Shitty Friends

[The Red Next Door]

Have you ever had shitty friends or comrades?

[RedStarOverChina]

I'm friend with a dumb-as-shit Calvinist Christian who constantly tries to convert me who is also very cheap. The only reason we remain is because he's my first friend in highschool.

[Veg_Athei_Socialist]

I've had a friend that turned shitty. He was a moderate that gradually became more right wing and annoying with time. He kept saying leftists were idiots and all kinds of weird shit. I am no longer friends with him.

[Sam_b]

I'm a shitty friend.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Not really. Most of my friends are pretty cool.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

I have a friend in the army, which is a bit weird, some liberal friends and people that were friends but are racist/fascist. It has to be said that I did lose friends due to political differences, its hard to stay friends with people who are polar opposite politically.

[The Red Next Door]

I'm a shitty friend.

you deserve to die.

[Sam_b]

I don't understand. Past tense?

[ContrarianLemming]

I knew someone in secondary school (or high school if your from the colonies) who seemed cool, but it turned out he was conservative and wanted to join to Irish Airforce, at which point he was no longer cool.
Still friends with him, we joke about him being a class traitor, he ain't cool, but he ain't quite shitty either :)

[DaComm]

Have you ever had shitty friends or comrades?


:laugh: Half of my friends are inherently shitty because they are lazy, selfish, stupid, you name it. I'm even friends with them because I hope to make them more like me. Political evangelisim if you will.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Oh, we're talking about politics? In that case almost all of my friends are shitty.

I don't really consider politics when it comes to friends, though. I have friends who couldn't give a shit about communism but would still help me dispose of a body. :thumbup1:

[Invincible Summer]

I'm a pretty bad friend as I'm fairly flakey :(.

Lots of my friends are libertarians, one of them is a devout Catholic and is almost as bad as the Religious Right. They know I'm a strong atheist and communist, but they always talk shit about the left as if I'm not there and when I talk back, they drop the subject and offer up terrible arguments. I guess they're sort of insensitive.

Also, another one of my friends is an arrogant ass who brags all the time about his accomplishments, even if they're not too great. He's a bit of an attention whore.

Finally, my gay friend seems to think that just because he's gay he's "progressive" and he is really condescending towards people who drink alcohol (including me).

[DaComm]

I'm a pretty bad friend as I'm fairly flakey :(.

Lots of my friends are libertarians, one of them is a devout Catholic and is almost as bad as the Religious Right. They know I'm a strong atheist and communist, but they always talk shit about the left as if I'm not there and when I talk back, they drop the subject and offer up terrible arguments. I guess they're sort of insensitive.

Also, another one of my friends is an arrogant ass who brags all the time about his accomplishments, even if they're not too great. He's a bit of an attention whore.

Finally, my gay friend seems to think that just because he's gay he's "progressive" and he is really condescending towards people who drink alcohol (including me).


Wow, with the exception of the alcohol bit at the end your social situation resembles mine somewhat. Espcially with Mr. Attention.

[9]

Oh, we're talking about politics? In that case almost all of my friends are shitty.

I don't really consider politics when it comes to friends, though. I have friends who couldn't give a shit about communism

I was going to say this. I have plenty of friends with horribly reactionary political views, and I love them to death.

[Invincible Summer]

I was going to say this. I have plenty of friends with horribly reactionary political views, and I love them to death.

It's hard to like my friend when he goes on racist rants about how Muslims needs to be "dealt with" or else they will eradicate us.


I don't get how some people can not think about politics w/ their friends, as I see politics as an expression of one's values.

[Il Medico]

I have plenty of friends with horribly reactionary political views, and I love them to death.
This. Most of my friends are liberals of some sort or another. Wouldn't change them for the world.

I remember I got one of my best friends to come here last year, she said that this place was full of insanely intellectual people and she couldn't understand half of what we were babbling on about. :lol:

[Il Medico]

I don't get how some people can not think about politics w/ their friends, as I see politics as an expression of one's values.
Politics and people whom you care about don't tend to mix. I was hanging out with a girl I've been friends with since high school last week and she said something rather reactionary and I just destroyed her in the brief argument that followed. It created this really awkward uncomfortable feeling for quite a while, I've been cursing my self for getting political with her since, though she seems to have forgotten about it rather quickly, thankfully. I feel I was unnecessarily harsh and thus I still feel bad about it. But if she wasn't my friend I probably would have been harsher so, idk.

