I've been having a lengthy argument on facebook with a former neighbor

[coeur_de_lion]

Over the nonsense she posts on facebook. This lady, who I always thought was pretty cool and cared about the important things in life,, has said the following:

". . . . thank you for your concern and I am sure it is genuine. I am frightened by the shredding of our constitutional rights and the Orwellian environment. The dangers to our unborn are increasing. If I am programmed it is to love this country and our freedoms. It is because I have the best little girl in the world to raise that I feel the need to protect what is being attacked. I like what I post and until God changes my heart I will continue."

Where on earth do people get this nonsense?

This is in response to my comments about a post of hers that depicted the president as someone who wants to take away everyone's guns because he has some evil underlying motive.

I feel bad but I think she's got to come off my facebook friends list. And that my open invitation to come over any time should be rescinded . . . .

I am just so frustrated that people can be so dense! Even people that I really like!

[Sherman A1]

1. Simply hide her posts

and the problem is solved.

Life is just too short.

[PeaceNikki]

2. "The dangers to our unborn are increasing..." UM... what?

She wants to arm fetusus?

Defriend or ignore the asshole.

[dballance]

3. Unfriend Her and Be Done With It

You don't need that crap. You'll never change her opinion. She's apparently listening to FOX.

[calimary]

17. Yeah. 'Fraid that's what you probably need to do at this point.

I was abruptly unfriended on Facebook during the last campaign, after we started getting into some hotly contentious arguments. And when I noticed a few months later that I was invited to friend-up again, I didn't react. I was in no hurry to have tirades of anger and verbal abuse rained down on me for asking that the vitriol not be posted on my page. (Sheesh! How dare I have the gall to demand the last word regarding what's posted on MY page!) Eventually the friend request was canceled by the sender. I was sorry to see that whole misadventure play out, because we'd been friends for a long time. But that's how it went.

Sigh...

You win some, you lose some, I guess.

[coeur_de_lion]

20. I guess that is where we are headed

I am still trading emails with her but the next step is to remove her.

[bigwillq]

4. Ah, unfriend her and get on with your life.

Pretty simple.

[Marrah_G]

5. You can't argue or reason with people like that

Especially on something like facebook

[rightsideout]

6. Ditch her

It's simple to do. Or if you want to keep her on as a Friend turn off her notifications and you won't see her nonsense posted anymore.

You can't argue with these fools.

I have plenty of responses to shoot back at her including Bush's Patriot Act but these people are so dense it's not worth it.

[southernyankeebelle]

7. Why do you stress yourself out with people like this. You can't reason with stupid.

They don't know how to deal with facts. Your best stress relief is to de-friend her. There just comes a time you can't take it and you need not be stressed.

[johnnypneumatic]

8. Orwellian?

People who haven't read "1984" shouldn't be allowed to use the word Orwellian.
Right wingers have a totalitarian mentality. Doublespeak and doublethink are how their brains work.

[marions ghost]

13. good point

[JaneyVee]

9. Keep her around and keep inviting her over for coffee/tea while having political discussions.

Then keep debunking her nonsense with facts, logic, & reason.

[bluestate10]

10. Really? The neighbor sounds two steps from irrational. Having a person like that over

for tea and cookies could be a gross mistake. Insanity can't be reasoned with.

[JaneyVee]

12. Yeah but unfriending could lead to all types of awkwardness when you see the person again.

[SMC22307]

11. "If I am programmed..."?

Sounds like GlennBeckian nonsense. Hannity, perhaps? I'd ask her to be specific re: the "Orwellian environment" -- that could be a *fun* discussion.

Too much brainwashing from Corporate Media, elected officials, and the pulpit. Sigh.

[calimary]

18. Welcome to DU, SMC22307!

Glad you're here. glennbeckian thinking from the place known as Dumbfuckistan.

[SMC22307]

24. Thanks! Dumbfuckistan, indeed.

[calimary]

39. LOVE IT! That's a keeper!

Thank you for posting it, SMC22307!

Yes. Dumbfuckistan indeed. Now, moree than ever.

[coeur_de_lion]

22. Trying to figure out just where it came from

Corporate Media, elected officials, or the pulpit . . . . or just some of her conservative church friends. She's very active in her church. I once went to a movie with them and was distinctly uncomfortable. Nice ladies but a few times they came out with some weird stuff.

I do feel sad, because she was nice to me when I needed a friend a few years ago. I'm holding my finger over the "unfriend" checkbox and have not done it yet.

[SMC22307]

25. If it's bothering you, can't you keep her as a friend...

but restrict her access to your page?

I have a neighbor who sounds similar to your friend. We are POLAR opposites as far as religion and politics, but similar in other ways, and would help each other out in a heartbeat. We did have a blowout over the "Eye-raq" War but managed to find our peace since then. Well, mostly. She's now caught up in the 2A frenzy thanks to Teabagger family and Bible-and gun-totin' Baptists at her church. Not sure I have the energy to get into it with her... again...

[bigwillq]

26. Hello

Welcome to DU!

[SMC22307]

28. Thank you, bigwillq.

Good to be here.

[marions ghost]

14. These people are everywhere

--easy to think it's only the "stupid." Plenty of smart people are buying the kool-aid. Smart people are not always wise.

