Ask Lemmy

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

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.

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.

Socialist living a rural town, 30 minutes from a large city. I found some awesome like-minded people when I joined the local small community theater, but for the most part, everyone around me is super duper red. Birthplace of the KKK is like, a 10 min drive from me, so kinda figures.

After the Black Lives Matters riots in the city, I've been doing my own solo protests every Juneteenth, holding a big "Black Lives Matter" and "Happy Juneteenth!" sign by the main road through town. The first year I did it, had 3 separate people drive by shouting "white power!" and had the cops called on me, they told the cops I had a gun, presumably hoping that I'd be shot. I wasn't carrying, I was not shot.

I've been doing it every year, and the "white power!" yells have ceased, now just people flicking me off or yelling "All Lives Matter!" which is progress, I guess! But the vast majority of the interactions are thumbs up and friendly honks from like minded people, in a 75-25 ratio.

Maybe it's making a difference, maybe not, but I DO love yelling at racists. So far they've all been too cowardly to take me up on my offer to whoop their ass, but I'm hoping that will change 😊

I'm in a very red part of a purple-trending-blue state. The people immediately around me are mostly conservative. I'm much closer to an anarchist in my personal beliefs than anything else.

The people at the church I attend--Unitarian Universalist, because there aren't any Satanists near me--are mostly old hippies. The people I work directly with are mostly marginalized people. So the people I have the most contact with are definitely on the left side of the political spectrum. OTOH, I'm spoken with someone in another dept. at my work place that's a genuine Nazi apologist, and claims that they only murdered Jews because the Allies waged war against them.

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 and even have a free commuter train line. The suburbs are deep, deep red, and they think they should dictate policy to us because they commute into the city often.

Nothing has made me more right wing than left wing propaganda and vica versa

Of course "left/right wing" is a ridiculously over simplified perspective in the first place but if nuance is a political stance, I suppose I'm heavily outnumbered

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 live in Madison and everyone seems to have the same liberal political views, I almost never meet someone who opposes liberal/leftist ideals. All my friends are trans and some of my friends/coworkers even like Linux. we rarely encounter hostility, though I’d like to venture out more. It gets tiring when everyone agrees yet we can’t even solve the housing crisis.

Am in Scotland. Frequently overhear people talking about how Trump has a plan to save us. Never tried to engage with any of these people, but they dont sound like theyre joking.

I live in America in a deep blue state. The divide is about as classically pronounced as the railroad tracks here when the trailer parks grow numerous. Representation is deeply gerrymandered.

It's also extremely militarized out here, with most people being attached to the military bases in some way.

I spent 10 years working on the county level. For a time in a rural red area and for a time in the bluer area. Blue areas tend to be corporate owned and worship police. Red areas are desperately poor and distrust government.

Out here the first point of wealth is to insulate and isolate from politics. So it has always been much easier to discuss politics with the rural poor folks. Free breakfast and childcare is a service that's appreciated and used.

I don't even know how to reach the deep blue folks living beyond their gates. Maybe the delivery workers can try to leave fliers.

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 personal, close social circle is pretty much only leftists, both egg and hatched

My whole life has been a weird back and forth of this. I grew up in a hyper conservative household and lived in a hyper conservative town, but I wanted to go to art school. So I moved to Seattle.

Fast forward I was a conservative in Seattle of all places, and racist af to boot. Being 18 coming off the heels of my family meant I had no original thoughts and just repeated everything my mom taught me.

I quickly learned better, both through college education but also meeting the people I'd been brought up racist against. Being in a multicultural hub like Seattle means having to see the charicatures my mom had painted for me live, breathe, and talk to me, and it's hard for anyone with 2 braincells to run together to keep thinking those things when you interact with the people daily.

I stayed in the area after college and became increasingly more leftist. Then at a point I ended up moving to a small conservative town again due to financial issues.

Here I faced the flip side of what I'd experienced in Seattle. I'm white so everyone would try to pull me into conversation about immgrants or people on welfare or LGBT people and I was the sole voice against those views. I tried to reason with them, provide an alternative perspective, and over the years I've had mixed results. But the thing I'll say that was different was the amount of violence and threat I've felt being the outsider in these communities.

