I've been falsely accused of Kool-Aid drinking!

[Pushed To The Left]

My supervisor is a Democrat and we like to discuss politics. But lately, when political issues come up, she has been accusing me of being too partisan and not listening to "both sides". Today, she said that I "believe my side too much" and that I should be more open-minded! I found this to be very insulting, because I think that I analyze the issues and come to my own conclusions. I am partisan to progressive causes, but I became that way based on my own analysis of what was going on in the country.

I don't mind if people disagree with me, because no two people agree on every issue. What really bothers me is when people make insulting assumptions that I have been brainwashed somehow, or that my views aren't really my own. Maybe I just have a different opinion! Maybe I thought about it myself and this is the conclusion I came to! The ironic thing is that I have been a talk radio listener for over 15 years, and listening to conservatives definitely made me much more liberal!

[Kire]

1. I'm drinking Hawaiian Punch, right now.

oh, I see

[Lars39]

2. She's guilty of what a lot of people are:

thinking that what is happening is just politics as usual.

[bpilgrim]

3. to someone not paying all that close attention it may be how you come off

that and they are scared and don't wanna believe the evil it all adds up to.

who could blame them, really, with our M$MW :shrug:

peace

[William769]

4. When accused of drinking "Kool-aid"

Add sugar to sweeten it. There is good reason why allot of people are partisan right now. It has to do with the bush cabal.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi William769!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Telly Savalas]

5. But every issue has two valid sides, and both should be considered.

For example a lot of people are quick to assume that it was bad that the Khmer Rouge slaughtered a few million people in Cambodia, but are too rigid in their thinking to look at the other side of the issue and see things from Pol Pot's perspective.

Also, mathematicians are so blinded by their ideology that they fail to consider alternatives to their dogmatic assertion that 2 plus 2 equals four. They're so brainwashed by the propaganda that they've been fed since first grade, they're afraid to look at both sides of the issue.

Your supervisor is right. You need to open your mind.

[housewolf]

6. Gosh... you know...

What people accuse others of tells you more about them than the one they are accusing...

There's a saying that goes "when you point the finger at someone, there are 3 fingers pointing back at yourself."

Meaning... it's so much easier and fun to accuse others of what is true about oneself.

Perhaps you can find a way to suggest such to your supervisor. It could perhaps open some conversation about what "other siders" your supervisor is listening to that affecting her viewpoint. It sounds as though she is accepting some rw ideas, moving from a place of agreement that the two of you shared, not being fully honest about it, and covertly suggesting/wanting you to come along with her.

[chalky]

7. One word for your supervisor:

Projection.

[Cleita]

8. Relax. They tell me that all the time because they

believe everything they hear on CNN. When I point out to them that CNN is very partisan and right wing, they look in disbelief that a reliable news source like that would omit facts or even lie.

I gently move them towards the truth and the sources I got them from. Okay it was DU but usually they come from another source originally and many are mainstream and credible sources.

Good luck.

[KurtNYC]

10. To influence people, you have to be willing to listen to their

thinking. Could she have meant this constructively?

When my father argues politics, he is mainly concerned with pissing the other side off. I have tried to talk him out of this strategy (if it is one) to no result. I think it is better to try to get some facts on the table and then talk about which side has a better plan to deal with the facts.