Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSadGirl
Can you be friends with someone who has drastically different opinions, morals or values from your own?
I am an opinionated loud mouth. I will say what I believe, un-apologetically, while not ramming it down peoples throats. I'm always up for a solid debate and my friends know this about me. I have friends of different faiths, from different countries, different political views, etc and I love the diversity. I guess as an example: I am agnostic. I would NEVER tell someone their religion is wrong, but I would be open to discussion/debate/etc if the other person was too. Just because I have a strong opinion, that doesn't mean I'm right. 
So what's the problem? Well a friend last night revealed that he is a homophobic white supremacist. I really like him as a person, but this made me want to puke. It directly conflicts with my own beliefs and I feel VERY strongly about it.
So where do you draw the line between being tolerant of views that don't match your own and kicking people to the curb? I'm not asking for opinions on the above specific situation. I just want to know where your limit is. |
They say "blood is thicker than water" (A song I really like
) and this is why--if a friend or acquaintence was saying this I would likely not want to take time to be friends. If it was a new development in a long friendship, I might stand back and wait it out. In the case of family, there are times (like the holidays) that you just have to tolerate it.
I also want to mention that I have seen cases where young people (middleschool ages come to mind) try out different POVs (it seems like a sort of rebellion of how they were raised) but then after a few years, they leave it all behind. So sometimes it can be appropriate to "tolerate" a POV for a while and see if the family member truly, deep down inside are what they are professing to be or if they are just exploring/experimenting in order to find their place in the world. Of course, you take the time to tell them why you think their POV is wrong but usually, you cannot change someone's mind in the short term about beliefs like these.