Someone just asked the opposite of this question here and I was wondering if there are cases were you’re just not interested in something but you know the community is great nonetheless.
I have always been a liberal leftist but I actually really enjoy being around old school, fiscally conservative Republicans, when they aren’t talking about politics. They tend to be softies on the inside - they value strength and tradition and care deeply for their communities and families; often more directly demonstrating that care than liberals tend to. They also don’t accept the victim mentality and tend to shoot straight with their words, and can be hilariously harsh. They are responsible and tend to follow through with their commitments.
The problem is, I can’t really stand being around them because they can’t help themselves bringing up the dumbest opinions of all time and they typically don’t like digging into fact based thinking.
Same now as 20 years ago, when they would say shit like, “pretty cold out today - don’t seem like global warming to me! Hahaha” etc etc
they value strength and tradition
And this is good because…?
Strength is good, tradition can be anything
Strength is good
Is shit that fascists say. Just a heads up.
And “tradition,” at least in this context, is almost always based in bigotry.
Fascists say some things that are normal, like anyone else; they just also say a lot of things that are evil. This one is normal. Strength is used as a tool by fascists but it in and of itself is not inherently bad.
Republican tradition is generally something that hurts our ability to make social progress, yes.
“Strength” when used in political contexts, is almost always related to some form of oppression at the very least.
I am struggling to think of a time when hearing a politician speak about “strength” could be seen as a good thing. Perhaps briefly, directly after 9/11, but before we decided to invade the wrong countries? Even then, it was more about unity than any kind of strength.
Strength, as in the power to exert your will on others, is a dangerous concept. This is the sense in which fascists use it.
Strength, as in the power to stand up for yourself, is good. We should all have the strength to fight against tyranny.
I guess I just wouldn’t use that word in the second case. Determination maybe?