When Friendships End Where Politics Begin

Has your block list grown this week? I myself hit the unfollow button a few times. I do not feel good or relieved from doing so. In fact I am feeling the opposite, guilt.

Managing adult friendships has no universal manual or recipe. Now more than ever, there is so many elements of our relationships that complicate them. This post is specifically following the fine line between online opinions and in person relationships.

This week, social media was flooded with posts, stories and comments on an assassination. Across platforms, people were sharing their opinions, thoughts and points of view.

Students standing in front of the University of Utah, the campus where a recent political assasination took place. Image from the Utah System of Higher Education.

I am a person that loves to argue politics. I like to hear thoughts that oppose mine, and take that time to state my own while simultaneously flex my Law and Society Minor. No I am not always right, but I am almost always passionate and willing to listen.

However, as much as I love healthy debate, it became increasingly horrific to see some of my closest friends have inhumane takes I morally could not stomach. It left me with a lingering delima, of what friendship means and can withstand. Is it possible to maintain a friendship with a person who has opposing morals, values and political beliefs? If so, how?

This question goes beyond a grade school level of accepting differences. What happens when a friend supports a politician who does not support an individual’s human rights?

I researched what’s the best way to handle this scenario, or navigate politics in friendships. One article mentioned the enrichment and knowledge that can come from a close relationship someone with opposing beliefs.

Another article talks about how setting firm boundaries and active listening can make all the difference. Even with all the boundaries, and understanding, I cannot shake the uneasiness it causes me.

It may be hard, or even impossible, to have friends so opposite fundamentally. While knowing this, I reject the idea of being a person who exsists only in a comfortable echo chamber, never exposed to different perspectives.

Further, it feels cold and almost like a less mature version of myself to “cut off” a friend because of their views. On the other hand, I know that it is right to protect mental health and obtain a close community who believes in the opportunity of freedom, liberty and safety for all people, including myself.

With all the research I have done, it brought me back to the original start of this post. There is truly no right or wrong way to have, or not have an adult friendship. It is up to you, reader, and I to choose how we navigate them and who we decide to keep in our lives for whatever reasons.

Light and Love,

Kadaysha