An older guy tried to talk to me the other day in the line at the PO. He was friendly and nosing around the political fringes. I could tell he was a Fox zombie. He said, "we need 3 political parties." I agreed and said "we have the right and the middle well represented, so we really need a left party." His head exploded and if we didn't have to leave the line, I'm sure he would have retorted something about Obama being a flaming socialist.

These people are all around us and we who live in liberal enclaves need to understand how brainwashed they are. The rightwing noise machine is doing a great job polarizing the country.

[coeur_de_lion]

15. Yeah that's the point

She isn't completely stupid. She's just stupid enough to post this stuff on facebook.

My own sister unfriended me last year because I was happy that Obama won. And I told her to stop posting nonsense (she was upset that he used Air Force One to fly to a campaign stop).

About 60% of my family are rabid Republicans. One sister is a one-issue voter -- abortion. The rest of them think Obama is Muslim, or communist, etc etc.

I never heard this kind of stuff about Clinton when he was president. Even through the Monica Lewinsky nonsense they all kept their mouth shut.

I think some of this is a form of prejudice. Bigotry that no one is willing to admit to.

[marions ghost]

19. Prejudice yes, for sure--but also they are looking for someone to blame

for whatever is not right in their lives. They are told day in and day out that the problem is the liberal (they think that means socialist) agenda. They can't figure out who they should really blame...

These smart but delusional right wingers really do live in a completely different world. It is so surreal to experience the gap between them and us. And sad that families and friends are splitting because of artificial, political/corporate manufactured lies. It's true in my family too.

I'm sticking with Sanity not Hannity.

[musical_soul]

36. I remember Clinton drama....

I remember people making a big deal out of Clinton's supposed stance on abortion, calling him a baby killer and claiming he was for abortion right up to the ninth month.

I remember the drama of Clinton's supposed body count. He couldn't get away with an affair, but he got away with a bunch of murders? lol.

Today, the new thing is to claim Hilary Clinton is gay as if that's bad. lol.

[Hekate]

16. I look at it like this: I talked/felt like that in the Bush administration years

It's not irrational -- it's a point of view. Do you see what I mean, at all?

My advice: Be kind. Don't talk politics with her any more, period. Leave her FB posts alone.

[marions ghost]

21. Be kind?

The world according to Fux and Rush is NOT an irrational point of view?

[patrice]

32. +1 wise words.

[emulatorloo]

23. Once they are "Hannitized" they are lost causes.

[marions ghost]

38. Right, Fox Zombies ....

it's sad, but friends and relatives need to abandon all hope. These people, especially if older--rarely change. You just end up bashing your head against a wall.

Best to grieve, and move on.

[dkf]

27. That is contradictory...worried about shredding our rights and then

Talking about the "unborn"? She seems to be the one ready to shred the constitution.

It amazes me how people can't see their own inconsistencies.

[abelenkpe]

29. Your friend sounds like my mother

My father, my brother, my uncle, my nephew and nieces, my SIL, my aunt.....

And yes I unfriended them and happily live 3200 miles away from their every increasing insanity. You can't reason with people who are thinking as your friend and my relatives do. You will drive yourself to tears. I know. I've tried. Best to just stay far away if possible.

So sorry though. I know it's painful.

[patrice]

30. Orwellian, the new handi-dandy all-purpose intellectual buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz word. nt

[RKP5637]

31. There was a time in life when I thought people in many ways were pretty much the

same, at least in the US, if one could bridge the gap, find common ground and all of that.

I've come to learn there are just hopeless cases. It's just too damn frustrating, and generally the ones with the lame brain walk off into the sunset feeling unchanged, good about their lameness (not knowing how DUH they are), and the rest of us walk off frustrated.

So, more and more, I just say fuck it, life is just too short.

[Me.]

33. She's Trouble With A Cool Face

Un friend her and lock your door.

[coeur_de_lion]

41. Thanks for chiming in Me.

After a few more emails back and forth I'm inclined to agree.

[Me.]

43. Anything For You

[treestar]

34. "our unborn"

Why are these people never worried about the already born?

[coeur_de_lion]

42. I know! I know! I know!

Christ on a cracker, why is it okay with them if we kill hundreds of thousands of innocents in Iraq, thousands of our own boys, but abortion is not okay?

I'm Catholic and don't officially "approve" of abortion but I will always support a woman's right to choose. Why wouldn't anybody?

[musical_soul]

35. I've lost so many facebook friends over politics.....

It makes me realize who was never my friend at all. It makes me think they can't handle an opinion other than their own.

OTOH, I have friends of the opposite political persuasion on facebook who like me for who I am, and I appreciate them very much. One of them posts anti-Obama, anti-Democrat stuff on a regular basis. That's okay, I'm always bitching about Republican politics on my wall and he puts up with me. Sometimes, I just have to ignore bs that is just too full of bull.

Too many friendships are broken up over politics.

[aptal]

37. I just ignore most my friends political comments.

I have some family memebers and friends I love dearly but we don't agree on everything. As is life.

[MineralMan]

40. Why waste your time that way?

Just unfriend the person and move on. It's liberating.

[Taverner]

44. Methinks the drones

Granted, I don't think Obama will abuse them (and hasn't)

But future Presidents WILL