this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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Plenty!
Depending on whether you want to count family in there, and I do have family that are friends too (as well as friends that are family), a lot
See, I'm fairly radical left. Not so far as to suck Lenin's dick, but I could likely give a reach around to the one that is sucking it, if I stretch far enough.
So, here in the south, in the mountains, I have to drive to find leftists to shoot with.
That means most of my friends are what you would call liberals here in the US for sure, some that are more progressives. But people forget that there used to be "centrist" or "moderate" Republicans. Some of those are pretty damn open regarding civil rights, including even trans rights. My grandfather was like that; firmly in the free market, trickle down camp of economics (well, up until the last five years of his life, when he started leaning more moderate in that regard too), but hard core behind everyone having equal protection under the law, period.
That kind of Republican is called a RINO now. That's the way my dad is, but even he voted libertarian for president last year, democrat for everything else. Southerners can be weird like that.
It's the bible belt, So I have plenty of monotheist friends too, regardless of their political leanings. I have neopagan and wiccan folks that are close enough to friends that it counts for this.
My whole thing is about specifics. Bigotry is right out, I don't put up with it. But actual political stuff, as in how the government should be operated, how funds should be allocated, that kind of thing? It's more about why the hand the belief than what they believe. I can disagree with that kind of stuff and not dislike the person. I mean, I believe that when it comes to nothing minimizing corruption and maximizing human and civil rights, a democratically elected socialist government is going to be the best bet, but I'm not so arrogant as to assume I can't be wrong. So how can I reject otherwise good people just because they don't agree with that?
If someone is conservative, but limits that to their own lives, I got no beef. It's when they start trying to enforce it on others that I can't fuck with them. Unfortunately, when religious conservatives exist, and they're also monotheistic, that's the way they usually go. That sort of thinking precludes open mindedness to other ways of thinking, so it's rare to find folks to be friends with like that.