I choose love
So many of my “friends” posts on Facebook make me sad and disappointed. For me, there is no room in my heart for judgment or hate towards any of my friends or family based off of who they voted for. I mean, if you know someone who voted differently than you and it bothers you or upsets you, then why not ask them about it instead of placing them in a category, assuming bad things about their character, and unfriending them? It’s awful how much hate and judgment is out there right now. We need to communicate and understand each other, not decide on our own how someone thinks or feels. In my opinion this election is a lose lose situation. There are reasons for both sides to be fearful in this election and a vote for Biden or a vote for Trump does not necessarily mean someone supports them. A hard concept to grasp for many. I feel like we have been backed into a corner with two very bad choices. The one thing we CAN choose though is love.
I think that people are unfriending bc what people vote for tells what they stand for. For me, if someone can overlook comments made by a candidate that I consider to be openly hateful, mysognistic, racist and support what I consider to be egregious rollbacks of human rights-then it’s not about politics, it’s abt morals and values. I don’t want to be friends with someone who can overlook kids in cages whose parents have been “lost.” I don’t want to be friends with someone who thinks it’s ok that their candidate doesn’t denounce white supremacists. To me, we have more than a distance of political opinion. I’m not being critical of what you have written-just explaining the other side of the issue from my perspective and why people might be reacting the way they are….
That being said, yes, I agree there needs to be more dialogue and discourse. I have friends who voted differently than me, if they can explain why and how they see the candidate, it does help to bridge a gap.
I hope my note is not coming across rude. I say all this with respect. 🙂
Stay well.
@thecriticsdarling No no not rude at all! I’m not sure if you read my entire entry, but my point was that what people vote for does not in fact tell what they stand for. That is why we need to communicate. Not saying that there aren’t bad people out there that do support it, just not all. In my opinion, from doing my own research away from censored platforms, Biden is equally as bad and so I can understand why people felt forced to vote for Trump. That’s what I mean.
@hannah_banana0012
Thank you for explaining further. I did read the entry, I think perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly or well. I personally have great difficulty differentiating the 2-who you vote for/what you stand for based on what you can can overlook to support your candidate. Do I think all trump supporters are evil? God, no. Not at all! But when someone is staunchly defending some of the more egregious acts of his, I do want to distance myself and I do judge and question character-I can’t help it. But you’re right–this kind of thinking will not heal our country. I need to work on it.
You bring up a good point in your note, too. Biden is also problematic for many. I am not a huge fan of his, but I felt forced to vote for him to vote out this administration….. Just as others felt forced to vote for trump. So there’s that common ground.
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I agree with you. When you see hate and judgement as a manifestation of hurt and fear, it is easier to feel compassion, or at least behave with compassion. I feel like we are being pitted against each other and I made a decision that I would not let it cause me to walk away from loved ones or become hostile to acquaintances. It’s been hard, and I have lost people who made that decision about me during my weak moments of unloving words, I still believe the answer is to keep living in love however imperfect.
@catholicchristian ❤️❤️ Big hugs to you. I also know what it’s like to wish you can take back something you said. I think this divide is exactly what the government wants. Or Russia. We are more like the divided states of America instead of united at this point.
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My suggestion is to give up the FB account, this won’t do anything good to us. Why do we need to have even “Like” button, such teens thing to do. My republican friend called me yesterday to say hello, I felt his warm friendship with me 🙂
@teteeugene Social media has definitely become unhealthy. Instead of a place to connect, it has become a place to argue, debate, and spread hate and negativity. I’m definitely going to take a break for a while!
@hannah_banana0012 If we cannot let our emotions go after the discussion, that is not discussion from the beginning, just try to build our walls to protect ourselves. It is not constructive to understand others at all. In this country, why 71M people voted the guy, are there any reasonable factors we(democrats) support, that is the beginning of conversation to heal this country. Ignoring 71M will not work but distance each other more. I do not see those conversation in FB, and these conversation can be done anomalously, not hurt own people you know each other.
@teteeugene Agreed!
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Completely agree! A vote for a specific person for me is always about whats best for my family. I can’t believe the nerve of some people that said they couldn’t be friends with people who voted one way. A vote for one person isn’t necessarily a vote for that specific persons personality, etc. Its a vote for the matters that affect your family. A fact a lot of people tend to ignore. People like to talk peace and unity and then go and talk crap about voting. It’s so hypocrital. I stopped looking through fb newsfeed in June and it was the best metal health thing I’ve done!
@courtney21jazmine Right? I didn’t go scrolling, but it would just pop up. I’m so disappointed in some of my friends who I thought were good open minded people. *sigh*
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