I dropped two FaceBook "friends" yesterday. They were marginal acquaintances from high school. My closer friends and family had been urging me to "un-like" them for some time now, because of their leftist views. I liked having them as FB friends because: a) They kept me alert to what the left was thinking, b) They would challenge anything political I posted, so I made sure what I posted was backed by fact. c) It allowed me to espouse conservative views in response to their postings which reached their "friends." d) I could talk about my conservative views in response to their postings without appearing to always be ranting about politics on my own.
What made me drop them as "friends" wasn't their beliefs per se, but it was the following story link they posted.
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/cant-be-both-republican-patriot/And it wasn't just this story or the political views it represented, but the fact that both thought this was a
good read. This is a vial rant of hateful and prejudice speech. Here's one of the passages.
...they [Republicans] have a general disdain toward minorities, the poor, women, non-Christians, homosexuals and just about anyone and everyone who isn’t a straight, white Christian male.
It's not the rant of the author so much that ticked me off, it's that my chums thought it was a "good read." They failed to see the prejudice and hate that they would be quick to pounce on if I said the same thing about one of them. I guess I knew all along they felt this way, but I had thought since there was this high school buddy connection maybe I could redirect their wayward ways. Maybe this was a fine distinction in their behavior, but it finally reminded me,
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.--Robert Heinlein