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On either side of the spectrum, many people associate with a particular brand of politics as part of their identity. Political strategists are smart, and quite
by dfee 6y ago
On either side of the spectrum, many people associate with a particular brand of politics as part of their identity. Political strategists are smart, and quite literally divvy up these groups and build a coalition in a process called “tent building”.
Now, I’ve met and talked with plenty of folk who confuse their identity with their political party. Definitely happens on both sides - as I saw growing up in Oklahoma, and now see in the Bay Area.
The point is, people feel (not wrongfully) uncomfortable when their identity is “threatened” by people who represent themselves with a brand of politics that is oppositional to the one that markets to them.
Now I’ve found that when you share your beliefs, and they aren’t founded on identity politics, then it can ease up the feelings of threat and opposition you’re sure to face.
Alternatively, don’t talk about politics - the simpler method. Having always been a bit of a political outsider, I learned early on that proselytizing others is both counterproductive and alienating.
- danharaj 6y ago> The point is, people feel (not wrongfully) uncomfortable when their identity is “threatened” by people who represent themselves with a brand of politics that is oppositional to the one that markets to them. Do you have specific examples?
- dfee 6y agoSure. Go to a Ducks Unlimited banquet and tell folks you’re a Democrat and they may contextualize gun control as your agenda. Tell your Bay Area colleagues you’re a Republican and you’ll be contextualized as close minded. Tell people you’re unaffiliated and they’ll often see you as an antagonist to their pet causes. Don’t tell people anything, and they usually won’t put up a guard.
- danharaj 6y agoNo no, those are hypothetical. What's happened to you?
- dfee 6y agoYou don’t get to arbitrate what has and has not happened to me. What sort of oddball remark was this? Funny story about that banquet though. A guy at my table paid a few hundred dollars in a silent auction thinking that he was bidding on a gun. He was actually bidding on a lottery ticket for a gun. His wife was unhappy with his mistake. He did win a duck call alongside the lottery ticket IIRC. This was in NW Arkansas and was a part of a crawfish boil. Definitely not the Bay Area.
- karatestomp 6y ago> Sure. Go to a Ducks Unlimited banquet and tell folks you’re a Democrat and they may contextualize gun control as your agenda. Tell your Bay Area colleagues you’re a Republican and you’ll be contextualized as close minded. That's just... assuming you more-or-less support the planks/stances/actions of party you've just told them you consider yourself affiliated with. Where's the identity part come in?
- michaelt 6y agoMany people don't support 100% of their party's policies - they just agree with them on the 2 or 3 things that are really important to them. This is a normal state of affairs in a two-party system. For example, maybe I really like my party's stance on abortion and energy policy; I'm indifferent to their stances on farm subsidies, gun control, and immigration; and I feel their stances on trans rights and corruption could be improved a fair bit. That would mean, when I meet someone from a different party, we could actually agree on a great many issues.
- TulliusCicero 6y ago> I’ve met and talked with plenty of folk who confuse their identity with their political party. What do you mean by "confuse"? What if their political party/orientation is an important part of their identity?
- invalidOrTaken 6y agoIt very much can be, you're right, but I think grandparent is taking it for granted (and I agree that it should be) that this is a smallish, petty identity, unworthy of containing a human soul.
- TulliusCicero 6y agoThat seems awfully judgy. If you think a political party is unworthy of contributing to one's identity, I shudder to think what you'd say about me identifying as a Starcraft player.
- invalidOrTaken 6y agoI'm a Starcraft player too. But I am not just a Starcraft player, and neither are you.
- bena 6y agoIt can be, but it kind of should be the other way around. Your identity and your values should inform what political party you should belong to. Your political party shouldn't inform your identity. There should be things you disagree with your party about.
- TulliusCicero 6y agoI mean, being a proud Democrat or Republican doesn't mean you agree with your party in 100% of issues.
- driverdan 6y agoThen they should rethink their priorities. Ideals are far more important than party affiliation.