Ask Lemmy

From what I understood from you your post is that he's not interested in Elon, but rather in the money he made with Tesla

That doesn't sound like a bad thing, and certainly not like actively supporting Elon

Just trying to get by

People who support nazis are also nazis

I cut ties with my mother for voting for the orange-bad again. I still love her, but I have friends who are directly targeted by that shitbag and she knows it. Do whatever you think necessary. I'm sorry that you've maybe lost a friend.

Just avoid talking about politics with them. Ultinately neither of you are in control of world events so focus on what you have in common instead of jettisoning someone from your life for something almost as superficial as supporting a different sports team.

Determine if the relationship is having a negative impact on you, then either 1) assess why it's hurting you and if there's anything to adjust about how you're processing it, or 2) protect your mental health by setting up the boundaries that you need, cutting off as a last resort.

Be cautious about asking this online though. People are tribal about politics and have zero investment in your IRL relationships, so you may see lots of rationalizing of cutting off a lifelong friend, family member, spouse, etc without much nuance. Only you have the proper perspective to determine what you'd be sacrificing and if it's a net positive.

If the guy really is your friend, ask him bluntly. Don't tiptoe around the topic.

If he is a fascist and you don't want to be a sympathetiser your options are quite limited.

Again don't use colloquialisms, or soft language.

Don't ask lemmy for advice. Lemmy cares about their own ideology and nothing else.

You said you had this conversation about Elon years ago, but obviously a lot has changed since then.

Try asking some deeper questions about why he still supports Musk now. Is he just trying to plug his head in the sand because he just likes Tesla/has a financial stake, or does he genuinely align with Musk's fascist leanings? Did he vote for Trump?

If they've been your friend for 40 years, then I think it's best you talk to him directly. Just be direct, don't tip-toe around the subject. Just like a marriage, the only thing that is going to relieve the tension and get things on track is open communication with your friend. But -- and this is important -- You have to be ready for the answers to not be what you want.

I don’t think it’s always necessary or even helpful to sever relationships solely because someone has toxic political beliefs.

I would think more in terms of what problems do you see with this relationship and what actions, if any could potentially solve these problems? What are you trying to achieve by ending this relationship?

That question is for you to answer, but in my opinion it's not worth it throwing away a long friendship over politics. You are allowed to have disagreements. Additionally if all his non-politically right friends / associates throw him away if might only push him even further into right politics.

Sadly no-one can tell you that as it is your decision based on your morals and your beliefs. It’s a hard decision, one that I also had to make. The question is, what is harder and more painful: losing this friend or being friends with someone who is like this.

Wish you all the strength you need to get through this.

Seems a lot of us are making this tough decisions recently. Truly no one can tell you what is best but I think if you feel you can still be a good influence on them then you should try. If not then don't risk them being a bad influence on you.

@[email protected] As someone that experienced a similar case, I sleep better with my consciousness clean, even if it hurts.

There are people that don't care if their lifestyle exploits child labor. As long as they benefit, that is all that matters to them. They are so disconnected and unable to fathom or have empathy for anyone aside from themselves or their small inner circle. It isn't a small minority like this but unfortunately around half of America. About 30% of them are just incredibly spoiled, but as soon as they face hardships then it is all woe me. Now a few of them after may gain empathy, but a larger percentage just want everyone else to suffer and be miserable too. It's fucking despicable what money does to people.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. Cutting people out of your life hurts even when it’s the right call, and it sucks things have deteriorated to the point of considering it.

I think the gut reaction a lot of people are going to have is to dump him, both because they think it’s the right thing to do and because it’s easy to say that when you’re not cutting an important person out of your own life. And I don’t think that’s a wrong impulse, but before going for the nuclear option, let’s at least take a look at what other options are available to you.

You mention he makes money in some way off Musk. To shift your perspective, what that means is you have access to someone that makes Musk money, who presumably also considers you a friend and values you. What is going to have the highest chance of success of convincing him to stop doing business with Musk?

You’re the one that knows him, nobody here can give a better answer than you. If you think that cutting him off cold turkey is going to be a real wake up call to him, then it might be the right way to go.

But be sure that’s what it is, and not that you don’t want to put in the work of having hard, uncomfortable conversations about it. Staying his friend (or at least in contact with him) but not censoring your opinion about Musk and the fact that it lowers your opinion of your friend might be more persuasive than you being out of his life and not kicking up a fuss. Again, you’re going to know better than anyone here since you know him.

At this point in Muskrat's meddling, it's reached the point of treason.

You don't negotiate with traitors. You don't reason with traitors. When all is said and done, you reach the point where the only thing that is done with traitors is to put them against the wall in front of a firing squad. If that's the side your "friend" wants to pick, it's on him.

Friends come and go, cut and move on.