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- #41
Thanks. Excellent feedback.Chances are, you aren't the only one in the group who feels a little insulted.
I have a very thick skin, don't mind conflict, and I have opinions which I don't mind sharing, so I don't mind being the only Conservative in a group of people.
I always speak up, so if someone said something derogatory about me in any setting, I would defend myself.
In the example you gave, I would probably say something not too aggressive like "you have to admit that things are going pretty bad right now." That would probably result in some thumbs up from others in the group, even if they stayed quiet.
And we could take the conversation from there if they wanted to keep pursuing the point. I would delight in it.
You can be nice and still disagree with them. You could actually set an example as to how it is done, by not hurling a single insult and only facts and logical reasoning.
But if you are non-confrontational and don't want to offend, that's a bit different from just being nice. That's a bigger hurdle to overcome. I look at it this way - I am sympathetic to other's viewpoints and feelings, but I have viewpoints and feelings of my own, so i will treat theirs with respectful disagreement, and kind of expect the same in return.
Some people are just nasty though. In that case, the best approach is often to not associate.
And you’re so right that I’m probably not the only one in the group who is insulted. What‘s evidently happened is that Democrats have so abused Republicans for their vote (started with all their “you racist!!!!” attacks, and now they’re starting in with the traitor crap) that everyone stays quiet.
Now that I think about it, it happened at last week‘s class, too. A liberal made some remark about “the idiots who voted for Trump” - and the class were dead quiet. An embarrassed hush fell over the room. It’s a safe bet that there were several others as insulted as I.
Anyway, and again….thanks for your advice to tread lightly in response to the insult, and thus respond to the false attack (in a non-aggressive manner) rather than meekly accept it via my silence.