How do people with right-wing views still have loads of friends?

[AmusedTaupePlayer]

Genuine question. There’s a guy at work who’s openly right-wing—thinks Brexit was great, doesn’t care about immigrants, women’s rights, gay or disabled people, constantly posts pro-Trump, Reform UK, and even likes Andrew and Tristan Tate. His dad’s the same, his mum is obsessed with “Britishness”. Basically, the full red-flag package.
Yet... he’s well-liked at work, always invited to drinks and group holidays. People act like he’s totally harmless. How?! I don’t get how someone with views that are basically hostile to entire groups of people can still be so socially accepted. Why don’t people care? He isn't actually shy about them... he openly declares them.

What falls under extreme right racism?
Tight controls on immigration?
Brexit?
Mandatory English lessons and integration programmes for immigrants?

I absolutely would not socialise with anyone who agreed with Andrew Tate. I do however have friends (not best friends) who voted for Brexit. I like their company and apart from that they seem fairly reasonable.
I can also tolerate some different views to mine. I find misogyny the hardest to cope with.
It’s difficult to find someone whose company you really, really enjoy who holds the exact same values as you do. I suppose it depends how low your bar is. Also looked of people agree with say Reform or Trump. Lots of people don’t really care about anyone who is different from them.

Because how could anyone possibly tolerate, let alone be friends with, someone with a different world view to you? Grow up!
Oh and don't look at the latest IPSOS survey you might explode in a leftie shower of glitter and rainbows.

Most people are pretty centralist, either marginally to the left or marginally to the right, and are all fine to be friends with. Extremes at either end of the spectrum are the problematic ones. I'd not been friendly with an extreme leftie any more than I'd be friends with an extreme righty! Elections are won and lost in the centre, not the extremes, which is where the vast majority of people stand in their political views.

Er, there are all sorts of views out there, so everyone has the potential to make friends with people who think similarly to them.
But, equally, sometimes we can be friends with someone in spite of the fact that we disagree politically. We just have to ignore the political aspects, or even agree not to discuss certain topics. And, let's face it, life would be very boring if we all thought the same, wouldn't it?

Because the majority agree?

Never talk about religion, money or politics.

I have friends with very different views to me. Tbh being harangued by extremely left wing people is worse imo. They think everyone that doesn’t agree with them is an extremely bad person. Right wingers tend to think people are naive or misguided but they don’t tend to think of them as actually evil.

I’m centre left, my DSIS is centre right. We just avoid politics.

yabu to call those right wing views, normal right-wing views are about low taxes, helping business, etc and there are plenty of gay right wing politicians

No everyone is the same.

Im definitely more right wing, yet I have lots of friends of all political leanings. We just don’t discuss politics.

People are more than their political views.

You can have friends that have different political opinions. My brother is very similar to this, not so much with the lgbtq or disabled people, his issue is more immigrants. He’s tries to convince me and my mum to see his side of things but honestly we just don’t agree and that’s that, I ain’t disowning him, he’s a funny guy. Has a lot of friends, most people love him. If we all believed in the same thing the world would be a boring place

The Comment about how bullies always seem to be popular is interesting. So true and fascinating. Maybe people look for other qualities when they choose who to hang out with.
Thinking about it, it wouldn’t be enough that someone holds the same views as me about immigration or disabled people to make me go on holiday with them. I’d prefer to go with someone who wanted to do similar things, or someone who made the holiday fun.

then what views are they

Sounds like bigotry.

So why does a bigot have friends?

Birds of a feather flock together.

Out of 90 replies, that's the only post you'll respond to?

Most are the same.. telling me to be more tolerant, less judgy etc.

People have their reasons for these things. And it's not an unpopular view at this point in the UK.

Maybe in London it might seem off but many other places have lots of people who like the Tories or even Reform. Or just don't like the current government so go against them at all costs.

I wouldn't knowingly be close friends with someone like that. But I don't necessarily know or care what political party someone votes for.

If someone started coming out with stuff that was racist or sexist then I'd call them out, for sure.

So why did you post the same thread twice?

Ok, got it. But i personally can't be close to a man like that.

I know plenty of left wing and far left bigots who have friends. They're good at finding people who can create an echo chamber with them, and they exclude anyone who has opinions and views different to them. Some far left people I know are not terribly bright, and insult and deride people who don't think like them. You don't get people who are centric or right wing doing that. It's only the left who are toxic and vitriolic.

I’m sure he’ll be devastated.