Another changer with a story
“Red Pill Black” tells her story of left-to-right political change. It’s a long video, but the gist of her story comes at the beginning:
I wrote “left-to-right political change,” but Candace Owens (that’s her real name) was never really on the left to begin with. She describes herself as having been a liberal but not really all that interested in politics, and after she had her political conversion (which might more aptly be described as a political awakening, I suppose, in terms of intensity of interest in the subject) she realized she had always been somewhat conservative in her basic orientation towards things (beginning at around 13:10):
You know, when I think back on it, I just—I don’t even know that I ever really was a liberal. I didn’t really care about politics. I was just a girl who was trying to pay back my student loans. I wasn’t really involved in politics. I didn’t really know what being a liberal meant, or being conservative meant. I think at the end of the day I was always a conservative; I’m pretty rational, I’m very fact-based in terms of I will always value economics of like, social issues and that sort of thing because I understand that that should take a back seat, obviously. I mean, you don’t want to become a third-world country…I think I was always a conservative, or more conservative, in that regard. I started really deeply considering politics and my positions on everything…
Unlike Owens, I didn’t have something dramatic happen to me personally that caused an almost instantaneous change. But much of her story resonates with mine nevertheless, particularly the change from relatively apolitical to the political, and the realization that one’s basic orientation was always at least somewhat conservative even in the past, despite having voted liberal.
In my case, after my political change I looked back on earlier incidents in my life where I had spoken up for things that were unpopular in terms of the people around me (many of these incidents happened while in college during the 60s or especially grad school during the 90s). At the time these things had occurred I had no conceptual framework in which to place them; it had just seemed that I was somewhat randomly thinking differently than my friends and acquaintances and professors. I didn’t even realize the issues involved were all that political (some, for example, were ethical issues connected with therapist/client interactions). But later on, I became aware that the thread that united my objections was having a more conservative general philosophy than that of the others.
I just discovered Red Pill Black Girl and now others as well. I don’t frequent YouTube, Facebook or Twitter social media, so therein lies the reason for my prior ignorance. It’s an encouraging development and hopefully will have an escalating impact. This country is in desperate need of it.
Jordan B. Peterson is another articulate advocate for conservatism.
“Jordan Peterson Explains That Collectivism Is Tyranny Under the Guise of Benevolence”
“Camille Paglia interviewed by Jordan B Peterson”
“Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.”
She describes herself as having been a liberal but not really all that interested in politics.. But much of her story resonates with mine nevertheless, particularly the change from relatively apolitical to the political
By contrast, I was a political animal from an early age. In 5th grade I plastered my bedroom door with slogans reflecting the various presidential candidates of that year.
In a visit last year to my hometown I had a long conversation with a classmate, who drove an hour for the meeting. Among others, we talked about a classmate who had a military father and a Chinese mother. The Eurasian girl was my classmate’s best friend, and also the object of a junior high crush of mine.
Our discussion gave a good illustration of a difference between me and my more apolitical peers. I mentioned that the mother of our Eurasian classmate had fled the mainland for Taiwan in the wake of the Communist takeover in 1949. “I didn’t know that. I always thought her mother was from Formosa.” Her parents DID meet in Formosa- as we then called Taiwan- and had also spent a decade of their married life there. I don’t believe I was mistaken, as I recall asking her if the house her mother had grown up in had been lost/confiscated. Yes it was, came the reply.
They had been best friends for years, but apparently hadn’t shared a vital piece of background. On the part of one- not interested in past, not interested in politics. On the part of the Eurasian girl, I am reminded of the immigrant’s desire to identify with America and wash away memory of the old country. Part was probably she realized that most wouldn’t be interested in her mother’s flight. I am also reminded of my mother’s conclusion to stop refighting the Civil War in reaction to having spent her childhood hearing her elders refight it and refight it during her childhood- though I doubt this applied to our Eurasian classmate.
On the issue of not knowing political backgrounds, I am reminded of what I learned in recent years about two fellow members of my Liberal Religious Youth (Unitarian) group. They were red diaper babies whose relatives were not just passive supporters but very active in the CPUSA or its support groups. It would be accurate to call them full-time operatives- though some later left the Party. This was not something those kids or their relatives wanted publicized. I can understand that – I would have probably done the same.
Regarding political change, I am reminded of how my voting Third Party, as in “none of the above,” in many elections from 1980 on was shadowed by voting for “none of the above” in a high school mock Presidential Poll. I was the only one in the school to vote for Harold Stassen. Bob Dylan got more in write-in votes. This was the reaction of someone who was very interested in politics.
