Unfriending right wing friends

[nondrinker1985]

One of my school mum friends of around 10 years has started sharing loads of Restore Britain/Rupert Lowe posts.

I’m actually really shocked as she’s an Irish immigrant herself.

I’ve unfriended her which is a shame as day to day she’s ok. Also another mum who has been liking and commenting on the Restore Britain posts, they’ll probably tell me they’re not racist but I can’t be arsed calling them out.

Deleted

You don't know this person, but straight away you have decided that they are a 'thick as pig shit racist'

And the right are the problem? Yeah OK! 🙄

I’m dead centre shading to centre left but enjoy hearing views across the spectrum. I have always prided myself on having friends ranging from hard left to True Blue Tory. I draw the line at racism or hate speech though and I struggle with Reform: they don’t seem capable of talking about immigration without being racist. Wouldn’t defriend a Reform voter but I might fade them out.

I have seen a lot of people who I previously thought were rational and sensible drawn into fairly extreme positions through certain hot button topics. In particular a lot of gender critical friends seem to have slightly lost the plot (I am GC but I don’t think its the most important thing in politics or society right now and the hysteria on both sides makes me uncomfortable.)

I'd rather not be friends with people who can't accept people who have a different skin colour or religion. 😉

I don’t exist in an echo chamber - my In-laws who I don’t have a choice with are Brexiteers and I’m pretty sure my mother in law would quite happily back Reform. I myself are from a family of immigrants - from a colonised country and she actively told me all the good British colonisation did for my parent’s country. Them I just about tolerate - I’m careful concerning politics around them and I’m happy to point out the harm of Brexit.

Proving my point exactly

This is why friends shouldn’t talk about politics!

Well I would agree that those are repugnant.

But, they are also very easy labels to slap on someone who disagrees with you.

For example it’s very easy to call someone “transphobic” because they don’t think the government should put men in women’s prisons, but it doesn’t help protect vulnerable women. It’s a really good way to virtue signal and shut down the discussion though.

It’s similarly easy to call someone racist because they want to discuss immigration.

I think mostly if you’ve been friends with someone for a while and generally considered them a good person then measured discussion of political views is better than exclusion.

I don’t share the same political views as my sister, either of my best friends or my parents. I do listen to them though and they listen to me, that’s always going to be better.

There’s one huge elephant in the room here. It’s the fact the word racist is being used in a thoughtless way, and it’s now a thug type weapon to belittle people and discount their point of view immediately. This bullying attitude is completely unconscious to virtue signallers, it’s glaringly obvious to everyone else.

You've unfriended someone you've known for ten years because they've posted support for a political party you don't align with?

You've decided not to talk to her because you "can't be arsed calling them out". I assume she's been very secretive about her bigoted views if you knew nothing about them for ten years.

Grow up and have a conversation with her, your current approach is very childish. I'm sure you will get plenty of support from like minded individuals which is disappointing and no doubt contributes to the dire state of political discourse in this country.

You poor thing..

However before I joined the school the mum told
me of the Chinese kids that had been cruel to her son and that kind of activated my spidey senses but at the time I thought well she’s Irish how can this be?! Anyway now I know she’s just plain racist.

Well she is correct on this one..

You get comments on here and over on CIF at the Guardian from people proudly stating how they don't have any Tory / UKIP / Reform friends and I just find it extremely odd. I have friends who voted Brexit, who have voted for all the mainstream and fringe parties, we dont agree on everything and have had robust debates on issues. I am not friends with them because of who they vote for but because they are actually decent people who I know if in the event that my life turned to shit tomorrow they would be the ones front of the queue helping me out.

I'm a conservative but Rupert Lowe is going too far. The remigration crowd terrify me and want to mass denaturalise citizens and those who aren't white simply because they are of non British ethnicity.

Why can’t I? Yes I’ve known her ten years but she’s not my bestie! I don’t need to speak to her about it, if she notices I’ll say to her Rupert Lowe is a right wing bigot and I can’t be seeing that shit on my feed.

I haven't read too much into Restore but I suspect that and Reform are one and the same. However I did notice that Restore are the only party happy to scrap term time holiday fines and I expect alot of parents would blindly vote for them on this alone, not realising they have given Reform a sneaky way to buddy up with Restore and extrapolate their rasict agenda.

And she is Irish!

Xenophobic and nationalist opinions?

Bore off.

Another racist commenting..

Yes, and also grow up and accept that not everyone shares your views.

For a start, supporting Reform doesn't make you 'right-wing'. Being concerned about mass immigration is perfectly reasonable. We use phrases like 'far-right' and 'fascist' far too quickly. I have seen people who want rapists deported described as 'far-right'! It's insane. As for fascist, the Left have used mass immigration to impose a new identity on this country. No one asked for it and no one voted for it. Now that is fascism.

The Left pose as morally superior, yet they are the nastiest, most spiteful people I have ever met. But because their viciousness is directed towards middle-class NIMBYs and Daily Mail readers, somehow it's OK. Do you really care OP? Or do you just think it makes you look cool to unfriend her?

You can't be serious?! Reform are in your face racists..

I simply wouldn't talk to someone who votes reform.

They are racist, although reform voters deny that, I don't know how anyone can deny the misogyny though. Woman voting against their own rights blows my mind.

Why not? I blocked everyone I know who votes for Labour.

Joking.