[black magick hustla]

idk i have friends who ramble a lot about jews and i have friends who want to stone homosexuals to death and who think the situation the natives are in is oik because they lost i dont really befriend people because of politics

[Blackscare]

I have a fair number of friends into similar politics as myself, and a larger number of just generally openminded people I hang out with. Most are just basically jaded and nihilistic, so they don't really give a shit about arguing for the state or capitalism or against jews or any other such nonsense.

Now, convincing them its worth it to pursue activism is also insanely difficult.

[mollymae]

I have one shitty friend who only respects people if he has something to gain from it. He also describes himself as an "anti-philanthropist" because "people need to learn to be responsible for themselves". Also, in regards to the Gulf oil spill, he once said something along the lines of "all they need to do is turn it off". :laugh:

I still like to hang out with him though, so he must have redeeming qualities that I'm just not focusing on or something.

[9]

I don't get how some people can not think about politics w/ their friends, as I see politics as an expression of one's values.

I know plenty of people who are good people who have bad politics. I guess I just don't feel the need to examine and approve of my friends' "values". I also have politically active friends with ideas close to my own, but I've found that the quality of the friendship isn't actually necessarily any better because of this.

[leftace53]

All my friends are shitty.

From a political perspective, I know of one comrade, but he doesn't really talk to me unless he wants a threesome, or any sort of good hedonistic time. The others are either liberals or liberals (I don't befriend conservatives). However I have an ex in the army, I guess theres a reason he's an ex.

Friend wise, my best friend from high school decided to dwindle down the amount talking to me after we graduated. Then he got a girlfriend, and decided to ignore me completely. Most of my friends generally just like hanging out with me when they want to party, and as fun as that is, it gets old, fast.

[Invincible Summer]

I know plenty of people who are good people who have bad politics. I guess I just don't feel the need to examine and approve of my friends' "values". I also have politically active friends with ideas close to my own, but I've found that the quality of the friendship isn't actually necessarily any better because of this.

Was that a passive-aggressive jab at me? :(

I'm not trying to say that friends with compatible politics would make better friends, but rather that the discourse behind the political views that people have can bleed into other parts of one's life.

I guess I'm just a douchebag, but it's hard to be friends with someone who wouldn't be friends with me if I were gay or black or something.

[Raúl Duke]

i dont really befriend people because of politics

This...I've develop some tolerance over time. Actually it's good for you, to see how some self-described conservatives think.

I laughed it all off, I just find life to be some absurd joke I guess.

[FreeFocus]

I don't really develop close relationships with apolitical people or people whose politics I outright abhor. I agree with Helios that politics are an expression of one's values. Moreover, I tend to not talk politics that much in general because people tend to piss me off more often than not, so it's usually not a big problem for me.

[gorillafuck]

I have one friend who is a socialist and one friend who is vaguely anti-capitalist as far as "comrades" go. I don't care what my friends political opinions are though unless they are very racist/sexist/homophobic. I can tolerate that stuff to an extent but if it's really bad I dislike being around them.

I don't really have any shitty friends, probably because my life lacks the drama that comes with a lot of teenagers lives.

[9]

Was that a passive-aggressive jab at me? :(

No, not at all - sorry if it came across that way.



I'm not trying to say that friends with compatible politics would make better friends, but rather that the discourse behind the political views that people have can bleed into other parts of one's life.Meh, I think all parts of everyone's lives are saturated with ruling class ideas - it isn't really something you can escape within capitalist society. I hold my comrades - who are often (but not always) also my friends - to a high standard in this regard. But when it comes to friends who are not comrades, I'm mainly concerned with whether I enjoy their company and if they're interesting and emotionally supportive, rather then evaluating their politics.

[A.R.Amistad]

Have you ever had shitty friends or comrades?
yeah, 99% of my friends. Hence I ditched em all. Yay for being a loner!

although, I have plenty of comrade-friends, but most of them are either here or on FB, but I like em better. I have few friends, even a few comrades in my town, but very very few. And I'm not kidding I told all of my old friends to go fuck themselves, kind of just to prove I could do it.

[Bilan]

My friends are rad.
They don't all have the same politics, but that's life. Some are libertarians (of the Ayn Rand-ian sort. Amusing conversations follow), some are indifferent, some are anarchists, communists, etc.
But they're all lovely.

[#FF0000]

My friends are baller and we share almost every single goddamn hobby. I think it's weird for 7 people to be so different and from such different backgrounds and for all of them to have such varied tastes that everyone else in the group can appreciate.

I think most of them are vaguely leftist, too, but that didn't come until much after we were already friends.

EDIT: I am the shitty friend though because I'm lazy and a shut in a lot of the time.

