I got into a very heated political discussion with my dad yesterday. I wound up telling him I can't discuss politics with him any more.
Background:
My dad served in the Navy in Vietnam. He is a proud NRA member, and per his words, a "Constitutional conservative". During the 2016 election, he despised Trump, but hated Hillary more, so he did what so many people did, held his nose and voted for Trump. The first 3 1/2 years of Trump's presidency, we didn't discuss politics whatsoever, so I had always hoped he was one of those people who voted for him, but later regretted it.
Turns out that was a fantasy.
During a different discussion where this information came to light, I reminded him how much he hated Trump, and asked what changed his mind. "He kept his promises", he said. We went on and on about how this mindset was a farce, that besides electing conservative judges, he hasn't kept a single promise. There was no getting through to my dad.
He really enjoyed having these talks, obtaining perspective from a liberal. And at first, I did too, hoping to gain some insight into the MAGA mind, but they quickly became painful. Since the time I no longer wanted to have these draining, soul sucking conversations, he would try to bait me into more discussions, but I never obliged. That is until yesterday.
It all started with sports. He told me he doesn't watch sports any more, because they've become "too political". I reminded him of a time when nobody paid any attention to what athletes did during the anthem, because in the pre-9/11 world, they were in the locker room. I also informed him that those who kneel aren't protesting the flag itself, but racism. "I understand that", he said, to which I asked myself, "then why are you upset?"
He lives in Minneapolis, and he was telling me about how there was an area downtown marked off in remembrance of George Floyd. He said, "George Floyd was a 'thug'", and that pissed me off. "He didn't die from the cops, he died because he had fentanyl in his system!" he exclaimed. I said, "no, he died from asphyxiation because a cop had his knee on his neck for 8 minutes, the autopsy reports confirm this." I asked him, even if it was true that illegally used fentanyl and had it in his system, does that mean he deserved to die. "Well, no", he said. I said "it's irrelevant whether or not he had ingested fentanyl....it doesn't matter". Then it became more about how people "worship" Floyd who was a "thug". I told him "they aren't praising HIM, but he represents something to the movement, as a reminder of the injustice and racism that is rampant in our society, you need to see it from their perspective." His only response was "ok ok", apparent that he was just placating me.
It was then that I said I can't have the discussions any longer. He asked why. I said "because I respect you and look up to you for the service you gave to our country, and you now support the most anti-constitutional president this country has ever known, you're a member of the Republican party, who is full of hypocrites who'll stop at nothing to win".
"What do you mean we're hypocrites?". I asked him if they should fill RBGs seat. "Absolutely", he said. I asked if he believed they should have held a hearing for Merrick Garland. "No", he said. I asked him what the difference was between then and now. "He was a liberal", he said. "Exactly", I said. "You aren't consistent, it's all about what's best for you and winning, if you were basing your decision on your principles, you'd be consistent". I then told him he was a member of a cult, his party is full of hypocrites and he doesn't see it. He truly could not see how it was hypocritical of him to have two different opinions on filling the Supreme Court seat. I did not tell him that I have since lost a lot of respect for him. We agreed to not discuss politics again, and I hung up physically drained and nauseated.