After a weekend of unpacking Halloween and spending time with family this morning I browsed through the weekend’s Facebook activity to see people enjoying themselves, sharing photos, and stories. One story that was repeated by several unrelated people this weekend was the fact they unfriended by a close friend over politics. The premise that you cannot be friends with me because we do not share political ideologies is by no means a two way street. If you, as a reader feel this way, then I ask you to please stop reading now and move on(this is the truth).
For some, why does politics have to be a black and white issue? It goes deeper than I’m right and you’re wrong because in many instances being on the wrong side of an issue helps you see yourself as a person. I’ll admit when I’m wrong, or when I’m not informed enough to make a statement; that’s not a weakness. In fact, I tend to think of it as a strength.
Just because you’re a gender, color, orientation, your affiliation should be XYZ and if not, you’re an ‘Uncle Tom’, a ‘sinner, ‘self-hating’, or flat out ‘ignorant/stupid’. This idea is perpetuated through MANY groups in our society and it partly stems from the psychogical idea of in/out groups. No one wants to be in the outgroup and we stay within our ingroup for protection and comfort. We see the outgroup as odd, different, and ‘not like us’, yet as children we are taught that this behaviour is NOT acceptable. How horrible the idea that one group of boys tease another group because they don’t play the same sport, or get the same grades. School figureheads do their best to dissuade this behaviour and allow children to see all facets of their peers because prejudism is NOT acceptable.
So, if we’re raising children to fight it, taught to look past it, and think ourselves above pettiness. Why then do people still choose to disassociate themselves from (and demagogue) people who are in the outgroup? We see this in images of both the incumbents and challengers complete with phrases like ‘he’s a this, she’s a that’ plastered all over Facebook. Liking an image because you agree with it is one matter, but sharing it on your wall for all your friends to see is another matter entirely. By actively sharing propaganda, you are exacerbating the already monumental issue of intolerance. Sure you don’t want to be seen as a YYY, but you’re not doing yourself any favours calling others names or sharing vindictive images of the opposition(it’s the equivilant of chanting ‘neener neener’ on the playground). Sure jokes and memes can be shared with a person, and there’s all kinds of settings you can tinker with, but in that instance, you have two likeminded(usually) individuals sharing a joke/laugh, not blasting to everyone ‘look how ridiculous the outgroup is’. There IS a difference.
The bigger question is WHY do people do it? Is there EVER a justification that you can explain to your child that it is okay and acceptable to make fun of someone else because they are different? The answer is NO. Then why do you, as an adult, do it? I’m sure some are shrugging at this point (I don’t know). The reality is adults should be held accountable for their actions and the image that you present says a lot about you as a person. Finally, we have the most extreme case of tolerance (or lack of) when people not only choose to castigate the outgroup, but also go terminate longstanding personal relationships when it is discovered they belong to the outgroup. You don’t think like me, talk like me, walk like me, you challenge me, you can’t be my friend. *hold up mirror* As we approach the end of this election cycle, I can count on losing friends because of my political affiliations, sadly it will be on their part and not mine, but I still consider them friends, even if the feeling is not mutual.
