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+7 votes
My parents and I disagree about a great many things, but the thing that gets me kicked out of the house or threatened with harsher punishments most of all are my veiws on politics. I was wondering if anyone else had the same problems, and how they found ways to deal with it, besides keeping their mouth shut till they have enough money or conections to move out.
by

4 Answers

+1 vote
My mother doesn't have a very good understanding of my ideas of the world, but it is the unknown and the alien character of them that worries her not the ideas themselves. She is very angry and disillusioned about her life and so she can empathize with me on some level.

I have never been punished for my ideas by her. My father doesn't know about these ideas, or scarcely knows about them. I don't believe expressing them would be important for our relationship.

I discourage political arguments with my mother as well. I choose to "keep my mouth shut" for her sake as much as mine. So much energy spent for nothing. Or maybe I do not yet understand the effects of the arguments we have had. I do feel I may be partially responsible for her disillusionment. It disturbs me to think that I might have had a hand in making her even more stressed about her circumstances, or that I have exacerbated her loneliness and alienation by shaking away previously held ideas or ideology.

It has done a great deal for me in illuminating the problem of communication for pro-revolutionaries.
by (2.8k points)
+3 votes
Similar to JaysThoughts, I am in my mid-thirties, and have not lived with my parents for quite a long time. I do, however, maintain a very good relationship with them. When I did live with my parents, I chose to engage with them based in their particular perspectives, for fear of losing their support while I needed it (though in truth and in hindsight, my parents would not have kicked me out for crimethink). The rest of this post has to do with how I do (and have) engaged with them, if that might be of any help.

My parents are actually exactly what parents ought to be, at least in their relationship with me, they love and support me, though they don't always agree with me. They have also always allowed me the space to do my own thing and find myself, which is a privilege not everyone has.

We don't talk politics that much, but they know what my perspective is on things, for the most part, and they have helped with particular projects in the past, if in very minor ways. The one time I have been arrested (at an anti-RNC action) they were who I called from jail and, to my surprise, were glad I'd been involved in trying to escalate the confrontation.

My mom is a Democrat. She seems to view my my politics as an extreme liberal/progressivism with some troubling opinions on the value of property, the sanctity of cops health and wellness, and a troublingly critical view of the role of government in providing for our needs. She is generally more willing to talk politics with me, but I find we can only go so deep, and then it hits a wall where she (or I) change the subject.

My dad was, growing up, a republican, in my young adulthood, he started to shift towards identifying as an independent. He retains the hallmarks of conservatism while opposing attacks on the social safety-net that are waged by the right. He and I speak less of politics, but he is far more open to me presenting ideas that challenge his frame of thinking (which, I actually think was set ajar by the ascendence of the pre-tea party types. My dad is conservative, but he recognizes crazy people when he sees them.) It is my father who seems to sense that capitalism and democracy are a rigged system, doomed to fail.
by (22.1k points)
edited by
When the Tea Party first came into existence I have to admit I was a supporter. I was even psyched. Their whole purpose was laissez faire and Liberty. Then the Republican party jumped on board and it didn't take long for them to be hijacked. They are now in my mind like any other special interest group- serving their own ends and not humanity at large. Makes me sad to see politics kill another movement.
+1 vote
My parents are both anarchists, my father however is extreme hypocrite (as he works for Microsoft) but they are both supportive, I still have disputes with them but I feel I’m in equal say to whatever they are doing.
by (740 points)
+3 votes
i don't share my anarchy with my family. it's not their business to know anything about what is important to me. i'm not looking for their approval, and i don't trust them to know what to do if someone nasty asked them questions about me.
by (53.1k points)
wish I thought of that last thing before I share with mine
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