Be Nice?
As I was walking to work, I passed by a house on a corner which had a couple of "Yes on S" signs. For those who don't know, Measure S is a terribly misguided ballot initiative to curb what some people perceive as "overdevelopment." While most anyone involved in city planning here in Los Angeles will agree that the planning and zoning process needs to be updated and fixed, this reactionary and excessive measure is "a childish middle finger to city hall" - those are the LA Times words.
After I passed the house and groaned to myself, I saw a lady walking two dogs. Normally, I would have smiled and said hi. But today, paranoid that the lady might be the Measure S supporting resident of the house, I simply ignored her and kept walking. Immediately it struck me how not nice I was being - regardless of what her political beliefs are, she is kind of my neighbor. But this is what politics in this country have come to. Things are so black and white now, that there's not much room for gray, or for understanding. To me, if someone supports our current president, I just don't want to deal with them. I certainly don't want to be nice to them. Same thing with people who would support Measure S. Of course, some people don't know all the facts, and when they listen to them, they may change their mind. I'm talking about people who know all the facts, or know all that they care to know, and rigidly stick to their faulty beliefs. There's no good debating or discussing the matter with these people. So there's no point in being nice to them either.
Have I grown this cynical? Yes, I'm afraid I have.
I have pretty much unfriended anyone who has vocally supported the current president on social media. There are a few possible exceptions - some people I just couldn't see unfriending - yet I don't see myself spending any time or having any meaningful conversations with these individuals in the future. Once, I would have been sad about this. Now, I feel I just have to move on with my life and surround myself with people who are working for the same common goals as I am.
However, part of me thinks I myself am being too reactionary. Right after the election, I was gung ho on #CalExit - that is, California seceding from the rest of the united states. It burns me up that California seems to be so hated by the rest of the country, that we are dismissed, and that we are underrepresented in our federal government. But as several people pointed out, this would be falling prey to this administration's "divide and conquer" tactics. It would be mirroring the Brexit movement, which I was totally against. We need to work together, although I fear that "together" just means, working at the same time on different goals and hopefully being able to accept that not everyone can win.
So yeah, I'm not as nice as I used to be. I don't give strangers the benefit of the doubt. Anybody could be harboring racist, xenophobic, selfish and ignorant thoughts. Until I know for sure, I'm going to remain cautious.
After I passed the house and groaned to myself, I saw a lady walking two dogs. Normally, I would have smiled and said hi. But today, paranoid that the lady might be the Measure S supporting resident of the house, I simply ignored her and kept walking. Immediately it struck me how not nice I was being - regardless of what her political beliefs are, she is kind of my neighbor. But this is what politics in this country have come to. Things are so black and white now, that there's not much room for gray, or for understanding. To me, if someone supports our current president, I just don't want to deal with them. I certainly don't want to be nice to them. Same thing with people who would support Measure S. Of course, some people don't know all the facts, and when they listen to them, they may change their mind. I'm talking about people who know all the facts, or know all that they care to know, and rigidly stick to their faulty beliefs. There's no good debating or discussing the matter with these people. So there's no point in being nice to them either.
Have I grown this cynical? Yes, I'm afraid I have.
I have pretty much unfriended anyone who has vocally supported the current president on social media. There are a few possible exceptions - some people I just couldn't see unfriending - yet I don't see myself spending any time or having any meaningful conversations with these individuals in the future. Once, I would have been sad about this. Now, I feel I just have to move on with my life and surround myself with people who are working for the same common goals as I am.
However, part of me thinks I myself am being too reactionary. Right after the election, I was gung ho on #CalExit - that is, California seceding from the rest of the united states. It burns me up that California seems to be so hated by the rest of the country, that we are dismissed, and that we are underrepresented in our federal government. But as several people pointed out, this would be falling prey to this administration's "divide and conquer" tactics. It would be mirroring the Brexit movement, which I was totally against. We need to work together, although I fear that "together" just means, working at the same time on different goals and hopefully being able to accept that not everyone can win.
So yeah, I'm not as nice as I used to be. I don't give strangers the benefit of the doubt. Anybody could be harboring racist, xenophobic, selfish and ignorant thoughts. Until I know for sure, I'm going to remain cautious.
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