I've got three incredibly close and good friends. They aren't perfect people, ranging from typical American lib, to centrist/conservative. We generally stay away from hot button topics, because we just don't agree on stuff.
(ie : an argument that i made suggesting cops don't belong in kids showa/movies, and they were all cool with it because "what's the harm in showing kids what police should be)
I linked to a meme on Twitter just today, and the user had a hammer & sickle, after laughing one friend said" wow, hammer and sickle big yikes". They don't have any idea about where I lay politically, and frankly it's been a pretty radical shift left in the last 10 months.
Anyone else have a situation like this? And how do you approach things?
My point of view is that it is important to have close friends like that and "converting" them should not be an active priority. I do not hide my political leanings from close friends, but it's not like I advertise them or bring them up in conversation if it doesn't come up naturally. Debating people is usually unfruitful and could be harmful to friendships. Sometimes hostile topics like "but they killed 100 million" come up, and I say something like "that ignores historical context and is never compared to similar deaths under capitalism, but I'm not really interested in debating about it."
Of course, if they know you are a commie they might one day come to you with honest interest, and in that case, you should be ready to have a dialogue with them, but it should not be thought of as a goal of friendship.
Yes, be a good example. Be a normal, likeable, approachable good friend and also be a communist. And also be a good communist and stand up for things you believe in and speak out against obviously harmful things. But mostly be approachable as someone who has set a god example and is knowledgeable about communism, as you will be proven right and reasonable people might come to you for genuine insight and guidance one day.