"I'm not a Democrat or Republican, a liberal or a conservative I think for myself!"

the left and right both shout at me on twitter when I rhapodise about the status quo

xp uncharacteristic? i've met hundreds of people who think like that

lots of "no no people aren't like this they are actually like THIS don't you see" itt

if online political quizzes made by americans have taught me anything it’s that every person or political position can be placed somewhere on a spectrum between ”very liberal” and “very conservative”

― no (Left), Monday, May 18, 2020 12:13 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I know you've got a shtick going but the most obnoxious "share your results" thing on most of these quizzes is, to the point where a zillion dumb memes have been made about it, a quadrant graph and not one with two poles!

my politics isn’t based on politics unlike you plebs

quadrant thing is also bs

When we have already decided what said people are going to say, its no wonder they never disappoint us!

People never disappoint you?

I never see the original political compass quiz anymore that the libertarians used to show that actually everyone in both parties should join them

it was replaced by the one that shows that actually everyone is a social democrat

I'm not a Democrat
I'm not a Republican
I am something you can never understand

― DJP, Monday, May 18, 2020 1:14 PM bookmarkflaglink

I would
vote for
you

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, May 18, 2020 1:15 PM bookmarkflaglink

lols

ime these ppl tend to be white conservative (or “libertarian”) males, pretty much any age between 20 and 60, salivating for an opening to “trigger” a lib.

my preferred response is to say “Bernie was my compromise candidate and I really like guns” and just stare at them until they change the subject

(nb this interaction is all in my head bc I honestly can’t remember the last time I had an actual conversation irl with anyone besides my girlfriend)

another good one: “I’m socially liberal but fiscally conservative.”

Collect them all!

I'm socially fiscal but liberally conservative.

The socially liberal fiscally conservative people are the opposite quadrant IMO - those are the libertarians, the type in the OP are socially conservative or moderate and fiscally liberal.

people who say “I’m fiscally conservative but socially liberal” are ime centrists who have issues identifying with either party even though they basically always vote the same way. It’s a performance.

Lots of people are deeply uncomfortable with the idea that their tacit support of an unfair system makes them personally culpable, so they invent non-existent political identities to avoid feeling guilty about that while still benefiting from it.

I think that's a stretch. "lots of people" pay almost no attention to politics at all

Btw i know there are people who legitimately take things issue by issue and have a weird amalgamation of beliefs across the political spectrum.

But the people who make any variation of the statement in my OP usually tend to be sealions or political cosplayers

Or Libertarians that won't identity with the label cos it has "lib" in it

I think a lot of people are libertarian-curious but again, don't want to be associated with any particular party or movement because it seems gauche to them

because it seems gauche to them

A+

the "don't pay any attention to politics" faction is always going to be the largest single group

people who use some of the above and esp. "I’m socially liberal but fiscally conservative" usually seem to not be aware of too much going on but want to cover themselves while not discussing anything.

the "don't pay any attention to politics" faction is always going to be the largest single group

― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length)

so ok, what's the overlap between these circles:

people who don't pay attention to politics
people who are so taken care of by the status quo political discourse that they have no need to concern themselves with it
people who are so excluded by the status quo political discourse that they have no viable opportunity to involve themselves in it

i self-identify, rightly or wrongly, as the third

firat two have some overlap, third one is a separate thing, however I would suggest that being engaged with political discourse by no means needs to take place within the status quo / mainstream media setting, actually most real discourse takes place outside it.

I would suggest there’s a difference between people who don’t follow “politics” vs people who just don’t follow the news (irrespective of any distrust of media)

guh I need to eat something. Nevermind, Carey on

carry

i self-identify, rightly or wrongly, as the third

self-identification is a matter best left to each self, but my outsider perception is that you find effective ways to involve yourself in the discourse on ilx and I appreciate those efforts.

actually most real discourse takes place outside it.

― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check

yeah but i'm not a true scotsman so i'm not qualified for real discourse

sarcasm aside, i find engaging in any sort of political discourse in a kind, respectful, and healthy manner to be really fucking difficult, particularly since much of the discourse i am exposed to seems to my inexpert opinion to have unhealthy and self-defeating tendencies.

it's all a meta-conversation with me, actually talking about the issues isn't even an option for me at this point, it's just figuring out how to get back to the fucking table. that's diplomacy, it's like playing fucking Risk, every game of Risk I was ever involved in ended in a physical altercation.