But later on, I became aware that the thread that united my objections was having a more conservative general philosophy than that of the others.
Yes. In the visit last year to my New England hometown, a conversation with another friend brought up the point that another classmate living in the mountain states was a Tea Party supporter. I replied that I was a bit of a Tea Party supporter myself. “That’s because you’re from Texas.” No, I replied, the foundations for my political change were laid before I set foot in Texas. For example, contrary to what most of my hometown peers thought at the time, I was well aware years before I left New England that prejudice was not confined to the South, but also found in New England- and all over- it was inside all of us.
I was 18 when Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson in 1956, for the second time. I was very unhappy about it. I can remember saying that “If the world could vote in our election, it would vote for Stevenson.”
Then I took an Economics course. I’m not sure that would have the same effect these days, what with Marxism triumphant in colleges.
I’m pretty sure it’s been remarked at least once here, I’m not sure whether by Neo or commenters, that these changes are generally left to right. Just fwiw, I can think of several people who have made a dramatic shift from right to left. I think in most, if not all, of those cases it was at least partly a religious thing: they were active in the Christian right and either became much less fundamentalist in their religion or lost their faith altogether.
That sort of fits with your observation, Neo, about your conservative general philosophy, which is probably also a matter of temperament. A firebrand is likely to be a firebrand, whatever he or she is on fire about.
By the way, I was too busy to comment a few days or so ago when you were musing about continuing with blogging. Count me among those who would like for you to continue, but would also read that book if you were to write it.
I’ve been busy and missed the post about blogging but would sorely Miss your blog should it be gone. And the many comments that follow each post.
That interview was riveting. (I have a thing for women who think for themselves.) The incident that started her awakening sets off my sinister leftist radar. I feel like we are getting a glimpse at an iceberg through the fog and, of course, even that is only the tip.
Candace Owens was crowdfunding a project that purported to be able to trace online trolls as part of an effort to discourage bullying of children and teens. She was contacted out of the blue by a woman called Zoe Quinn who is a self-anointed poster child for online victimization as a result of something called GamerGate. The quick version is that Quinn was behind a crappy video game of some sort that was lauded by a gamer journalist with whom she happened to be in a relationship. (Keep in mind video game revenue is in the billions, actually eclipsing the movie business in terms of entertainment dollars.) But the nerds who like video games also like to spend time in online forums talking about video games. They panned the game and called bullshit on the favorable reviews. Zoe Quinn did not take kindly to the criticism and claims to have been the victim of sexist attacks by trolls on the internet. She wrote a book on the subject, became a progressive cause celebre, and had something to do with Twitter policing online commentary for a while.
So Ms. Quinn should be calling Ms. Owen to offer her encouragement and support, no? No. She told her to cease and desist with the anti-bullying project with a cockamamie claim that victims would only be more traumatized if they knew the identities of their harassers. She also threatened Candace Owen with innuendo to the effect that “it’s a nice online presence you have, it would be a shame if something happened to it.” Ms. Owen told Quinn she would not stop and within hours she and her previously obscure project were inundated with online trolls in a transparent attack from Ms. Quinn. Also, Patreon disappeared Owen’s project without explanation.
Why would Zoe Quinn be afraid of online trolls getting exposed to daylight? GamerGate is interesting for a couple reasons. One, there were ordinary people rebelling at being propagandized by a sector of the media. (Can you think of any parallels?) Two, the media and the left seem to have exerted a disproportionate effort in suppressing a few nerds. Candace Owen seems to have moved on to a more general interest in discussing leftist groupthink. But there are some lingering red flags hinting at the extent to which leftist causes are supported through smoke and mirrors–and paid activists who misrepresent themselves. I think there are people who are scared what would happen if we saw the extent of the iceberg below the waterline.
(oops, should have typed Owens not Owen)
It didn’t occur to me that I wasn’t a liberal until I was middle-aged, but like you, Neo, I found myself “somewhat randomly thinking differently than my friends and acquaintances,” primarily about abortion. As soon as I understood what abortion was, sometime in my early teens, I also understood that I wouldn’t do it, or wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did – and couldn’t find a single friend, or later boyfriend, who felt the same way. It wasn’t a religious issue – I wasn’t religious and neither was my family – just a deep-seated conviction that came from my own private thoughts and feelings. Much later, I understood that this single difference was an early warning sign of many more.
