They have been friends long before trump came around. Being conservative or democrat didn't used to mean you would be lifelong enemies. Unfortunately the current political landscape has made it so.
It’s not like that happened in a vacuum. It’s easy to be friends when you disagree on things like foreign and fiscal policy. Less easy when you disagree on things like rounding up every immigrant and keeping them in camps for months in violation of the Constitution, or whether we should ban books in school libraries, or whether hospitals should be permitted to provide every effective treatment to at-risk pregnant women without fear of criminal reprisal.
Or, more pointedly, when you disagree on the importance of an underage sexual trafficking ring that heavily implicates a political leader.
When what’s considered “political” focuses so heavily on a lot of people’s ability to live a safe, healthy life, that changes the dynamic. Escalation always changes things.
You can’t really expect people to write those kinds of disagreements off just because they’ve now become “political” disputes, can you?
Thank you. I am so sick of people gaslighting this shit CONSTANTLY because they either agree with this or can't stand to admit their 'rap God' is a fuckin tool
"unbending loyalty" is an irresistibly sweet reward when you're a fucking awful person rational folk refuse to put up with. It's like how some shitbags go the "Christian forgiveness" route so they can LARP being their worst self and insulate from consequences.
If my friends become atrocious human beings, they aren't my friends. And that extends to their decision making rather than realistically having anything to do with politics.
"Politics" is an excuse from people who know they're making shitty decisions and want more padding for the consequences.
Back before this administration, people could be friends regardless of beliefs and political stances. It was like "I can't agree with you on xyz, but I'll vote how I want and you vote how you want and that's that"
Now? A lot of the current agenda is to drive a wedge between people and unfortunately it's working. Why would I want to be or stay friends with someone who voted for waves hands around this?
Let's be honest. Kid Rock's political opinions goes beyond just being conservative or a democrat. He's waved his colors and thoughts about politics to the point where any person/friend with some kind of spine would sit down and talk to him or cut him off.
Cutting someone off, while necessary sometimes, also just silos people in their own point of view. The truth is that changing someone’s mind takes work that most people aren’t willing to do, and cutting people off is the alternative.
If you really want to change someone’s mind build a relationship and trust with that person on any other topic/activity. Then make sure that person feels you have understood THEIR point of view accurately, and always show you respect that person’s autonomy. Be someone that makes others feel good about themselves, and also be someone people want to be. Do that, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how that person responds over time when you can disagree with but respect that person’s opinion.
Im speaking about people in general, and from my personal experience with many in my family. Im genuinely just trying to help give people a guide to better understanding. I could give two fucks about these guys, so why all the hate?
Because people like you only ever seem to devote your energy to getting the left to look more kindly on the right when they don't deserve it. You couldn't care if the right changes their attitude to us, you just try to browbeat us into giving in to your silly, repeatedly failed kumbaya nonsense because you think we'll fold more easily than the insane fascists. Sorry, but no, the stakes are way too high for that.
We're not going to spit on our own dead and swallow lost rights and safety for your kumbaya fantasies that have failed every time the USA has tried. Most recently in 2020-2024.
I don't disagree with you, but it's also important to note that we're all dealing with shit in our lives and it's not anybody's task or burden to sit down and talk to these people and try to change their opinions on basic and fundamentally wrong shit like racism or just treating other people terrible in general. We can respect and admire If someone has the interest, willpower and/or stubbornness to sit down and try to talk to these people, but it should in no way be expected nor should someone not doing this feel like they're less of a person than someone who does.
I completely agree, but we also shouldn’t turn people willing/able to engage with the other side into pariahs, which is exactly what’s happening here, to me, and is my experience broadly speaking.
It's up to each individual person to determine whether or not they want to "deal" with such people. Nobody owe these people any seconds of their time if they don't want to. The person spewing and brewing hate is the one who got themselves in this situation in the first place.
If people want to treat these people like a pariah then so be it. For someone in Kid Rock's case the list and magnitude of terrible things is too long/big for many people to ever accept. It's usually a dealbreaker.
I have a lot of experience with my family, I was born in a Cult, like an actual one. I have people still in it, I’ve helped people leave. So believe me, I know the good, the bad, and the ugly. I also know you get nowhere if you don’t try.
I have no interest in making morons feel good about themselves. I have no respect for anyone’s belligerent MAGA opinions. The fact that they think they’re owed respect and have earned an audience for their piss poor political opinions is a big part of the problem. Coddling idiots is a disservice to everyone involved, not sure when we lost the plot on this as a society. There have always been idiots, but the entitlement of modern idiots is baffling
Calling an idiot an idiot doesn’t change they’re an idiot. And cutting them out doesnt mean they cant vote anymore.
Civic engagement is a thing, it’s actually how elections are won. I dont care if you all want to downvote me to oblivion, but consider doing the work to make things better, instead of just taking a moral high ground.
You can’t MAKE someone change, this is absolutely true. But you CAN make it easier for another person to make the choice, this is also absolutely true.
