What do I say to a friend who doesn't care about politics?
Plus, Diem attempts a world record.
Let’s break down one of last week’s most popular posts.
But first, here’s what else people are talking about on Diem:
How do I tell my father that I feel like he is a better dad to his girlfriends child than myself
Will the eating disorder voice ever go away or will it always be lurking in the back of my mind?
What are you doing to prepare for the possibility of sh*t hitting the fan in the US?
With the world as it currently is, sometimes it’s hard to think about anything other than politics. But if your friends don’t share your concerns, or don’t make politics as much a part of their lives, can you still be friends? Or can you grow together? That’s the question from one Diemer that had everyone talking last week. Here’s what they said:
Distance yourself
Friendships mature and grow. Perhaps you have intellectually outgrown this one? Respect is a non negotiable. If you are no longer being supported, there is nothing wrong with remaining friends. Perhaps with a bit more space for other friends to nurture your interests? Do not shrink yourself to make others comfortable. Ever. Time will tell if this person needs to be in every chapter of your story. Some characters fade and others flourish.
Have a conversation
I think you can start by asking more questions to her - is it that she just doesn't read the news every day or she doesn't care about any of the causes you think are important.
Care is our greatest form of currency. You want her to care cause you care. You need to be curious about what she cares about. Understand what her values are and clearly show her how politics, voting on a local level, impact her directly. The goal is not to care about the same things. the goal is to make connections. If she can connect the dots back to her and what she values, she will care. All in all, don't waste too much energy trying to change people. Politics are theater, what is REAL is community. we need each other.
Let her be
tbh it doesnt sit right with *me* when people get all "you're a bad person if you dont pay attention to politics" because it is overwhelming and not everyone can balance that emotionally with. idk. living? also, in terms of how you'd *tell* her, friendships are about compromise, but they're also about accepting the parts of each other that won't be compromised. what do you expect to get out of telling her? do you want her to instantly care the same way you do? because sorry, but that isn't going to happen. you're not going to change someones morals or the way they go about news and life just by asking nicely. you need to accept that she has different opinions from you, and if you can't do that while comfortably retaining the friendship, maybe it's not a good match 🤷♀️
There are so many valid reasons to not care about politics. Honestly it’s a p big privlage to even have the time or energy to keep yourself in the know, and actually do something about anything, not to mention the mental tole it takes to even begin to grasp the dumpster fire of all the entertaining stories and experiences, bills, and everything. Unfortunately so many people only have the time to post on social media, WITHOUT looking into what they are really posting about WITHOUT having time to verify stories, or look into political writing, or actually hear people’s stories. Especially knowing that most big movements provide essential cover to governments so they an execute other atrocities without the entire worlds eyes on them. It’s hilarious to think that kind of awareness does anything in the long term, the ones actually changing stuff are the ones doing it from the inside. Blaming someone for living their life away from that is p ridiculous in my opinion. But ya, having a talk about it def needed.
What do you think?
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Partner Choking and Cryptic Pregnancy
At a time of such uncertainty and negative news cycles, wouldn’t it be fun to build a few things that were designed purely to spark joy and bring back memories of our girlhood? So we did just that! ICYMI: The first app is called twin flame.
Before you go…
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