Mac:
I recently met a person who said he moved right to left politically as a result of the 2008 crash. He lost a ton of money in it, and blamed it on Bush and the Republicans. He said the change was permanent for him. And he’s no spring chicken, believe me.
I found it odd. I pointed out that the Democrats had a big role in the crash, too (i.e. mortgages) and left it at that.
Mrs Whatsit:
You are exactly and precisely describing my situation as well.
Too bad we didn’t know each other then; we would at least have known one person with the same POV! 🙂
Andrew Klavan had an interview with Candace Owen last week and of course recommended her Red Pill Black YouTube site. It was a very good interview (audio).
The Andrew Klavan Show on Soundcloud is the poor man’s way access to the audio.
I hear tell there are people who went right to left. During the glorious 2008 days of “Hope and change” some even testified publicly.
But not so much any more.
All the changers I know went left to right.
Thank you for that synopsis, Matthew M. I understood it from the interview, but it is a good thing to have a written account of such a malicious undertaking. Truly the underpinnings of Fake News. One may have suspected that such things were going on, but this is evidence.
It’s an encouraging development and hopefully will have an escalating impact. This country is in desperate need of it.
The power of Alt Right social and cultural propaganda propagation is not to be underestimated.
I pointed out that the Democrats had a big role in the crash, too (i.e. mortgages) and left it at that.
He should have known that, but it wouldn’t matter, because if you are with the Demoncrats, then you will likely get advance warning of Soros crashing the market, so you’ll get out of the market before it crashes. Which is why he likely switched to the Leftist alliance. It is more profitable by far.
One, there were ordinary people rebelling at being propagandized by a sector of the media. (Can you think of any parallels?)
I recommend looking up the Forbes article somewhere around April/march about the Mass Effect 3 consumer community reaction to Bioware’s “ending”. It is very close, and should have happened somewhat before Gamergate.
It’s nice that people are ignoring the Gatekeepers of online and offline “4th estate” “journolists”. Now is the right time, if perhaps a bit late, to do their own intel analysis, instead of swallowing what other people write and think as if it was the gospel and dogma of mainstream religion and culture.
. Truly the underpinnings of Fake News. One may have suspected that such things were going on, but this is evidence.
Fake news originally originated from the Left, towards things like Fox News. Fake News, get it.
Democrats like Trum, were so familiar with it, they just automatically used it on a different target.
Before that term became popular, “astroturf” was the name of the game in 2005, on anti war protests.
Rubin, by the by, is libertarian or neutral like Glenn Reynolds, but unlike Reynolds, is in a gay relationship.
Rubin is more or less an atheist.
Since I’m a follower of my god, that doesn’t mean I have to make enemies of all atheists, however. Although the Alt Right seems to think every Republican is a cuck unless they toe the Trum line and kiss the ring of their new pope.
That should be sufficient background for those that were in the “dark” about Youtube internet celebrities.
The story of how backs were mind controlled by Demoncrat slave lords before 1830, after 1830, after Reconstruction, after the Republicans failed to secure and defend the rights of freed blacks, after the resurrection of the KKK by Demoncrat wealthy lords like Robert KKK Byrd, would be so long my comment would probably be flagged.
Red rover, red rover, send Candace right over.
I don’t doubt that Red Pill Black Girl’s experience is but the very tip, of the tip… of the Left’s iceberg of villainy.
They are modern day examples of “the banality of evil”. Evil perfectly justified in Marxist idealist minds, as rightous and noble. And simply as a ‘pragmatic necessity’ by the amoral ‘Stalinists’.
Lacking a moral conscience, evil is incapable of moral self-reflection.
In everyone of these “changes” the people have not changed, the ideology has not changed, and the nasty using of people and the normalization of such hasnt changed
from soviet defectors to this woman, all that has changed is that the ad copy the left writes was so good, and they trusted it, then found out that it really didnt actually reprsent them and what they wanted…
what changed was they stopped trusting people who were betraying them, their values, and using their lives up for personal gain, leaving a trail of broken bodies, lives, and general wreckage… (for its the only army a state can allow internally to develop in opposition, any other form would be crushed as a still birth)
its ALWAYS this way
its the inchanged changer waking up to being tricked
and EGO prevents them that out, so they say they changed, not that they been duped, or tricked, or what points really got them to change.
frieda utely one of the MOST FAMOUS early changers who wrote book after book that one can trace things with, changed when the system turned its eyes to her and Arcady.. you can go down the list of people i put up that no one will look at cause i put it up, and see this same thing over and over.
