Never discuss politics or religion...

[Q]

... in your family, as the saying goes. Would it improve Revleft?

Discuss.

[Angry Young Man]

How and why would it improve RL? People grow stronger in their arguments by opposition.

[Mumbles]

I agree that it helps strengthen your views, but one rule: you have to be independent of your family before you attempt it.

[9]

It seems to be working wonders for the admin team, so they might be the people to ask.

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

I always discussed politics and religion with my family. Thankfully none of them are religious or right-wing, obviously it's bad enough with social-democrats and all-

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I used to get into huge arguments w/my parents over politics and religion..and that was back when I was basically a liberal. My parents were never really religious, but they wanted me to be. It didn't work. Now I talk about socialist ideas w/them my parents basically agree w/me, as long as I have a coherent economic analysis.

If politics were banned from RL, what would be the purpose of the forum? On some of the threads with the nastiest sectarian fights I've actually learned the most.

I have a theory that RL isn't really for the members or posters. Few people change their positions (although it sometimes happens). Its more for the 1,000s of people looking for a way out of this system or people new to activism. They find RL, if only as lurkers, scan the threads. Whoever expresses themselves best on the various debates, has the most coherent arguments, gets the brownie points.

[BOZG]

I have a theory that RL isn't really for the members or posters. Few people change their positions (although it sometimes happens). Its more for the 1,000s of people looking for a way out of this system or people new to activism. They find RL, if only as lurkers, scan the threads. Whoever expresses themselves best on the various debates, has the most coherent arguments, gets the brownie points.

It's also for some of us who just can't quit. :P

[Q]

This thread has become an interesting social experiment: Typically threads in Chit-Chat can never be serious, serious topics always get derailed. Could the reverse also be true? This thread is living proof of that.

[ZeroNowhere]

I think that it would have been a better experiment if you did not just make the last post.

[Q]

I think that it would have been a better experiment if you did not just make the last post.

Yeah well, shit happens.

[Chimurenga.]

I talk to my parents about religion and politics sometimes. I'll even catch one of them make remarks, from time to time, that sounds (for lack of a better word) "socialistic". For example, a few weeks ago, my mother and I got into a conversation about leisure time. She mentioned that it's a shame that most Americans (at not any that we know) don't get enough time off of work and never have enough money to travel. Later on, we got talking more and she sounded really skeptical about Socialism. I told her that she sounded pretty much for it earlier, haha.

[Foldered]

My parents are pretty straightforward in their understanding of my positions. I wasn't brought up with a particular, overt bias. I wasn't baptised, even though the rest of my family had been, etc.

[NecroCommie]

My parents constantly debate on various topics with all of us kids. Politics, philosophy, interpitation of history, religion... None of these escalate into raging arguments though. We can keep it kind of civil even if our views range from born-again christian and a nationalist dad, to an atheist communist son.

[Stand Your Ground]

My family doesn't ever listen to me rant about politics.

And my mom is a crazy Christian so she doesn't wanna hear any anti religion rants.

[Tablo]

My family has gotten into screaming debates before on the basis that I am not religious and I am not Nationalistic. One Fourth of July I said "Fuck America" and my dad went crazy. It was pretty bad, haha.

[Crusade]

I discuss communism and such with my dad all the time. He's absolutely in love with Obama. I try to explain Anarchism or Socialism in general, but eventually he starts to get loss and doesn't wanna admit he's confused, and just starts saying "right...right". I've found it much easier to support policies little by little with him, instead of the whole package all at once. No one in my family is completely sold on Capitalism since we spent so much our lives in the inner city. Most of them seem to think the only difference between "left" and "right" is lower taxes and higher taxes. :confused: They're all hardcore christian though, but my ex was a Muslim. Them meeting each other was just...lovely. I'm a proud Idontknoworcaritarian though.

[StoneFrog]

Even though being born in South Africa and my parents coming from there, we are relatively ok with discussing politics and religion. I think also having lived in different countries within my life has made me and my family more open minded.

I discuss religion with my mother more she is the only one who goes to church every week, and i find she is the most receptive to any sort of religious discussion even if im denouncing the church. She believes we each have the choice of what we believe in thats what makes us human. My father has a very mixed political perspective, he still has some distorted outlook on the apartheid. On this issue we often have discussions, but i think we both have the respect of keeping politics separate of family relations. He doesn't support white supremacy but thinks that what has been replaced in South Africa is worse than the apartheid, so he'd rather go back to the apartheid.

Out side of my direct family i won't have political discussions, within my extended family i have right wingers. I don't talk to my extended family much but im not complaining.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I remember having an debate (not an argument, it wasn't very heated) with my mum and her then-boyfriend on the subject of anarchism. Of course I did badly because I was young and ignorant - they pulled the old "but how would people do without police?" gambit which I didn't have a snappy answer to.