When I hear people say "I don't follow politics" I want to say

[bif]

"You better start following politics, because the politicians are all out to fuck you over!"

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I can barely stand the company of people who don't want to know what's going on.

[undeterred]

5. Yeah, but do you notice how much less stressed out they are?

I think its some sort of weird gift of stupidity.

[CleanGreenFuture]

6. Just wait 'til the fucking-over ends. They'll be stressed then. But it will be too late.

[pipi_k]

13. In all fairness, though...

there are people whose nervous systems just cannot handle the added stress, you know?

Or maybe they're dealing with extreme circumstances at home and politics is the last thing on their minds. I've been in that situation a few times. Dealing with panic disorder and depression, an actively alcoholic husband who didn't work, and trying to keep things together (two young children)...well, that sort of took up all my time and energy. I really did not give a rat's ass about anything other than trying to survive at the time.

I think it would be nice to find out why someone doesn't follow politics before judging that person. Or maybe the person just doesn't want to get into discussing personal business that keeps him/her from being interested in more than keeping themselves sane.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. I wish I didn't. I'd probably drink less.

[RZM]

3. Many non-voters would agree with that statement

And that might explain why they don't follow politics in the first place.

[razorman]

4. I especially despise people who don't vote, but still bitch about the way things are.

[CleanGreenFuture]

11. The first thing I do when I hear someone bitching about things is to ask them...

"Do you vote? Did you vote in the last election?"

If they say yes, the discussion continues.

If they say no, I tell them they have no say in the matter and explain to them that they gave up their say by not voting and whatever they have to say is irrelevant. They usually don't like that. Too bad.

[lynne]

7. I ALWAYS tell people that I don't follow politics -

- but I most certainly do. The reason I tell them that is because I don't want to discuss politics with them and that's an easy way to prevent/stop political discussions.

BUT, when I say I don't follow football, that's true. I just don't like that game.

[lunatica]

8. I say that too

I didn't used to but I do now. A few of them started following but the awakening can be extremely rude and shocking. They usually get scared and then depressed and sometimes they stop following because despair hits pretty quickly and they feel there's nothing they can do about it anyway.

[shanti]

9. i used to be one of them

until 2000, then i woke up. better to slowly wake up on your own than to be pushed out of bed forcefully, imo!

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. I aspire to apathy

It is apparent that none of the politicians in our fucked up government serve to advance or protect my needs and interests. And the only people that care about that are other people like me.

Why should I give a damn about politics? Or invest the least little bit of my time and attention?

I just might be far better off focuising my efforts on figuring out how to either survive here or get the fuck out of here.

[zalinda]

12. I'm seriously thinking about trying to take a break

from politics. I keep spinning into a depression, with just about every 'dem' decision Obama makes. The spineless dems in both houses offer no hope, and I'm tired of waking up feeling like the world is about to crash down on me everyday. Being poor and living on the edge, is stressful enough, but knowing that the dem party isn't doing anything that would help me back away from edge is depressing.

And, the thing is, I'm not only worried about myself (at least I have a roof over my head, for now) it's all those people who are also living on the edge, but are not seeing the warning signs. And, the generations to come who will end up in abject poverty because the safety nets are being dismantled before our very eyes, and we can't do a damn thing about it.

zalinda

[mdmc]

15. Try this little trick my friend

give up msm..

I still listen to npr, and I will read the CSM on line.. And I read DU.

But give up the scream fest TV crap. Ain't nothing on except the comics.

[elocs]

16. Well the right listens to their talking heads who get them all worked up

and we on the left have exactly the same. Each side fervently believes their talking heads are giving them the absolute truth. They all just preach to their respective choirs.

Myself, I don't watch or listen to any of the commentators or talking heads that so many here are absolutely gaga about all the time.

[zalinda]

17. I don't watch any MSM

I was a big dem supporter. I even defended Bill, to my uncle that NAFTA was a good thing. Obama is worse than Clinton, and I'm afraid that it's going to get worse. Maybe 1% of the politicians are honest, the rest are only in it for the money. I hate what this country has become, but I am stuck here.

I can understand that giant strides can't be done, and it's only baby steps. The problem is that those baby steps are in the WRONG direction. Obama is wrong about economics, and it is killing us, one poor person at a time.

zalinda

[mdmc]

14. people don't follow politics cause politicians always fuck them over

People who have it good will have it good no matter who wins the election.
People who have it bad will always have it bad no matter who wins the election.

[Octafish]

18. Tell 'em what Plato said...

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

and its variant:

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

[saras]

19. "Yes you do. They drag you around by the nose all the time. You're just ignorant of it."

[Morizovich]

20. "Oh, I don't watch the news: It's too depressing."

Ostriches!

[ThomWV]

21. They will tell you they don't keep up with politics, but then watch FOX all day long

Brainswashed.

[Urban Prairie]

22. My spouse has had very little interest in our political system, until recently, that is

when after watching the nightly news this month, it finally dawned on her that, yup, there is something very scary and distressing going on in DC, and she has become (quite understandably) very worried and upset b/c we are both completely dependent on my monthly SSD check. She used to complain to me occasionally when she noticed the sometimes large amounts of time I have spent online keeping up to date and current, but now all of a sudden, she wants me to "get her completely up to speed" on whats going on. Sorry, but it doesn't really work that way, so I just offer her a few tidbits here and there to absorb, mostly to placate her and calm her down, even though as we all know, there still is good reason to be very worried and concerned, and if I told her the worst of what is happening, it would obviously just make her that much more upset.