[RHIZOMES]

95% of my friends from high school were shitty, since high school friend circles are organized by social status hierarchies as opposed to things we may have in common. So I was friends with a bunch of people who were as nerdy as me even though we had very little in common otherwise. Nowadays I like all my friends, who are basically all extremely intelligent and interesting. This is because I left high school and I accumulated these friends via the far left social circle and the ones immediately surrounding them.

[ed miliband]

I have three best friends and then a variety of people who fade in and out.

Of the three, one is an absolute sleaze. On one occasion when I went out with him he was on his phone to three different girls in under ten minutes, and none of them know a thing about the others. I think he wants to be a banker.

Another is a social democrat who thinks my politics are crazy. Once I crashed at his and woke up next to a box of books: E.P. Thompson, Christopher Hill, Marx, Proudhon, etc. and I was in shock. They all belonged to his dad. I think he's going to join the army which is a bit of a waste.

The final one is ace, but I don't know what to say about him. He has the best music taste of the three, I suppose.

But no, no shitty friends. All of my friends have things about them that I dislike, but the positives outweigh the negatives dramatically.

[Adi Shankara]

I have friends who are conservative, believe it or not. that hurts.

[Quail]

Most of my friends are pretty tolerant people, although I have an ex who recently told me that he'd voted for the BNP. When I started to challenge him he was like, "Oh, it's a party.. Let's not talk about politics.."
I generally try not to talk about politics to people who aren't really interested in it though, because I don't want them to think I'm a massive bore who only ever rants about politics:blushing:

[Bright Banana Beard]

Shitty friends is all I have, comrade.

[Uppercut]

Most people I know are pretty shitty. I do have an anarchist comrade, and a liberal friend (who is surprisingly anti-capitalist, but won't move to communism because he is worried about "individuality). I have a couple other friends who are leftist but unaligned with any specific ideology. Unfortunately, I never talk to any of the people I mentioned so I don't know if I should even qualify them as friends. I'm a loner whose only form of social interaction is revleft.

[Wanted Man]

How come everyone here has "shitty friends" who are political in some way? "My friends are all conservative", "My friends are devotees of Ayn Rand", etc. What's up with that? None of my friends are political. Except perhaps in the sense that during election time, they tell me that they voted for social liberals because they are "the safe option for students" (these parties want to abolish grants for students, incidentally). Others may have opinions on certain issues, often directly contradicting the party that they vote for.

I don't see that as serious politics at all, never mind as an "expression of the values that I look for in people". I'm pretty sure most posters in this thread are talking about political preference, which is fickle as hell, not political activity. I really don't give two shits about political preferences of friends. Activity can matter; if someone chooses to become a nazi bonehead, they may isolate themselves socially. The activity that they choose is likely influenced by their own circumstances, too, and in that case, their friends may come from similar social circles.

As for other comrades, I think I can get along with almost all of them, but there are only a few to whom I can really relate as persons. I tolerate all the others, because it's difficult to have a good working relationship otherwise. I don't think I strongly dislike anyone. It helps when you have similar interests or are part of the same group, just like when you play at the same club, go to the same gym or are part of the same student association. It can lead to great friendships and relationships with some people, and you don't want to disrespect the ones that you don't like as much.

[9]

^well-said

[The Feral Underclass]

idk i have friends who ramble a lot about jews and i have friends who want to stone homosexuals to death and who think the situation the natives are in is oik because they lost i dont really befriend people because of politics

So...They have other redeemable qualities? :blink:

I'm not entirely sure how anyone, such as yourself and others on this board, could be friends with people who think those things. Anyone who said those views in my presence would get the shit kicked out of them.

[Obs]

My brother was in the military and has swallowed everything they fed him, politically. Does that count? :(

[DecDoom]

Most of my friends are on the same political level as me, but I have one friend who is a hardcore conservative and christian (especially Christian - he wrote a paper for history on how Islam is an "illegitimate religion" which was mostly because there isn't enough Jesus in it). However, our discussions are very civil and he's more than willing to back up his arguments, rather than simply fall back to slogans and strawmans.

[#FF0000]

You should tell your friend that the Qur'an is literally full of Jesus. He's the most quoted motherfucker in the book.

[FreeFocus]

You should tell your friend that the Qur'an is literally full of Jesus. He's the most quoted motherfucker in the book.

Hilariously, this is true, Declined.

[Pavlov's House Party]

maybe it's where i live, but i can't honestly think of a single person i know who is right wing. about half my buddies excluding political comrades are a-political with leftist ideas, and the other half are liberals who like to call themselves "socialist".

my only friend who i'd think of as "shitty" is one guy who is totally introverted and rarely leaves his house without my company, which is shit because it means he never goes to parties or outdoor festivals, although it pays off because he pays for beer.

