Gentle hugs from Kansas

 

Is it possible they think you have turned on them?

Most people have progressively fewer friends as they get older. If you don't want to end up socially isolated, you need to be careful to keep the friends you have.

So much has been politicized in the US, that people really do need to cool it when interacting with friends. The chances of you finding friends that agree with you on every political issue is low - so don't expect that of them.

Talk about non political stuff.

 

In 1936 Germany, many refused to talk about what Hitler was doing, how did that work out? I think it got over 500,000 killed.

 

Yes, I'm seeing that too.

Friend of 20 yrs on the other side of the fence.
Called me anti-vax, which I'm not.
I'm current on all others, but NOT doing this experimental "emergency use" unapproved one.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

Yes, I'm seeing that too.

Friend of 20 yrs on the other side of the fence.
Called me anti-vax, which I'm not.
I'm current on all others, but NOT doing this experimental "emergency use" unapproved one.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

your life is more importANT

 

I solve this by never talking about prepping and survivalism type stuff, and I never push my “covid” opinions on others (friends, non immediate family, colleague). Bottom line, I am as grey as they come in my human interaction. Standing out makes you a target anyway. Just my humble opinion on how I interact with others.

 

My brother and SIL have both unfriended me on Facebook. Now keep in mind my SIL is extremely far left and spews her rhetoric all over the place. In fact she got in a fight with my mom over politics and stopped visiting her too.

But....



I agree with Alaskajohn and am really trying to keep my opinions to myself. Nobody cares anyway so it’s basically wasted effort. I just have this persistent belief that we need to wake people up to the tyranny happening in this country. But so far, al my talking, explaining, posting, etc. hasn’t done anything that I can see. I agree talking about doomsday scenarios, prepping, and survivalism only makes me a target.

So I’m going to follow Alakajohns wise example. Besides, I need to use my time and energy getting my gardens going. Fighting with friends and family is so toxic and a complete energy drain.

 

Wheat and chaff. Sometimes a harder breeze is needed to separate them.

 

United we stand and divided we fall. The leftists have done a good job with division.

I know what you mean about many friendships have driftEd a bit since the ‘15 days to flatten the curve.‘ As a rule I am pretty greyman in my conversations. Seems like people are done with hearing anything different than what they believe. So I try to avoid the extremes when it comes to sharing my views on politics and COVID. As for prepping I pretty much leave it as I never forgot the being prepared part of scouts and I enjoy learning. No one thinks twice when I frequently try to learn more to be a jack of all trades. I tend to mention being ready for emergencies without getting into SHTF scenarios with acquaintances.

 

I have family and friends who have gotten the vaccine and some who didn’t. It hasn’t been a point of argument- occasionally discussion but not arguing.

 

Well friends come and go, for every extreme left friend that I have lost over the last year I picked up 2 that thought they were alone in this chaos over the last year. What's hard dealing with is losing your daughter to the leftist thought.

 

One. FB friend only, but for over 10 years. He's was close friend of a RL friend. That friend dumped his butt too.
He had covid last spring and was in isolation onboard the cruise ship where he worked. He jumped ship in the Caribbean somewhere and snuck back into Brooklyn where he infected his family and who knows how many others along the way.
Had I have known he was capable of such callousness I would never have befriended him. No hints to know this was how it would turn out.

 

One. FB friend only, but for over 10 years. He's was close friend of a RL friend. That friend dumped his butt too.
He had covid last spring and was in isolation onboard the cruise ship where he worked. He jumped ship in the Caribbean somewhere and snuck back into Brooklyn where he infected his family and who knows how many others along the way.
Had I have known he was capable of such callousness I would never have befriended him. No hints to know this was how it would turn out.

I know you will pretend that this isn’t the point.

But how many of his friends and family actually got sick? How many went to hospital?

It’s not like he had Ebola or typhoid.

 

I’ve lost a few friends but I think I just started
Removing people from my live I have no use for ?
I don’t talk politics , prepping , survival , guns ,
CC .
It’s just not worth having a problem .
I CC all the time and I don’t think any one but my wife and kids know .
I just assume every one CC here.

 

Ever notice how conservatives just stop talking about stupid crap, while leftists insist on talking about it, and seem to relish the confrontation, even when proven to be stupid and wrong?
It makes their voices the only voices heard by people that are developing their character and beliefs.

And we wonder how they gained control of everything. Insert eye roll here.

 

Yes my thoughts exactly! I will not back down or shutup, conservatives need to stand up and be heard at a national level and even more importantly on a personal level. How do so many right leaning people stay quite while the left ruins our society? I won't! Changing minds and opinions on a large scale may not be possible but at a personal level it definitely is and should be.

 

I'm the only non vaxed person in my circle. My wife ,kids, their spouses, my siblings all my friends , just about all the people I work with are jabbed. I'm constantly told I should get the shot. Im living in the apocalypse right now without the violence. It sucks .

 

I have a number of acquaintances that are on various levels of government from local to federal. Some in healthcare and a number in various industries that deal with some areas of the COVID response. Many are terse with conversations, others outright hostile. But I have not been “canceled” yet. But let's say my association with many have been left short as of late.

 

Covid is wierd. Almost certainlly man made in Wuhan.
So are the so called vaccines. Kinda like we are beta testing software.
So is the US Gov reaction to the Chinese effort to tear down our country.
So if I did not have a 93 yr old mother, I would strongly consider waiting till all this shakes out.
I dont blame anyone who does decide to wait it out. Because all I am really sure of is we are not hearing the truth about any of this.

 

Some people really hate logic.

If the vaccine works and you got it, then it shouldn't matter to you if I got it or not. And, If the vaccine doesn't work then there is no point in getting it in the first place.

A lot of people just can't wrap their heads around that concept these days.