on another note? when the conflict starts, you gonna wait a few years to try to figure out what you werent paying attention to that would define the thing, or will you just wait for the communists to write something then be confused with no answers most of the rest of your life. just curious.
if conflict breaks out, you think the people who dont like america will be on which side, doing what? in what direction will the converts go then? in germany, even some jews converted to nazism… and in russia and china, they all did or pretended to…
it seems wars and conflicts are only admissable AFTER Their damage, and never before. before, everyone pretends there isnt one, and then, without oppsition or discussion, it all blows up canse anything unopposed has a free and clear path. no?
waht would happen on the football field if every defense person (The people) did their own thing ignoring or distracted by otehr stuff, and left a clear opening down the middle?
think the other team will point it out, or what?
the one advantage that they need AND HAVE is surprise… said a US general
Before you look below and dislike, why not think of what it means to be a dead convert? or a cosnervative in a fallen state? after all, priorioties are not first defense and removal of those who would be complicit, is it? then what, if self preservation isnt first, does the rest mean?
here is what you guys say is BACKWARDS
[and have said so, so much, that they got to be advanced while you been thinking defunct]
Russia’s new Armata battle tank is one of the world’s most advanced. More than 2,000 are expected to be in service by 2020, and was showcased in Moscow’s Victory parade this year, with a 125mm cannon capable of firing 10 rounds per minute.
The 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV is Russia’s new showcase self-propelled artillery piece. 152 mm gun with a range of up to 70 kilometers using precision-guided rounds and up to 40 km with standard rounds. average rate of fire is around 16 rounds per minute. [the US version is M109A6 Paladin – but its only 4 rounds a minute with a 5 man crew and not nuclear hardened]
new AK-12 Kalashnikov-built rifles It will take 5.45mm rounds, but can be converted to take 7.62mm rounds, like previous Kalashnikov designs. [They always make theirs larger, so they can use their rounds or our rounds, and we are stuck with only ours – M16 rifle, which takes 5.56mm NATO – since 1969]
Sukhoi Su-35 is the country’s most advanced fighter jet – enters service about – now [ F35 is NATO’s latest fifth generation fighter, Is slower than the Su-35, and with a shorter range.]
The NEW Admiral Kuznetsov is more than 1,000 feet long can carry something up to 52 aircraft [only place we come out ahead: PCU Gerald R. Ford is the world’s lead aircraft carrier, and can carry 75 aircraft.]
Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopter has a 30mm underslung cannon, and can carry up to four anti-tank missiles
upolev Tu-160M is also being modernised this year – with Nukes [B-1 Lancer got a range of 11,999km, just short of the Tu-160]
Russia’s S-300 dates from the Soviet era – but upgraded and scary apable of hitting targets up to 150km away [MIM-104 Patriot missile with a shorter range than the S-300]
then add that their troops are not all over the world diluted..
so it doesnt matter if we had double what they have, we cant field double to one spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and forget even trying to add up china.. with 37 million extra men of age… can you imagine fielding against an army of 37 million men?
Korea is the only place where Russian, Chinese, and USA troops can all meet over close borders..
oh, and china, they are all modernized now too..
[what happened with russia and germany after they did that last time?]
Zheng He
The Zheng He, one of the first Type 055 cruisers, serves as the proud flagship for the joint Sino-Russian naval taskforce in the north Pacific. As the pride of the Directorate’s naval forces, the Zheng He can carry 128 long range anti-air, anti-ship and land attack missiles, as well as a big 130mm cannon
H/PJ-38
The H/PJ-38 cannon is the main gun found on Type 052D destroyers and the might Type 055 cruiser. It fires 90kg shells at distances of over 30km, making it good not just for shore bombardment, but also for long range gunnery duels with enemy warships in a pinch
Kunming
The first 052D destroyer, the 7,500 ton Kunming, was launched in late 2013 and commissioned in March 2014 (its hull number, 172, was not painted on then). The 052D, a modern destroyer with better primary radars than current AEGIS warships, serves as the mainstay of the PLAN, and later the Directorate Navy
Holographic Ground Control Station
The Holographic Ground Control Station (GCS), displayed at the Zhuhai 2014 Airshow, allows for other personal to observe the drone pilot’s operations. A holographic control station on a major warship, like say the Type 055, creates an immersive but accessible way for commanders to get a grasp of the big picture without drowning in abstract data
Now thats backwards.. eh?
and THEY are making drones for war…
can you imagine how many war drones they can have
and with 10 million VR pilots on each…
nah… you cant…
if you could you would not ignore this!!!
