|
Post by kj on Jun 23, 2022 11:38:08 GMT
Need to spit a bit of bile here.
Had a reunion this weekend with two old college buddies, one of whom I had not seen since his wedding fifteen years ago, and had not had a one-on-one chat in over twenty years.
Anyway, I was talking with this guy for the best part of two days, and although I was very glad and happy to see him, he was an unreconstructed "One-world Marxist" type who essentially lectured me, and "corrected" me at every available opportunity. It began to grate on me by Day 2 and I started jabbing back ever so gently toward the end. But the ultimate irony is that he is a legal "fixer" for several dubious American corporations - in other words, he is an enabler for the spearpoint of the Capitalist machine he claims to loathe.
Added to this is that he also dissed every traditional take on Irish history going: Catholicism, Republicanism etc. Delighted by mass immigration. Then he told us he named his kid after his father, grandfather and great-grandfather because he was "proud of the family tradition" or some such. Plus boasted about how his family land contained quite a bit of medieval church ruins and what a shame it was they had been allowed fall into decay.
I have been feeling off-form all week because of imbibing all that hypocrisy and the "wish I had spoken back more" feeling in my stomach.
Rant over:-)
|
|
|
Post by assisi on Jun 23, 2022 17:39:22 GMT
Need to spit a bit of bile here. Had a reunion this weekend with two old college buddies, one of whom I had not seen since his wedding fifteen years ago, and had not had a one-on-one chat in over twenty years. Anyway, I was talking with this guy for the best part of two days, and although I was very glad and happy to see him, he was an unreconstructed "One-world Marxist" type who essentially lectured me, and "corrected" me at every available opportunity. It began to grate on me by Day 2 and I started jabbing back ever so gently toward the end. But the ultimate irony is that he is a legal "fixer" for several dubious American corporations - in other words, he is an enabler for the spearpoint of the Capitalist machine he claims to loathe. Added to this is that he also dissed every traditional take on Irish history going: Catholicism, Republicanism etc. Delighted by mass immigration. Then he told us he named his kid after his father, grandfather and great-grandfather because he was "proud of the family tradition" or some such. Plus boasted about how his family land contained quite a bit of medieval church ruins and what a shame it was they had been allowed fall into decay. I have been feeling off-form all week because of imbibing all that hypocrisy and the "wish I had spoken back more" feeling in my stomach. Rant over:-) Somewhere in the early 2000s, there seemed to be a marked change in quite a number of my friends as many of them went full-on anti-God, religion and anything 'right wing'. I think the anti-religion (particularly anti-Christian) element came around the time of the apogee of the Hitchens and Dawkins new atheist phase around 2007 or shortly afterwards as some of the phrases they used seem to have come straight from a book. Although I have spoken out on many occasions to counter the extreme nature of their arguments, I've had to curb my thoughts quite significantly as there is a real risk of a falling out. Some of them know my views but insist in sending me the memes that criticize or mock the usual suspects, Orangemen, DUP, the Brits, Boris Johnston, Arlene Foster, Donald Trump, Brexit, Nigel Farage. I don't think they are necessarily trying to antagonise me, rather they seem to be unable to comprehend the fact that someone doesn't share their politics and ideology. It's like they have ceased to understand nuance or that there could be an alternative view. After years of Trump memes being sent to me I haven't received one meme mocking Biden or the Democrats even when the Democrat's current administration is almost so bad that it is crying out for parody. Recently I met a group of old friends and the conversation very often ended up with throwaway phrases about Brits, British Colonialism, Orangeism, to a degree that was worse than it was in the 1980s and 1990s when the Troubles were still going on. Although well educated and well read people, the entrenchment seemed to be worse. There was absolutely no talk of abortion, culture changes, immigration changing Europe, transgenderism and the effects on kids as it is pushed through schools or supposed 'white privilege'. The irony is that many of the same people live, or have lived or worked in England, holiday there regularly and enjoy it, buy English newspapers and partake of English (and American) entertainment without seeing any contradiction at all. I'm gobsmacked by the extremity of all this. My best policy is to ignore 90% of what is said or sent, but every now and then I pick my time to interject when something outrageous has been said which can be easily countered. Then I am usually greeted with a puzzled look and a few mumbles, before normal service is resumed. It is tragic. The assumption seems to be that it is compulsory to be 'left liberal' if you are Irish, and we are all in the same cosy boat, where it is comforting to have the usual suspects as the enemy; meanwhile at a global level the whole world is going mad, but hold on, lets embarrass the Brits with Brexit, that'll show the world!
