"I spend a lot of time fighting cancer, but thanks for reminding me that I should also invest time in politics to stop Islamic immigration. Oh, wait, you don't agree with me? Oh dear."

I’ve been on dating apps the last few years and while I always swipe left for Conservative, I also say fuck no to anyone Apolitical.

In these times anyone who supports or is ambivalent to the madness in our country is a shit person that I want nothing to do with.

Take a stand, pick a side or fuck right off.

I hope you have good health insurance because that's politics too

I don't do politics

You're just entitled.

Okay, well, I do have some political views I've been sitting on. Let me say one of the-

Shut the fuck up, loser. Nobody agrees with you and your ideas are stupid. Never talk to me about politics again.

That would still seem like a method of "doing politics." Satisfaction with the status quo -> do nothing to change the status quo and accept the repercussions for doing nothing. When you're a public figure, people look to you for leadership, whether you want them to or not. That's one of the costs of fame.

I can maybe cut a little slack for someone who's like "I don't really understand politics or know history, so I don't feel confident having a strong opinion" if they were curious and honest. We all start ignorant and not everyone had the good fortune to get a quality education.

But the aggressively ignorant and apathetic can fuck right off.

The irony of this comic is that it's usually the Generic White Guy with opinions written on his sleeve and the Brown Woman with the Foreign Religion who needs to walk on eggshells and keep her politics close to the chest.

In your 20s sure. At my age there's no excuse other than willfull ignorance and I'm not engaging with that. (I'm also not looking to date, thankfully)

Are your views stupid or is the other person stupid? The answer will reveal the solution to this issue.

Unironically though, saying you don't do politics because you want to avoid conflict is a form of the privilege OP is talking about. Choosing to avoid politics to save yourself mild discomfort can have life-threatening effects on others. Saying you don't want to discuss it is fine, but if that causes you to become uninformed it's probably not wise for your effect on societal health.

Take a stand, pick a side or fuck right off.

I dunno, everyone says this of the issues about which they care but other ones are too large etc.

For example, do you feel the same way about say, sweatshop clothes? In that we should take a stand,pick a stand or fuck off?

Personally, I feel the 12 year olds making the most of the clothes I see when I walk down the street is much more important than most national issues in my country AND is something where individual action really matters but, it's also an issue that requires actual sacrifice and work. Much easier to be angry at people online over politics...

there was this clip of some kind of like dating show/bar event thing? Basically two people speed/blind date on stage and the audience waves green/red flags based on the conversation. Neat concept...

Anyways, man and woman go up and one of the first questions she asks is "who did you vote for?" and dude just shrinks. Does this whole "politics aren't that important to me" and then "I didn't vote". And in the crowd all of the women are raising red flags. Because yea... they know what that signals.

In a later round another womans asks the same thing, and guy is like "that's a personal thing" and "I don't feel comfortable talking about it"... red flags going up.

This dipshits KNOW their poltical views are toxic to women. And instead of owning it, they're trying to pretend to be "apolitical" because no woman will fuck them.

EDIT: I found the clip/vid.

Also, just realized, it's the same guy. So first lady he's like "I didn't vote" and then later is like "okay I voted, but I don't wanna say"..... everyone knows bro... and that you're still tryna hide/lie about it to get laid is pathetic.

If more people that were privileged and weren't affected by things just shut the fuck up about them we'd be a lot better off. Like there's no reason most of us should give a shit about gay marriage or what transgender people are doing. We're not getting gay married or transitioning, we should mind our own business and leave commenting to the experts for whatever legislation is necessary. Instead we have all these conservative mfers throwing tantrums about all these issues and we all have to get involved to counter them just so people can go about their lives the way they want.

In my experience, privilege is rarely a factor. In fact, the most privileged people seem to be the most involved in politics because that maintains the status quo in their favor.

People who aren't interested in politics usually say they're too occupied with struggling to exist to read about different tax structures, the pros and cons of different immigration policies, or deciphering a local politician's rhetoric. When faced with an immediate problem, such as a hungry child, and a more distant problem, like an unfavorable tax plan, most people will choose to prioritize the more immediate problem.

Yes, politics is the reason why they struggle. But can you really blame someone for placing a priority on day-to-day existence?

Are your views stupid or is the other person stupid?

Views differ. All I know for certain is that if two people have divergent views, the best thing for them to do is to grow increasingly angry and disparaging towards one another until one finally concedes the other is correct and admits everything they'd believed up to that moment is wrong.

Unironically though, saying you don’t do politics because you want to avoid conflict is a form of the privilege

Which is why the people with the most social privilege are always the most soft-spoken, while the people with the least privilege are the loudest and most agitating, right?

I remember driving through Vidor, TX with a friend and him turning to me saying "Just don't get us pulled over, because I'm not going to make it back if we do". That coward was attempting to avoid conflict with a notoriously racist local police force. I, of course, did donuts in the Vidor PD parking lot. Because I believed it was my duty to provoke a conflict in order to prove that I was sincere in my liberal beliefs.

Saying you don’t want to discuss it is fine

Literally what's happening in OP's comic.

