grateful you’re alive.
                I’m happy you’re in my life.

Comments

[halfshellvenus]

Oh, boy. That would be such a shock!

I know there were some people who felt similarly jolted and 'betrayed' after the 2008 election as well, but I have yet to see any concrete reason that doesn't boil down into weasel-words for basic racism.

I don't understand people who can celebrate that man's rise to power, nor what he's done to our country, the institution of the office, our culture, or our international reputation.:(

[karmasoup]

You and me both... I just don't get it. It's a tragic mirror on how
depraved we have allowed greed and self absorption to let many of us become. Fortunately, I don't think I have to try to understand them, and I certainly don't have to open up our personal lives to them.

[hwango]

Yikes, that sucks. I suspect you're right that they didn't reach out because they were similarly horrified by your politics. Regardless, I'm sure you're better off without them.

[karmasoup]

It's sad, really, that we've come to this space... I understand how one can choose to turn away from "friends" who would prefer a world in which their religion entitles them to enforce their beliefs on others, who believe their skin tone and their social class makes them better people, and that others don't deserve the basic necessities of life, but it's never made sense to me how humans who claim to be about love and "righteousness" are so incensed that "the other side" is fighting for equal rights, a living wage, universal healthcare, money out of politics, an end to policies that promote oppressing the disadvantaged through misogyny, racism, and classism, and the right to life, liberty, and freedom for all - just as our constitution promised, but has failed for over 200 years to deliver. :-/

[hwango]

Yes, many of the things championed by the "left" seem like they should be things everyone should support, and it's hard to see an argument against them that isn't...evil, basically. I know someone who sees themselves as conservative when it comes to financial matters and "socially liberal," but I have to wonder - when they vote how do they reconcile that? Do they decide that their tax breaks are more important than the social ethics they claim to have? Because if they do that seems in some way even more terrible.

[d0gs]

This was super engaging and I'm sorry about what happened D:

[karmasoup]

Thanks very much. It was a little disappointing, but not so much that I dwelt too much or lost any sleep over it. It feels like perhaps a missed opportunity, but certainly a learning experience. There are friends for us out there somewhere, but right now, our focus is raising a toddler, so wherever they are, I hope we will be ready to find each other when the time is right. <3

[flipflop_diva]

This took a twist I did not expect at the beginning, but ughhh I'm glad you were able to separate yourselves from them. Social media does shed a light on people in a way that wasn't always possible before, for good and for bad!

[karmasoup]

Indeed. And there's give and take there... on the one hand, I feel like maybe social media caused us to be robbed of folks who maybe could have been good friends for a while, but on the other hand, in many respects, maybe it just saved us from delaying the inevitable. The things they shared in that public setting shared who they are at their core, and it might have taken us a while to learn that about them... by that time, a separation may have been painful. Who knows, though... maybe we should have risked that pain, in order to perhaps set a good example for people who need a better understanding about how to love others and show compassion. A very double edged sword, social media is. :-/

[m_malcontent]

Yeah I married a Republican and spent a lot of afternoons under her sister and brother-in-law's roof which sports a Confederate flag. it was so hard to reconcile as especially her nephews were such nice people but they just didn't see the disconnect between that rag and being a nice person

I do know some Republican theatre nerds, which is just beyond me..... How can people love the things I love and then let's Fox News jabber at them about hate for 6 hours a day.

[karmasoup]

I realize living in Texas likely limits your options to various shades of red, but I just can't imagine being able to try and make a life with someone whose official position is on a side that is harmful to others. My husband and I don't always agree on all matters of a political nature, but at least we're in the same quadrant. You are certainly more galvanized than I could ever be about such things... I feel like in many ways, your marriage is more mixed than ours! :-/

[m_malcontent]

Also Houston went for Hillary, lots of blue women down here.....I just haven't had much opportunity of late to even consider dating.

[m_malcontent]

Well my marriage no longer exists.....just waiting on a court date. Lorie is an odd duck, she is one of the most personally generous people I know and 3 of her 5 best friends are minorities or.gay.

She defers a lot to her bro-in-law (sisters.husband) on politics....which is a shame because the man literally has a third grade education (he had to go to work to help his parents at a very young age.