VR Headsets put PLANAF Pilots into 3D
Right now, Chinese pilots use 3D headsets to train in a virtual reality (VR) enabled environment. As VR sets grow in capability, military personnel and hackers could use them not for practice, but as essential equipment for doing everything from calling in airstrikes to hacking enemy networks.
Jiaolong
The Jiaolong (Flood Dragon) is a 3-person deep sea submersible that can dive down to 7,500 meters below the ocean surface to investigate the seabed. The Directorate’s usage of deep sea submersible is actually the first step to the next great Pacific war.
Tiangong 3
This CGI of the Tiangong 3 space station shows three Tiangong space station modules, a Shenzhou manned module underneath and a Tianzhou automated resupply vehicle all docked together. Theoretically, the Tiangong 3 could be surreptitiously armed with an anti-satellite laser for a “space Pearl Harbor”.
and we rent rockets from russia and our NASA programs are outreach to ISLAM
nice. who converted to islam from what?
Kicking High – “Chinese exoskeleton”
This new Chinese exoskeleton is both strong and agile enough to support its wearer engaging in high side kicking, flexibility is a key requirement for infantry power armor. Directorate troops wear exoskeletons on the streets of occupied territory, giving them agile strength for carrying heavy weapons and sprint apprehend to errant NSM activists
ZH-05
The ZH-05 is China’s smart rifle, succeeding where the US Army’s OICW failed. With fancy sights, a programmable grenades set for directional fragmentation and airburst explosives, and a hard hitting 5.8mm rifle under the grenade launcher, the ZH-05 will give Directorate forces a high tech edge against any urban insurgent in the world
ZTZ-99A
The ZTZ-99A tank, is China’s most modern and heavily protected tank. While its 125mm main cannon is perfectly deadly against other tanks, its thick armor and planned remote weapons station makes it a contender for urban warfare in a pinch.
Thunderstorm
The Z-10, like other modern attack helicopters, carries a wide variety of missiles and rockets like the HJ-10 anti-tank missile, as well as its 23mm chain gun, which can spit out about 600 8oz shells a minute. While usually a land based attack helicopter, with the right amount of derring do and ingenuity, it can be based off a wide range of ships, naval or disguised civilian, for attacks from the sea.
Soaring Dragon
The high altitude, long endurance Soaring Dragon UAV uses a unique box wing design to reduce drag, thus increasing its fuel efficiency and flight time endurance. Its long flight time and high flight altitude makes it well suited to continuously patrol large areas of ocean surface for any suspicious or hostile activity
Stonefish
The DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (AShBM) is the breakout star of the Chinese anti-access arsenal. While the current DF-21D can only reach the western portions of the Pacific, hypersonic glider vehicles on future AShBMs descendants would extend their range well into at least the central Pacific
Robot Hunters
Team Grit’s Cogburn robot crawls into rubble and wreckage to look for survivors. While this DARPA Challenge entrant has benign purposes, Directorate forces in the future repurpose similar legged robots to hunt for insurgents in urban environments.
Quadcopter
China is already home to many of the world’s leading consumer drone builders, like DIY, not to mention a booming military robotics sector. As quadcopter drones get larger, cheaper and smarter, putting guns on them to hunt insurgents and other “bad actors” will be the next logical step.
SVU-200
This Ewatt Technology SVU-200 robot helicopter (designed by the American Fetters Aerospace) can carry 200 kg of payload while traveling at 209km per hour in the sky. What’s even more amazing is that it was displayed in Washington DC during a 2013 drone exhibition. In the future, the Directorate will use militarized one- and four-rotored cousins of the SVU-200 to monitor, and shoot at, enemies on Pacific islands.
there is over 100 more new items that they have
with factory manufacturing exceeding all of the US
their kids dont have remedial reading and puzzles in college
their left is communist and not agits for the US
our left is on their side thinking they will be heroes welcomed for defeating their own people (to which both russia and china see them as traitors, and will get that end)
in the 10 years been writing
they have modernized everything to be more than the US
what if every drone company in china was ordered to drop manufacturing of commercial drones and start pumping out combat drones for 20 million VR pilots to use?
what would the US do?
what would the convert do? change back?
