to like someone less because their political views revolt me

[yellowflowers]

A friend has got more and more right wing. It's depressing because when we met years ago as students we bonded over being lefties and in favour of helping those less fortunate and we both enjoyed debating issues. I still like debating things and don't need all my friends to think the same as me - far from it - but the more I hear of this person's views the less I think they are someone I want to spend time with because her views on poor people and on state education etc offend me. Is it wrong to see less of someone just for this reason?

Greensleeves, I detest Diane Abbott too!

And good for you for sticking to what you believe in. Would love you to be my friend but you wouldn;t want to be as I'm pro-private education

i have privately educated colleagues and pals,they don't discriminate against me for going to state school.and i dont discriminate against then for not.

Greensleeves made me :o

I can see the anti-Diane Abbotts will try to give me a wedgie...I will hide now, fairwell bigfootbeliever!

Goodbye Nellykats - sadly I must leave too.

I Have to go and ring my mate David Cameron, while simultaneously paying the school fees and putting on my Boden clothes and saying "yah" a lot.

It really depends how extreme they are, is she was considering joining the BNP than yanbu. However,everyone is entitled to their views and not everyone will agree with you, does not make them bad people. I have a friend who is Jewish and is obviously very for Isreal, whereby I am not, and totally disagree with what they are doing to the Palestininans. I just dont talk politics with her when I see her, and all is fine. I have known her for over 20 years and will not tear a good friendship apart just because we disagree on a few things.

droning socialist workers equally dull as horsey hurahs.have known both extremes the right on bruthas and sistas with right on views about everything.and the waxed jacket tory harrumphers

over zealous and preachy wrings the fun out of anything

Please could someone explain left wing and right wing, i don't really understand what it means?

left wing (socialist leaning) usually favour state intervention in business and society and some redistribution of monies to less well off

right wing, favour individuality and less state intervention. less likely toi socially intervene.favour market forces and business

a dialectical model but in reality things shift and are applied different ideologies. blair was accused of making new labour less left wing

I think i'm somewhere in the middle then.

like most people!in reality policies and application of ideologies is complex and not so cut & dried

YANBU
I feel the same.

I didn't "bracket" anybody with racists or homophobes fgs, I didn't mention either of those things

I simply answered the question asked in the thread title.

I also said I was happy debating and discussing any issue with anybody - I don't HATE anybody. But in terms of making friendships - nope, not for me

Depends.

I like discussing arguing with people with different view points from mine, and sometimes I have learned a lot from them. I would rather be friends with a Tory who I could discuss politics with, and agree to disagree, than with someone who doesn't give a .

The only views I couldn't tolerate, that would prevent me being a friend, are those that are racist, sexist etc, or where someone claims to not care about vulnerable or disposessed people.

I don't think that I am repulsive. We sent our children to private schools where they received a damn good education and are all now in professional jobs.

We have friends who let their children rot in the state school system despite having the money to send them to better schools and now complain because their crap education has not equipped them for today's world. That disgusts me.

YABU. I don't think you need to share views to be friends.

It's like me (as a veggie) dropping most of my friends because I find the practice of eating meat abhorrent. Would you see that as reasonable?

Welshpat what a charmer you sound!

Welshexpat, you are not repulsive. (You views are another matter).

You're just not friends with me or Greensleeves.

I'm sure you're ok with that.

YANBU, I couldn't be friends with someone who had political views that were polar opposite to mine. I make friends with people with mutual interests - not who have views I find repellant.

i can vehemently dislike some views expressed but still believe in freedom of speech to express such views

Read my lips. I didn't say all state schools were rotten, just some. If your child is in one of these then, if you are able, you have a duty to get them out and not worry about political views. Just like Dianne Abbot, H. Harperson and Tony.

By the way I am a product of a grammar school and its a pity they aren't available to most people today.

I can believe in people's freedom of speech, it doesn't mean they have to be my friends. I do have friends from very different political or religious persuasions, though the majority would be closer to socialist worker than banker.

But in the end I NEED friends with similar political views, I need friends who get why I am going to send my children to rot in the local mediocre comp, and preferably friends whose children are going to rot with mine.

Political views aren't divorced from everyday life, they are integral to how a person thinks and behaves.

I think it depends..like all relationships I'm sure even in friendships there are deal breakers..sometimes views people have, openly expressed on a regular basis in your company can be quite draining...and after a while a friendship can be compromised..to call someone a true friend is important to me, not something I would say lightly..so what they believe is ultimately important..I have many acquaintances and what they believe matters very little be me in the scheme of things..

"By the way I am a product of a grammar school and its a pity they aren't available to most people today."

Well that would be a massive change, because they have never been available to most people. It was always a very small minority who ever had access to them.