I mean, not everyone wants to discuss politics all the time, and that should be an acceptable position to have.

Just because you don't espouse your beliefs at every conceivable moment doesn't mean you don't have beliefs or don't participate in the political process.

I live in a red state, and I'd definitely say something similar if a magat tried to strike up a conversation about politics. Most of the time I just don't have the mental energy to get into a discussion about it.

I think there's a difference between "I affirmatively do not care" and "there's no purely way to be ethical, and that horror has fallen under my personal bar for attention right now"

I’m Your Friend Who Just Doesn’t “Do Politics”

Honestly, politics getting shoehorned into literally every discussion is exhausting; it's not the message that's the problem.

Yeah, politics affects everything, but it doesn't always have to be the focus of the conversation. I think people here forget that not everyone is terminally online like we tend to be.

Not everyone has the capacity to remain constantly outraged. For some of us, it's literally detrimental to our mental health.

It should be noted that the comic is very purposefully using a woman of color for a reason. To say you are not political to someone whose entire existence is ruled by politics is to lay bare that you are privileged enough to be apolitical.

Totally agree. And especially when I know it's just going to upset me and won't change anyone's mind. It's a waste of my energy and happiness to constantly and pointlessly engage. Responding with silence often works pretty well, at least in person.

It's also significant if you go out of your way to say you're not making a decision on the issue. That, in and of itself, is often a very significant decision to make.

This is the stance of someone in for a long road of loneliness. Enjoy.

I don't think they realized you were pointing out hypocrisy using sarcasm.

BS

You're assuming we have any actual power, whether POC or not.

Exactly.

You’re assuming we have any actual power,

I did not specify much in my comment. Can you share who the "we" is in your sentence here?

Well said, I think you've hit the nail on the head in between the lines. This has been my take as well, and personal experience.

Unless you had an absolutely shit background or a learning disability, not understanding history or politics is a choice they made.

I'm not holding it against them that their brains might not have been developed or focused enough at that age to take in the information, but if you realize you are missing something critical later in life and don't make moves to rectify it, that's also a choice

If you're not taking sides, you're siding with whoever is the oppressor.

It could also be "If I told you my actual politics, you'd realise what a vile person I am and leave".

This is my experience. Also their talking points are easily dismantled with simple questions. So they wont even talk about outside of their echo chambers.

Oh, that's what this was getting at. For me, "I don't do politics" is cause I live in the south and really don't want to hear the other person's opinion.

Crazy concept but you can concern yourself with things that you don't currently have the power to immediately change.

In some sense, kinda big of him to admit that he's been privileged and unaffected so far? I feel like many like Dave think they are victims of anti-white anti-straight anti-male agenda or some bs.

I hate politics. I hate talking about politics. I would love to live a life where I just ignore politics and be apolitical, but then politics comes along and gets in the way of literally everything.

What's even worse is when the politics of a whole other country on the other side of the bloody planet comes and fucks up the local politics right over here where I live.

"I don't do politics."

Well baby, politics is going to do you, regardless.

--Nina Turner

Yeah, and I want to be rich. Grow up you whiny baby.

I can and I absolutely will.

I agree and the only folks I give a pass to are immigrants, otherwise if US born there's absolutely no excuse to choose being uneducated or choosing to sit out politics.

Admitting there's a problem is the first step in finding a solution and getting your shit together. Maybe there's hope for him, unlike many with similar views.

The moral cowardice I hid from myself for decades of centrism:

You can only be apolitical in a political system that was built for people like you.

Did you actually read what they wrote, or were you just looking for an excuse to jump down somebody's throat?

Edit: I followed the wrong thread.

I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

Yep.

I mean, not everyone wants to discuss politics all the time, and that should be an acceptable position to have.

This is probably true. I mean, if I started going off about how the workers are entitled to what they produce and fucking Joanne doesn't do shit, so why does she get a fat salary while we don't even get paid for thanksgiving, I'd be fired. Wouldn't even move the needle.

I live in a red state, and I’d definitely say something similar if a magat tried to strike up a conversation about politics. Most of the time I just don’t have the mental energy to get into a discussion about it.

But sometimes the smaller conversations can change people. It takes a lot, and it can be infuriating when they just don't get it, or relapse after another bender on fox news, but interactions with people they see as in-group change minds.

I had a coworker way back that was a big homophobe, and over the months we worked together I got him from "we should just kill the gays" to "i guess they're not hurting anyone i just think it's gross". I understand that there's not always energy in the budget for that, though.

Oh my god, I just realized that you weren’t replying to me, my apologies. While I want to blame the cramped style of the instance I use, I clearly didn’t look close enough myself to see you had replied to the other user.

I’ll go ahead and edit my mistake, sorry again!

I don't think those who "don't do politics" are privileged. Many simply easily feel depressed hearing of bad news and literally tune out of the constant news cycle. But as others have pointed out, regardless of the reason for not doing politics, politics eventually do them. Plato once said that not being engaged in politics is letting inferiors rule over them. And oh boy, the world is experiencing first hand being ruled over by manbabies.

Edit: it was Plato not Socrates who made the statement