I had one friend left...We don't talk much but I think of him often....

[Boxerfan]

He called today. Out of the blue as they say & I was very happy to hear from him & catch up.....I'm fairly private & I just have not made any true friends since I moved years ago.

And you probably can guess the rest. He asked if I was still a Democrat. I saw where it was headed but the crash came anyway.

I know the problem. He's been saturated by Faux I'm sure-and RW radio as he's a work outdoor all day kinda guy. And he really has no clue -he is a very nice guy who would feed you very well or help you move.

I've known him since High School & we were best friends for 30+ years. I had my life he had his-but I always hoped he would visit & we could reminisce over a nice doobie.

Now He's gone to the fodder of the masses.

Hung up on me while I tried explaining he was a actor-and would promise any damn thing he thought you wanted to hear. And I'm not going to try as why-the brainwashing is pretty much a nail in the coffin of any future between us.

And I fucking hate this damn us vs. them crap they have foisted on us. News should be factual and that is all. Period full stop and the Fairness doctrine would be a necessary step if we ever make it forward after this crisis.

Goodbye Mugs-I already missed you.

[Laffy Kat]

1. That smarts.

Sorry it happened. I've reconnected and then disconnected with some childhood friends via Facebook. There's only so much you can take, but it still hurts.

[SharonAnn]

37. Why did he bring up politics? He wanted something. Just don't play with him.

You haven't lost a meaningful friend. You've lost an enemy.

[Jim Beard]

2. Blame the us v. them on Reagan and FOX news.

Does Fox even Report on anything besides politics. It seems as though CNN has been all politics all day.

I have a CBS app on my TV and they have been sticking with the news. Not going to abandon CNN but other things are happening. Course I guess I could read it.

[Phoenix61]

3. I'm so sorry

And completely agree about the fairness doctrine.

[catbyte]

4. I'm sorry. It seems to be happening to all of us. I had to cut off a guy I've known since I was

12 for the exact same reason. I've also lost Facebook & Twitter "friends", but this one hurt. I do miss him occasionally, but I sure don't miss the pro-Dolt 45*, hate-filled rant he laid on me. Life's too damned short.

Again, I'm sorry.

[caroldansen]

5. Be of good cheer. As soon as we win this fight and the dems are back in power you will be friends

Again.

[HipChick]

6. 25yr friendship tossed away..

She's prob going to lose her eyesight, very few health care choices..Faux News Feeder..

reached out quite a few times, but now given up..

[brooklynite]

7. Fox isn't to blame...your friend is.

Fox News doesn't ensnare open-minded people and convert them to conservative xenophobes. People who are conservative xenophobes gravitate to Fox News because it reinforces the biases and beliefs they already have.

[es466]

8. Your comment nails it! Thank you!

[Hortensis]

21. So agree people are responsible for selves.

But Fox and their like are also very much to blame. They know all about these weaknesses and use very sophisticated techniques to target and turn those on the right, and some on the far left, with lies designed just for them.

100% for each?

No confrontations with conservative friends here, trying to keep the door open, though just earlier tonight I was imagining what I would say if I told the truth. One truth is, I don't want to see them and mostly don't. I'm awake at this hour because I woke up and started thinking about climate change.

[uponit7771]

34. +1, faux news preys on those weaknesses

[butdiduvote]

9. I'm sorry this disastrous election hurt your friendship.

One of the reasons I most dreaded a Trump win was I knew I could never associate with those who supported him again. If he lost, yeah, I would have thought their support was despicable, but I could have forgiven. Now I'm not sure I ever can. Fuck Trump for ruining so many relationships like this.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

10. It is terrible... destroying friendships

that destroys our trust in each other... it destroys this country.

[lunasun]

11. Hung up on you didn't want to discuss or debate . If he knew you were a democrat why bring up

something that would divide?
Life is too short for bullshit be it on TV or an old acquaintance trying to stir up division
Yes the fairness doctrine but authoritarian types love propaganda so not in the near future

You can always remember him fondly from the good old days. Memories are good and sometimes best left at that

[sarah FAILIN]

12. sorry for your loss

You are not alone. This monster has put a lot of us in your shoes.

[Midnight Writer]

13. Just heard from an old friend of 50 years. He doesn't "get political", but...

He thinks Trump, as an outsider, can shake things up and change stuff. (Pretty much the Trump campaign in a sentence)

I had to laugh out loud when he said he doesn't watch news, he only listens to Sean Hannity. He actually said "Sean is a straight shooter".

[Missn-Hitch]

24. Sean Hannity. Damn. One thing I realize about these right wing bobble heads -

if I am ever financially devastated, I will either become a preacher or a right wing blow hard. It's such an easy field to get into and profitable.

[Midnight Writer]

39. Funny, I remember staying with my demented 90-year old Dad, and he hated that phony Hannity.

That was a regular topic he would go off on. As mentally damaged as he was, Dad could point out a dozen "tells" that phony Hannity had.

I can't believe the working class folk I know that buy into this Hannity crap.

[Missn-Hitch]

40. I enjoy hearing stories about our elders that are "woke". It makes me smile. Cheers.

[True Dough]

26. He's closer to "fake news" than anything Trump describes as "fake news"

Sean Hannity: ‘I’m Not A Journalist. I’m A Talk Show Host.’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sean-hannity-not-a-journalist_us_570fc4f3e4b0ffa5937e6cd2


I get that people can confuse him with a real journalist. That's surely what they want folks to believe.

