5 ms·

I think the gastropod is basically on point. The democrats aren't beacons of virtue or rationality by any stretch of the imagination, but its a strange kind of

• insickness 7y ago
  A study at Dartmouth found that 45 percent of Democrats say they would be uncomfortable rooming with a Republican. Comparatively, only 12 percent of Republicans said rooming with a Democrat would make them uncomfortable. My anecdotal evidence bears this out. Progressives tend to be far more intolerant of opposing viewpoints than conservatives. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/majority-of-democrats-at-dartmouth-uncomfortable-living-with-roommate-who-disagrees-on-politics-poll-finds https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/majority-of-democrats-at-...
  • notJim 7y ago
    Well, one explanation for this would be that republican politics are actually much more morally repellent than democratic politics. My entire life, Republican politics have been defined by rejecting gay and transgender rights, cutting social services, demonizing immigrants and muslims, making it harder for people to vote and taking away abortion rights. Gee, why wouldn't someone want to hang out with someone who supports that lovely agenda?
    • SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
      If you're curious, there are lots of people who've written at length about why they hang out with and indeed support Republicans despite being in those categories. Peter Thiel and Marco Rubio would be two prominent examples if you're looking for recommendations.
    • Mountain_Skies 7y ago
      Maybe I'm older than you but Democrats have held many of those positions for a good portion of my life. They just generally don't hold them now though a sizable minority still do have at least a couple of those views.
      • the_gastropod 7y ago
        Yes, even Barack Obama was against gay marriage. We've come a long way. But since ~1968, the Democratic party has consistently lead the Republican party on social issues.
        • bart_spoon 7y ago
          Except there is still a double standard. For example, approximately the same number of black people are opposed to gay marriage as Republicans (52% vs 49%)[1], and yet only one of those groups gets consistently portrayed as homophobic and detestable. [1] https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/support-for-same-sex-marriage-isnt-unanimous/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/support-for-same-sex-ma...
          • the_gastropod 7y ago
            Being a Republican is a choice. Being black is not.
            • bart_spoon 7y ago
              Being in favor of gay marriage is a choice though
  • the_gastropod 7y ago
    Are you familiar with the paradox of tolerance? Historically, conservatives in the U.S. have been very intolerant of minorities—be they racial, sexual, gender identification, religious, or otherwise. It's not unreasonable to think people in these minority groups would be uncomfortable sharing a room with a person who is likely intolerant of an important aspect to who they are. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
    • zdragnar 7y ago
      Historically, the "conservatives" (if you're referring to the Republican party) was actually more tolerant. The abolitionist movement to end slavery, for one, and republicans supported the civil rights act more than the democrats did: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#By_party https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#By_... Yes, in all votes, by percentage, more democrats opposed the civil rights act than did republicans. Earlier, the progressive movement was founded on, among other things, eugenics (sterilization and abortion) of undesirable people, such as minorities and disabled. The progressive movement has since changed its tune. Minority groups clearly aren't using history to pick roommates they would feel comfortable with.
      • bobbydroptables 7y ago
        >Yes, in all votes, by percentage, more democrats opposed the civil rights act than did republicans. Yes I'm sure that's why all those Democrats are upset at tearing down Confederate/traitor statues... Definitely the same party.
        • zdragnar 7y ago
          In fact, it is the same party, but different people. I was responding to the idea that minorities were using history to choose their roommates, and how if that were the case, it would not be so clear cut.
          • 7y ago
  • stouset 7y ago
    I would find it uncomfortable being a roomate with an outspoken holocaust denier. A holocaust denier probably wouldn't find it uncomfortable being my roommate. I would wager this generalizes pretty well to holocaust accepters and deniers as a whole. Is the takeaway from this that holocaust deniers are more accepting people?
• SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
  The question isn't whether they're playing the same game. Indeed, it'd be surprising if they were, since the goals and principles of the two parties are often quite different. The question is whether "aha, that other party has decided to do the wrong thing rather than the right thing" is a helpful way to conceptualize the difference. As another reply to you has shown, it's very easy to find specific differences and elevate them to an all-encompassing explanation, if that's how you decide you want to look at things.