Honestly I should have just ended the friendship there. That moment convinced me that they were ideologically aligned with me, but unwilling or unable to look past the propaganda. I figured if I put in the work I'd help them make a fine comrade out of themself.
Didn't happen at all. They had a kid and both they and their partner got promoted to management around the same time, and with that change in material condition they're flying down the alpha male propaganda pipeline. It's fucking frictionless.
Any time I point this out, or any other friend does, they just double down and try to debatebro their way out of it. I have stopped engaging, and am just telling them to "stop acting shitty" when they start, and hoping I can still recover. But it's so fucking tiring.
Them: "I just think that anyone who can work, should, but that we as a society can afford to give people the help they need"
Me: "So you would summarize your core political belief as 'from each according to their ability, to each according to their need?'"
Them: "Yes? That's it! Absolutely!"
Me: "That's a Marx quote. That's literally the core principle of communism. You should start identifying as a communist."
Them: "What? No, communism is bad and doesn't work"
Honestly I should have just ended the friendship there. That moment convinced me that they were ideologically aligned with me, but unwilling or unable to look past the propaganda. I figured if I put in the work I'd help them make a fine comrade out of themself.
Didn't happen at all. They had a kid and both they and their partner got promoted to management around the same time, and with that change in material condition they're flying down the alpha male propaganda pipeline. It's fucking frictionless.
Any time I point this out, or any other friend does, they just double down and try to debatebro their way out of it. I have stopped engaging, and am just telling them to "stop acting shitty" when they start, and hoping I can still recover. But it's so fucking tiring.