[soyonstout]

Was the OP referring to shitty as in politics or as in loyalty, reliability, and making you happy to be with them and happy to be yourself? I have some friends that just completely knock me out with how good and worthwhile they make me feel and how at peace I am around them, but they're college friends (or earlier) who live in other cities--a few close friends in my city come close to this but I don't see them very much either. I don't really have a "best" friend where I am anymore. But generally they're not shitty, they're just in their 20s and completely incapable of making plans so I usually don't see the ones who live outside of my own little neighborhood.

The only people I know well who have rock-solid proletarian politics are also not in my city. Most of the political people I know near me have really good intentions but (to varying degrees) get tangled up in what political diversions and/or alliances with the left wing of the bourgeoisie with groups I see as anti-working class, despite saying that they are pro-working class and pro-revolution. I'm SLOWLY getting better at discussing with them but I sometimes feel that if I say exactly what I think a lot of people will get really mad.

Most of my good friends, however, are not terribly politically active, or they are (US) "liberals"--the close ones will discuss with me because they know its important to me though, but our most fulfilling conversations are about other matters. Half of my close friends are Christians too (I'm not--although I used to be).

-soyons tout

[RedRise]

The worst friend I ever had was not only my best and only friend for pretty much all of my primary school years. When it was just the two of us she was really nice and we got along really well but whenever somebody else got involved she was mean as hell to me. She'd turn on me quite randomly and she had quite a knack for getting me in trouble (with teachers and other pupils alike) without a grain of truth behind the accusation.:blink: Mind you, I was never a favourite of the teachers and the kids thought I was pretty weird so I guess it couldn't have been to hard.:rolleyes:
Most of my friends now aren't left or right but fence sitters. I think mostly because they don't know enough about either side to make a decision though the probably at least left-leaning. I do have two friends who are commies but they're (unfortunately) at a different school.

[DecDoom]

You should tell your friend that the Qur'an is literally full of Jesus. He's the most quoted motherfucker in the book.

Shit, I'll have to mention that to him. :laugh:

[Crux]

TFnnupdrSaE

[Jazzratt]

Most of my friends are okay. Mostly they don't give too much of a toss about politics aside from around elections or when there is a law or whatever in placew that affects them detrimentally. Those that are in anyway political are liberal (apart of course from my "comrades").

Recently my really good mate has turned into a shitty friend but that's because he moved away (a whole 10 minutes from me!) and got a girlfriend (some people can basically only have friends or a girlfriend not both at once. He's one of them).

[The Feral Underclass]

I don't have any friends. I am always alone. But the upside is I'm a really right-on, liberal kinda guy, so we get on quite well.

[Tablo]

Finally, my gay friend seems to think that just because he's gay he's "progressive" and he is really condescending towards people who drink alcohol (including me).
Most of my friends are gay, but I have one gay friend who has no involvement in politics beyond gay rights. She ALWAYS talks shit about people who drink or smoke and refuses to hang with any of my friends when that is going on. She also calls herself a democratic socialist while worshipping the ground Obama walks on. She's a fucking idiot.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

If your friends are shitty why are they your friends?

[Jazzratt]

If your friends are shitty why are they your friends? Masochism. Friends not actually being as "shit" as first claimed?

[black magick hustla]

So...They have other redeemable qualities? :blink:

I'm not entirely sure how anyone, such as yourself and others on this board, could be friends with people who think those things. Anyone who said those views in my presence would get the shit kicked out of them.

Because I grew up with many of them man? I grew up in a Mexican town. I grew up with people who think women should stay at home and homosexuals are a deviancy. I grew up with people who used "indian" as an insult (like most urban mestizos). A lot of mexican males have a strong repulse for homosexuals. I don't think kicking the shit out of 90 percent of the population is going to accomplish anything. How could not like the friends I made? They were loyal and gave me their shoulder when they cried. They came with me the day after some motherfuckers beat me up only to help myself avenge my dignity when we retaliated by kicking those who wronged me senseless.
I discovered most people have shit opinions on things.

[Bright Banana Beard]

I dumped my shitty friends and part of me died. Now the oldies jazz with male with heavy bass vocal are playing in my mind repeatedly. The reason? They used me too much and won't change shit about it. I wish I didn't go through this but I have to.

Fuck.

Oh well, I gonna grab a cigarette.

[Jazzratt]

Recently my really good mate has turned into a shitty friend but that's because he moved away (a whole 10 minutes from me!) and got a girlfriend (some people can basically only have friends or a girlfriend not both at once. He's one of them). I saw this dude getting off the train today. Aww fuck but I feel guilty as all hell about the *****y snideness.