[vlyons]

14. Sorry for your sadness

Everyone has to follow their own path. Your old friend is probably filled with anger and fear about all the changes that are disrupting his life. If you ever get the chance to talk to him again, perhaps you can suggest that politics is off-limits. Some people are all wrapped up in identifying with Trump. He symbolizes something that we cannot understand. Maybe it's fear of immigrants, or Moslems or women or gays. Who knows what? But they have been fear-mongered for years. When we criticize Trump, they perceive it as a very personal attack on their values and beliefs and ego.

It's always disappointing and heart breaking to fall out with old friends. But that's what happens to us in life. We get our hearts broken by the ones we love, because people just are not perfect. Not by our definition of perfect. So we develop compassion, because they are unhappy and ignorant and fearful.

[murielm99]

15. I am sorry.

My husband just lost a friend because of this. The guy voted for Hillary, but has gone off the deep end about immigration, illegal aliens, and a few other things. He will not see this friend again. They met nearly every day for coffee.

It is hard. I am sad for you.

[frankieallen]

16. Well, that's just terrific, now you have no friends. You take politics too seriously if it costs you

all your friends.
you still have to live in the world.

[lunasun]

18. Hey the other guy hung up on him. Who is taking it too seriously?

[putitinD]

28. sounds like the other guy was trying to pick a fight, calling and asking, "are you still a Democrat"

and when he wasn't able to defend Trump, he chose to hang up. Good Riddance!

[lunasun]

32. and now the trumper has one less friend ! Why blame the OP who obviously was not instigating this?

I agree. The trumper was looking for a fight and only wanted to win it
Friends don't ask for submission or else

[putitinD]

33. not really a friend then.

[Missn-Hitch]

22. What? The OP takes it too seriously?

Are you the guy "that goes along"?

The only people I tolerate is family because they are ignorant. If they aren't blood, then get the f**k out of here with that fascist wannabe bulls**t.

They want a fight, bring it on. Like Judge Smails says in Caddyshack, "WELL! - We're waiting."

I'd rather die alone pursuing truth than surrounded by a bunch of s**t-for-brains claiming to be my "friend".

Tell us about living in the world.

[Motownman78]

27. Yes, but the problem with "truth"

Is that what we consider to be true is based mostly on our perspectives. The blue collar workers see factories closing, and perceived that the cause was bad trade deals and illegal immigration. Never mind the fact that since 1990, US Manufacturing has increased by 70% in value of goods produced.

[Missn-Hitch]

29. I wish I had more f**ks to give for those folks. I don't.

Just give me my tax cut. My life is half over (hopefully and presuming I can go another 45). Time to be selfish. They have assaulted my empathy.

Maybe we should divide the country in half. Easy thought experiment. Half of the country will be run by Obama and half by the Executive Producer of The Apprentice. 2 years to relocate and each household will be issued a 10K check to help with expenses. Ready, set, go.

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. Willfully ignorant then and that's their problem. Not an excuse for screwing the rest of us over.

[AgadorSparticus]

17. Sorry for your loss. 30+ yrs is a long time. That must be hard.

[orleans]

19. it's not the news that's to blame. it's him

when i was 12 years old i fell madly in love with a boy who was 14. the first love of my life. he was a little shy, kinda funny, and absolutely beautiful. and the best part was that he liked me!

we were together for a few months and then his dad was transferred. so he moved from a chicago suburb to the south. and my heart was broken.

the boy would come back and visit his friends and visit me through the years. he was still shy, still kinda funny and still beautiful.

during our last visit he made some major racist comments and i saw him in a completely different light. it was then that i realized that if i had just met him we would *never* be friends--that he was absolutely *not* someone i would want to know. my liberalism and his white crackerjack bullshit were polar opposites.

i cherish the memory of him as a young kid, and how he made me feel.

it's too bad he turned out the way he did.

i'm sorry this guy treated you that way. you obviously cherished the friendship you had with him and i'm sure you still cherish it. but he's not the person he was or the person you thought he was. maybe keep that in mind when you get down about it. he's not necessarily someone you'd want to know anymore.

[world wide wally]

20. The Republican meme is divide and conquer and winning elections is the ONLY thing that matters

[Missn-Hitch]

23. Thanks for sharing. You are not alone. Cheers.

[NBachers]

25. When you see a familiar and beloved face in the horde of zombies clutching toward you . . .

[tblue37]

31. Perfect analogy! nt

[Boxerfan]

35. Thanks all----It wasn't a long discussion but I thought the actor part would take.

Of course he knew my Mom & she was an actress at heart. I grew up to show tunes & other stagecraft. I was hoping to relate to her ability to charm while stabbing. But that probably would not work as very few ever noticed-that is how good actors do it....

I've lost most of my friends to age. And it was a small group to begin with I'm something of a luddite & do not care for facebook or cell phones. Mugs-my friend- is actually my prime example of why I hate them. He had a early brick and after a 1/2 hour hike to a fishing spot he starts calling people to brag about where he is. This was Striped Bass fishing on the beach of SF & very tide/ time critical. I grumbled I wanted him to get fishing or his phone would go fishing...

Anyhow-I hate this & I know I can't get through.

And he called for validation. I lived in the Canal district of san Rafael Ca. & it was the Hispanic neighborhood-guess he figured I would be for the deportation or something-I never got far enough to explain the employers were the real criminals.

And I'm all for tariff's & bringing back manufacturing-he knows that. NMP45 was very astute to use that as a campaign issue-we should have owned that 20+ years ago.

But I never got there....Thanks again-I needed to vent & it is so sad this is very common nowadays.

[trof]

36. I'm right there with you.

He was the best man at my wedding.
I don't want to be around him any more.

[Mendocino]

38. I had to do the same

a few months back. The RW rhetoric grew very annoying. Haven't spoke since and probably never will.

It happens, we move on.