I can get along with people from a different political camp, no problem. My gf is liberal, I'm conservative. We have lively debates about it, but we respect each other and never let politics get in the way of the relationship. It's as simple as that.
But over the last few years friends called me a nazi and a racist, coworkers ostracized me for having unfashionable political views, many people cut contact entirely under the premise that I "support" white supremacy. This isn't some shit you easily forgive, and it isn't something you ever forget.
This wasn't just about politics, or teams, or policy preferences, or red vs blue or whatever. This is people denying your humanity on no grounds whatsoever, and when you point it out they say "well, minorities have always felt this way, so shut up and take it." That's fair enough, but it isn't about groups of people oppressing other groups of people. It's about Bill and John and Sally-- people who used to be friends and colleagues-- treating me like I'm a monster for no reason whatsoever other than a mass psychosis. That's not something you can ever come back from.
> This is people denying your humanity on no grounds whatsoever, and when you point it out they say "well, minorities have always felt this way, so shut up and take it."
Here's where they are coming from: Donald Trump was denying people's humanity on the grounds that they came from south of the border. He was literally separating children from their parents to scare others away.
When I have explained that to Trump supporters, they immediately gaslight me; telling me it wasn't that bad, or Trump's fault.
> It's about Bill and John and Sally-- people who used to be friends and colleagues-- treating me like I'm a monster for no reason whatsoever other than a mass psychosis.
They don't mean to. Really, they don't. The trouble is, they just can't find a reason.
The only reason I can think of is that Trump supporters really don't know what's happening. That they don't believe it. It looks a lot like mass psychosis.
It looks even more like a cult. I would know: I grew up in one. If I can come back from that, you can come back from this. The first step is empathy.
Are you certain that you aren't in the "group of people oppressing other groups of people"?
I know it can be hard to confront that question. I did it about a year ago. When I did, I found out the answer was "no".
I dug a little deeper, and realized it wasn't a soft "no", either. I was an instrumental part of an institution that tears families apart and drives children to suicidal ideation. I always knew there were issues, but I had plenty of excuses for those issues and the institution's part in them.
If you really aren't a Nazi or a racist, then will you reconsider your support for the GOP? Bill, John, and Sally didn't just pull that out of their asses. What they said to you was disrespectful and dehumanizing, but it didn't come from nothing.
> Here's where they are coming from: Donald Trump was denying people's humanity on the grounds that they came from south of the border. He was literally separating children from their parents to scare others away.
To put it precisely, the child separation policy is in clear violation of the fourth Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which also governs the rights of aliens in times of peace. Specifically, Article 38 ยง5:
children under fifteen years, pregnant women and mothers of children under seven years shall benefit by any preferential treatment to the same extent as the nationals of the State concerned.
The US has been no stranger to Geneva Convention violations but this is a particularly egregious example within our own borders thats also arguably a violation of the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide [2].
Coming from a country that lost tens of millions of its people to the war machine that inspired the Geneva Convention, I feel physically sick that people support someone who would intentionally enact such policies. The last four years of gaslighting has made it incredibly difficult to interpret that support as anything but a complete dereliction of empathy.
But over the last few years friends called me a nazi and a racist, coworkers ostracized me for having unfashionable political views, many people cut contact entirely under the premise that I "support" white supremacy. This isn't some shit you easily forgive, and it isn't something you ever forget.
This wasn't just about politics, or teams, or policy preferences, or red vs blue or whatever. This is people denying your humanity on no grounds whatsoever, and when you point it out they say "well, minorities have always felt this way, so shut up and take it." That's fair enough, but it isn't about groups of people oppressing other groups of people. It's about Bill and John and Sally-- people who used to be friends and colleagues-- treating me like I'm a monster for no reason whatsoever other than a mass psychosis. That's not something you can ever come back from.