Nice summary of future 4th or 5th gen tech, Art. Although some of us military sci fi readers are probably not all that surprised at the advancements in human tech. Or perhaps that was angel tech…
Owens talks about media hit-men, made me recall that several years ago, maybe around 2009 or so, Rush Limbaugh started calling the MSM the “drive-by media,” as in drive-by shootings.
Rubin had a bit of trouble in understanding that when she says she became “conservative” it was not as a matter of policy, it was as a matter of rejecting the side of evil, that destroys people without a thought, and affiliating with the side that tries to fight fair.
Oh Neo, I wish I had known you then.
Bless you Neo for posting this.
Most people will panic when they see this video is 1 hr. 25 min. DON’T!
PLEASE watch at least the first 15 minutes. This is a must and then you will see the possible need to watch this video.
Hey, there is the pause button. USE IT!
I’ve been mostly lurking here since 2006 or 2007. I read everything you wrote on Obama and after a very brief flirtation with “post racial” and “different”, I decided he was pretty much same old same old, just wrapped up in very different packaging. After coming to these realizations about the guy, I firmly landed on the knave side of your old query, fool or knave.
I guess I also classify myself as a political changer, but like you and Candace Owens, I was somewhat liberal, but not particularly ideological about it. I lived in Philadelphia since college and I registered Democrat (when you live in Philly, that’s what you do; the Republican party has no influence at all.) Most of my friends were vaguely liberal in the same way I was. The first time I noticed things (or people) changing was when one of my friends started taking issue with religious people (Christians, of course) criticizing society and it’s ills. She really just wanted them to not have the right to say anything. I had grown up with religious parents and most of the people I had known growing up were good Christians and they tried to practice what they preached. I grew apart from this friend for those and other reasons, but I never really looked back.
Shortly after that, 9/11 happened. Initially I liked the way Bush was handling the situation. He seemed decisive and in control and I was comfortable with how he was handling things. I hadn’t voted for him, but that was OK. Even after we went into Iraq, I felt as though he needed to be given the opportunity to finish the job. I recall getting a phone call from the Democratic party around this time and they asked me who I was voting for. I told them I was undecided. The person calling practically mocked me and said, “how can you possibly be undecided at this point”. I don’t recall my exact words, but I ended the call pretty quickly and that cemented my inclination to vote Bush.
During the Bush administration and during the Obama campaign, I lost my parents (Dad in 2005, Mom in 2008). One of my old friends invited me to her house for Thanksgiving. My boyfriend and I went and I had no expectations other than to sit down with an old friend and just have an enjoyable meal. Well, as you probably know, Thanksgiving now has to be filled with plenty of commentary on how terrible America has been to the Native Americans. I felt completely blindsided that a friend for years had turned into a person who felt the need to fill Thanksgiving dinner with a lecture on America’s sins. That never would have happened at my family Thanksgiving table. I just felt numb. I didn’t want to be an ungrateful brat, but all I wanted to do was leave. My boyfriend who is an immigrant (from Morocco) and not a citizen at the time, probably didn’t understand my feelings at the time. I just had this sense that gradually people I knew were changing and things that I never would have thought to make a big deal about were becoming a very big deal.
In the intervening years, I’ve moved back to my hometown, in the middle of PA (the part of PA between Philly and Pittsburgh that James Carville called “Alabama”). And that area has changed too. The changes are slower and there are still plenty of people who don’t buy into the progressive world view, but my oldest friend from childhood has gone hook, line, sinker to the progressive side. She hated/hates Trump and is following her 14 year old daughter down the SJW rabbithole, from what I can tell and has been to at least one protest (the pussy hat march) with the aforementioned daughter. Bear in mind, I think Trump is a fool in many ways and I voted third party, but I don’t really understand the hate.
What I’m finding about myself in contrast to my friends is that I’ve totally stopped buying into the way the media (the left, but I repeat myself) frames issues. If you buy into the assertion that conservatives hate black people, Muslims, gays, women, and view everything they do through that lens it’s almost impossible not to be a liberal. That’s why people like Candace (Dave Rubin, Dissent Report, and others) are important. They’ve managed to cut through the narrative I think they’re making a difference.
Thanks for tolerating my rambling, if it wasn’t obvious by now, I love your blog and I hope you keep writing. 🙂
Melissa:
Your story is of great interest to me. I, likewise, find it the case that in recent years there’s a lot more commentary about politics at social occasions, and usually it involves insults to the right and negativity about the US, and it’s more angry than I can remember.