|
|
|
Post by Maolsheachlann on Jun 24, 2022 10:02:33 GMT
Need to spit a bit of bile here. Had a reunion this weekend with two old college buddies, one of whom I had not seen since his wedding fifteen years ago, and had not had a one-on-one chat in over twenty years. Anyway, I was talking with this guy for the best part of two days, and although I was very glad and happy to see him, he was an unreconstructed "One-world Marxist" type who essentially lectured me, and "corrected" me at every available opportunity. It began to grate on me by Day 2 and I started jabbing back ever so gently toward the end. But the ultimate irony is that he is a legal "fixer" for several dubious American corporations - in other words, he is an enabler for the spearpoint of the Capitalist machine he claims to loathe. Added to this is that he also dissed every traditional take on Irish history going: Catholicism, Republicanism etc. Delighted by mass immigration. Then he told us he named his kid after his father, grandfather and great-grandfather because he was "proud of the family tradition" or some such. Plus boasted about how his family land contained quite a bit of medieval church ruins and what a shame it was they had been allowed fall into decay. I have been feeling off-form all week because of imbibing all that hypocrisy and the "wish I had spoken back more" feeling in my stomach. Rant over:-) Somewhere in the early 2000s, there seemed to be a marked change in quite a number of my friends as many of them went full-on anti-God, religion and anything 'right wing'. I think the anti-religion (particularly anti-Christian) element came around the time of the apogee of the Hitchens and Dawkins new atheist phase around 2007 or shortly afterwards as some of the phrases they used seem to have come straight from a book. Although I have spoken out on many occasions to counter the extreme nature of their arguments, I've had to curb my thoughts quite significantly as there is a real risk of a falling out. Some of them know my views but insist in sending me the memes that criticize or mock the usual suspects, Orangemen, DUP, the Brits, Boris Johnston, Arlene Foster, Donald Trump, Brexit, Nigel Farage. I don't think they are necessarily trying to antagonise me, rather they seem to be unable to comprehend the fact that someone doesn't share their politics and ideology. It's like they have ceased to understand nuance or that there could be an alternative view. After years of Trump memes being sent to me I haven't received one meme mocking Biden or the Democrats even when the Democrat's current administration is almost so bad that it is crying out for parody. Recently I met a group of old friends and the conversation very often ended up with throwaway phrases about Brits, British Colonialism, Orangeism, to a degree that was worse than it was in the 1980s and 1990s when the Troubles were still going on. Although well educated and well read people, the entrenchment seemed to be worse. There was absolutely no talk of abortion, culture changes, immigration changing Europe, transgenderism and the effects on kids as it is pushed through schools or supposed 'white privilege'. The irony is that many of the same people live, or have lived or worked in England, holiday there regularly and enjoy it, buy English newspapers and partake of English (and American) entertainment without seeing any contradiction at all. I'm gobsmacked by the extremity of all this. My best policy is to ignore 90% of what is said or sent, but every now and then I pick my time to interject when something outrageous has been said which can be easily countered. Then I am usually greeted with a puzzled look and a few mumbles, before normal service is resumed. It is tragic. The assumption seems to be that it is compulsory to be 'left liberal' if you are Irish, and we are all in the same cosy boat, where it is comforting to have the usual suspects as the enemy; meanwhile at a global level the whole world is going mad, but hold on, lets embarrass the Brits with Brexit, that'll show the world! This is my experience exactly. My acquaintances (I won't say my friends, since they don't fall into this trap) all know my views, I make no secret of them, but still assume I will agree with them on various liberal talking-points. It's bizarre.
|
|