And as a bonus, If you are right with God then you have nothing to fear from death.

 

It's somewhat like quantum entanglement. Their shot won't work unless you get yours.

IF THEY are turning on you, you have terrible taste in friends and picked the wrong ones.
Probably 90% of the people I consider friends have not been vaxed.
Then again, because I am a strange person without requiring a large social group of friends I have maybe 5 people who I really call friends, only one is an ex-cop, the rest are acquaintances with similar interests and there are maybe less than 10 of those,
And
of those 5, I only really talk to one regularly and that is maybe once a month and I only see him maybe once to twice a year.

IF I need close companionship I call my dog.
He is always there, he never disappoints, he listens well, does not disagree with me and never argues an opposing idiotic opinion and never ever ever tries to borrow money..

The number of close friends I have can be counted on one hand. We occasionally talk politics but mostly agree and nobody un-friends anybody if we disagree. My extended family (dozens) have almost ALL had covid and recovered. Only a couple have been vaxxed. Those who had it never reported it, never saw a doctor, never were hospitalized and simply stayed home and worked through it. We discuss the merits/demerits of the vaxx, but nobody is scorned one way or the other.

I don't know why this should be a friend-ending issue. If they are vaxxed you are no threat to them, right? If the former friend is a rabid leftist it was doomed to end one way or the other.

 

Please don't think of me being a un caring person but I give up on just having an adult conversation anymore. Seperate from this covid thing but goodness unless its drinking or outdoor stuff folks just get lost when I talk about other things. I'm very open about no vax for me and if I get a "bad reaction" from the folks oh well. Its normal to be alone for me. Family hasn't changed so at least I got that.

 

Had two friends die this year not Covid, we mourned then continued forward. Did you ever consider that your buddy might have been angry that he got Covid and you didn't?
So
actually Covid isn't really a topic of conversation around our family or friends we don't spend endless hours tracking it or listening to the news about it, it is what it is. I don't push my opinions on anyone and pretty much mind my own business unless someone asks. I personally know people who have had a severe reaction to the VAX and by the same token those who have not, they don't call it experimental for nothing, it could possibly be obsolete in it's efficacy by the end of the year anyway and the only vax that interests me is Novavax.
As for prepping i learned a long time ago that if folks don't have the sense to try and take care of themselves in case of crisis why should I, family being the exemption to that however i must admit, i do try to be a friend to everyone if i can small acts of kindness go a long way and it pleases my soul but frankly if your friends are abandoning you who are they really?

 

IF THEY are turning on you, you have terrible taste in friends and picked the wrong ones.
Probably 90% of the people I consider friends have not been vaxed.
Then again, because I am a strange person without requiring a large social group of friends I have maybe 5 people who I really call friends, only one is an ex-cop, the rest are acquaintances with similar interests and there are maybe less than 10 of those,
And
of those 5, I only really talk to one regularly and that is maybe once a month and I only see him maybe once to twice a year.

IF I need close companionship I call my dog.
He is always there, he never disappoints, he listens well, does not disagree with me and never argues an opposing idiotic opinion and never ever ever tries to borrow money..

 

I'm 65 and still have childhood friends who would do anything for me as I would for them.

 

The general consensus seems to be and I hear it all the time from family and friends regarding my daughter. Just don't talk politics.

If you haven't been paying attention the left tries to cancel and silence all opposition, especially over the last year.

Silence is the same as giving up and consent, IMO If that means losing my christian hating, conservative hating, communist daughter, so be it.

 

Not lately.

After a lifelong friend turned on me years ago I've really kept my distance from people. Never would have thought it would happen and it hurt me badly. Still not really over it.

Only person I let that close these days is my wife.

 

I was really surprised all my old army buddies got the vax. Now they make me like Im some crazy.

 

I no longer have friends. My "friend" of 45 years is considered family. He is the only outsider given a key to my parents remote cabin by my parents. He is vaccinated and has made it absolutely clear he will stand with me and my family no matter what happens. He is also planning on going to Montana when my cabin is completed. My only other "friend" of over 30 years left his house at 3 am and made a 6 hour drive in order to make it to my mom's funeral. He actually knows where in Montana I am buying land. By pure coudience, he drives by the nearby town a couple of times a year on the way to his sister's. Not vaccinated and has also made it clear in a SHTF he will stand by my side.
Funny thing is I never discussed SHTF plans with them. Both just said if it happens, they will come. The first has weapons and ammo and I have been in many tight spots with him before. The second is an outstanding martial artist, and one of my former instructors.

 

Fortunately, my circles of friends are on the same page as I am, in this sense: if we don't agree on something, we are emotionally mature enough to agree to disagree.

I have long ago hand-selected my friends. None of us like to thrive on drama and disrespect, even if we disagree. For sure, we do get passionate about some things, but not disrespectful.

I do have acquaintances, some of which I don't have the option of removing from my life entirely. Some of them are insufferable boors. Assholes, even.

To deal with them, I find that I just need to exercise the power of stepping away (mentally, if not physically):

 

I have long ago hand-selected my friends. None of us like to thrive on drama and disrespect, even if we disagree. For sure, we do get passionate about some things, but not disrespectful.

I do have acquaintances, some of which I don't have the option of removing from my life entirely. Some of them are insufferable boors. Assholes, even.

To deal with them, I find that I just need to exercise the power of stepping away (mentally, if not physically):

Yep. Exactly.

Relationships are draining.

Well....maybe that’s just you? I don’t find relationships draining. If they were, I wouldn’t have them. If you have to work at it, that’s not much of a relationship. Maybe you need to pick better people to have relationships with?

 

Relationships are draining. Who has that much time and energy? How many relationships do you really need? Being dependent on others is precarious. When they fail you - you fail.
Just like being a survivalist dependent on special tools rather than skills and knowledge.