I dunno...from a data perspective they both have said some fucked up shit back in the day and is now being dragged up into today's modern views.
Im an M fan and never cared for kid rock but I dont see how this is different. M can rap about rape and murder and ingesting millions of drugs while setting building in fire ect. He went everywhere during his prime.
So how is one joking but not the other? Either they both fucked up or they both joking. 🤷
Or, one is joking and the other isn't 🤷♂️ Even back on the day, it seemed clear Em was more in a theatrical shock/horror style while Kid Rock seemed more just gross. Even in Guilty Conscience, when Em raps about an underage girl, it's in the context of the bad side of the character's mind. Kid Rock is just saying it from his own perspective with no indication it's a character or even something clearly wrong. It's just, "yeah, I do this".
When "one side" of the political landscape promotes or enables the elimination and/or extermination of people I love and care about, it ceases to be about "disagreements". Yes, we probably have common ground on certain things, but those hateful viewpoints are dealbreakers for me to consider them "friends". I will work and interact with them because I have to for my livelihood, but I will never trust them or count on them for anything personal in my life again.
At least now you know why people on the left fucking hate Democrats. They promote and enable the extermination and elimination of Palestinians. “The Republicans want to do to my friends what we’re doing to Palestinians! That makes them worse than us!” isn’t the gotcha ya’ll think it is. “Don’t you understand? The Republicans want to make our foreign policy our domestic policy! That is fine over there but here?!?!? HERE?!?!? The Democrats are civilized. We export misery and genocide, not create it here.”
I'm close friends with someone who has always considered himself a republican. But he hates Trump. There's a difference between being Republican and being MAGA.
Much to my dismay, he did not vote. He regrets not voting for Kamala Harris now (though living in Florida ofc not like it makes a difference). He didn't think things would be as bad as they are.
You said they were republican, not just a conservative.
I feel a little bit for the ‘traditional’ republican who didn’t want any part of Trump, but the reality is, the Republican Party has been fully hijacked. There’s no “never Trump” wing anymore, all the dissenters have either retired, or been voted out(Romney, Cheney, Kinzinger, etc)
Yeah he considers himself a republican. But if you're a republican and the Republican party goes MAGA, do you stop being Republican just because you hate Trump/MAGA? At some point, I suppose... But right now he's more of a disenfranchised Republican I think. To the point where I'm hoping this midterms I can convince him to vote democrat (though he's in a pretty deep red county, I think), but him begrudgingly voting democrat doesn't make him a democrat (unfortunately).
Over the years of arguing with him he has also become more moderate on some stuff.
If you are willing to throw away 40 years of friendship because someone put a circle next to an R or D, then that’s on you. That is in no way normal or healthy. That line of thinking is why we’re in the mess we’re in and trying to further ostracize one group is just going to lead to further division and chaos.
Have the day you deserve. Hope you never find yourself on the other side of a family who’s voting for people trying to pass laws to erase your rights & existence.
Id be willing to let that "friend" fail if they refused to acknowledge their folly and legit apologize for supporting a regime that has destroyed the lives of millions. Until then, they can rot and I wouldnt care how many decades is between us; hell, Ive cut family for less.
…. eminem has made songs about raping his mom and murdering people, so this isn’t the point you think it is.
edit: my point was regarding using lyrics specifically to compare the two.
eminem was also an addict who has admitted to being wildly abusive to his partner, has used homophobic slurs repeatedly in his career, and has a history of violence. he has since grown as a person and is a great father and person now, and we love him for that.
but this weird saint-washing of eminem to emphasize how “uncharacteristic” of him it is to ..checks notes.. do a collab with someone that reddit doesn’t like, like it’s the worst thing he’s ever done and everyone is so surprised, and will never support him again, is so fucking weird and a lot of yall need to take a break from the internet and engage with the real world again.
Context matters here. Idk about kid rock because I don’t listen to his music, but Eminem is very much a horror-core rapper who uses a lot of absurdist lyrics. It’s understood that he’s not serious about those lines and often uses them as a social commentary.
I'm not sure if that's the context. I'm not sure if you can point the lyrics with the f slur and say it's just lyrics, if that's promotes real life violence against gays.
I'm not sure that you can platform domestic abusers, and say that it's just horror lyrics.
I think people need to understand what Eminem as a cultural figure is. He has certainly remained Teflon against some pretty real back lash.
Honestly, it’s even fine for purely horror purposes, especially for a genre called “horror-core”. Doesn’t always have to have social commentary to attach to it
Are either of the things you listed good? No. Are they as bad as or worse than harming a child? Bigger no. Also context of Eminems songs, which are clearly trauma venting.
Kid Rock bends the knee to fascists and advocates SA of children.
If you have friends that support this regime, its time to look for better friends. People that support the blatant harm and torture of others isnt someone Id call a "friend".
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u/stingeragent 5h ago
They have been friends long before trump came around. Being conservative or democrat didn't used to mean you would be lifelong enemies. Unfortunately the current political landscape has made it so.