I said some straight up racist shit when I was younger in Seattle. I lost friends and reputation over it but I never felt afraid. In the small town though, I lost jobs, was threatened, flipped off, verbally abused... I never had anyone physically attack me but it came close a few times. And the only thing I said in those areas was things like "they aren't bad people because they are Mexican, they're bad people because they did X to you, Debra."

The racism and homophobia was the biggest hurdle honestly. People in that sphere dont think the things they are thinking are wrong. Often they only know what they have somehow been slighted, and they misatteibute their frustrations to race or politics. "I can't afford groceries because so many (insert race) people are on food stamps." No, you can't afford groceries because your work isn't paying you anything but beans and Walmart is the only grocery store in town. There are so many people on food stamps because they are socio-economically disadvantaged. Perhaps if you can't afford groceries you might also qualify for food stamps."

But that's hard to quantify, it's easier to blame the have-nots as being morally lacking than it is to be mad at systems that are hard to quantify.

I’m in a blue state, so not very. But I work in an interesting environment where people hold a lot of conspiratorial and junk-science views (recently there was a rumor about an upcoming seven-second loss of gravity.) I navigate it with shutting down any sense that I would ever humor it. I don’t maintain any sort of connection beyond general courtesy otherwise. Worst case was “we have to agree on reality to discuss it” and that was that.

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.

Im in a technically far-right town, but most of the people i know about are either left-wing, either right or far-right, but in that case never militants : they're just too stupid, too lazy or too mistaken to get over their reactionaries prejudices, and most of the time they end up agreeing with progressive views when there's a political discussion. But those are quite rare tbf, people dont talk that much about partisan politics.

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.

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.

Im an anarchist who works blue collar in the rural Bible Belt. It's torture. Either I get in arguments with everyone around me or i spend all my time biting my tongue. Ive gotta get out of here.

Going to DSA meetings is a breath of fresh air but I never have the time.

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 a supper conservative, traditionalist and patriotic country... I've worked in different corperations from small to big and most people have been racists conservative at worst and reactionary centrists at best.

At work I'm often considered a mood kill as I often can't take it and have trough in a sarcastic remark that breaks their minds a little bit so they move on from their distastefull discussion.

In my free time I mostly hang out with people that are leftist as well and I also enjoy going to leftist political marches and activities.

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.

Wildly surrounded. I'm very used to interact with people with vastly different political opinions.

I have a straight up openly francoist coworker.

But I'm also surrounded by a lot of left leaning people. It's kind of diverse here right now.

Anyway, I think it's better for you to have to think the arguments rather than you repeating arguments you heard somewhere else. It would make you find your own believes, and have a firmer consolidation on why you believe in what you believe.

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.

We've got a handful of parties. I don't know how anyone votes, except one guy who is an elected official in the municipality. Think my best friend votes for the party that I've got the least in common with. The surrounding area is dominated by the party I don't vote for.

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.

Most people I talk to in real life have similar political views to me. Except for a few kooky relatives

because of covid and right wing grifter it turned 1 family member into a partial maga, and i suspect many of other relatives have more conservative views than "progressive ones"

Well I'm on Lemmy.

I don't really talk politics. Not here and not in real life. I don't even know who most people around me vote for. Not even my parents. I don't live in a two party system so it's not a binary us vs. them like it's in the US.

I form my opinions on a individual basis and they're not always aligned with my "political leaning"

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.

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

I'm in a socially conservative country, in a smallish town populated by elderly retirees, families and dirt poor marginally educated people. In the days before people were scrolling conspiracy theories about George Soros and litter boxes for cat identifying kids in librul schools on Facebook and Twitter, I wouldn't been a more open person. Now, they'll only get to know my public deaf-mute alter ego and never know that I'm a vigilante lol.

I wish I was in a city where there's a bigger chance of meeting others like you.

15 years in Panama City, FL, which is about ⅔ red and ⅓ blue. It was fucking annoying. Fox News on every single fucking public television.

Hampton Roads, VA is so much better.