To wonder what is so bad about being a 'lefty'?

[imwithspud]

I see it all the time during political discussions on social media. That if you hold certain views you are branded a 'lefty' or 'loony left' like its some sort of insult. I've noticed that it tends to be a stock response by some people when they can't think of something more intelligent to say.

Aibu to wonder what is so 'loony' about holding left wing views, and that actually the world would be a better place if people were more tolerant?

I think you have extreme right wingers with zero sympathy for those who have fallen on hard times, and believe that it should always be dog-eat-dog (except when banks need bailing out), and then you have extreme left wingers who are insanely jealous of those better off and don't believe people should take any consequences for bad decision making and that tax rates should be ludicrously high.

In between these two extreme poles lie more rational people. It is funny that up until recently, we really had a fight for the middle ground (Blair, Cameron etc) and now we seem to be moving back towards the poles again, especially for Labour.

Realistically, people need to be motivated to work hard but most of us are sympathetic to people who have fallen on hard times. It was interesting to see the vituperation both sides had for one another arguing between a 45% and 50% top tax rate (hardly a major difference).

"It is funny that up until recently, we really had a fight for the middle ground (Blair, Cameron etc) "

That's not the middle that's right of centre in European terms. The whole scene in the UK moved rightwards after Thatcher so what would earlier (and still now in most of Europe) have been considered left is now sometimes considered "loony left".