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Spin Off - Do a Kids’ Parents Political Views Impact You Allowing A Friendship?
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Anonymous
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Let’s see if we can do this without being political. In public elementary school, my DD (who is Black) befriended a girl (White) whose parents supported a political candidate that I could not stand. The mom reached out twice for a playdate and I made up excuses, hoping the friendship would eventually die down. However, after a dance recital, the mom cornered me and I relented. Admittedly after watching the girls play together behind the scenes of the recital, it was obvious they had a really good bond.
Eventually, our daughters ended up becoming best friends. This girl and her mom were literally the nicest people I have ever met. And the girl and her brother were the best behaved kids I had ever met as well. We never discussed politics. They eventually moved away. But interestingly, after the George Floyd murder, she wrote me a long message about how it had impacted her and asked if we could talk about what had happened. |
Anonymous
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My thinking is that kids don’t get to pick their parents and may not hold the same beliefs as their parents once they are old enough to determine their own political views. They are not their parents.
We are polite to parents with opposing political views but aren’t going out of our way to hang out with them. That said, 80% of the kids in our social circles with parents from the other side are total dicks and my kids don’t like them anyway. But the 20% who are actually good kids are welcome in our home. |
Anonymous
| I normally run a quick LinkedIn check on the parents. Work directly for certain republicans and no. I ignore or tell them no. Work for those I align with. Welcome with open arms. I won’t tolerate my children being influenced by those with narrow views. |
Anonymous
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If your family supports Trump, our children cannot be friends (at least not outside of school hours). The parents can try to “corner” me, but I will not relent and I will tell them why the relationship is a nonstarter.
This goes beyond supporting a political candidate. If you support Trump, you’re ok with too many things (racism, sexism, rape) that I cannot accept. I will question your judgement and your morality, so I cannot trust my children around you and your children. |
Anonymous
You are the one with the narrow views. Disgusting and close minded. You should be ashamed. |
Anonymous
So close minded. Way to raise your kids in a vacuum. Exposure to a diversity of views is good for all of us. |
Anonymous
| Yes and no. This is DC. If the parents are just “regular citizens” who have different views, I do not care. It’s no different than families who have a different religion or root for different sports teams. If the parents are actively working against policies and issues that impact us or that we support, then we do not go out of our way to encourage or facilitate friendships. One example would be a family at our school where the mom is a prominent lobbyist for an industry that actively works to defund or discredit the research my husband works on. There is a difference to me between politely not discussing politics and knowing someone’s job is literally to try to eliminate your job. |
Anonymous
I’m UNAPOLOGETICALLY not open minded about a racist, sexist, rapist POS. My children live in the real world, watch the news, and read newspapers and books, so they have been exposed to a “diversity of views” their entire lives. They also live in Washington, DC so they’ve had front row seats to 4 years of the s-show also known as the Trump administration. We will not welcome those who hold these abhorrent views into our personal lives. However, you’re free to do so. |
Anonymous
| This thread and you posters are horrible. I mean, if we are at a point where you believe that children of the Republican candidate are so evil that they cannot play with your children, you are the narrow minded one and playing an essential role in the demise of our democracy. It’s horrendous to me the vitriol on both sides; respectful disagreement is the only reason democracy will actually survive and being friends and sociable with people with other viewpoints without demonizing them is essential to being able to forge a compromise. Our system of government is predicated on compromise. One of the things I absolutely love about my child’s private school is that diversity of viewpoints is encouraged and valued and it’s truly a community of actually differing opinions. I think it makes for a wonderful academic experiences for my child and one of the reasons why GDS (and Sidwell to a lesser extend) sort of turn me off. And I am a democrat. With lots of republican friends! |
Anonymous
Wow. You're a horrible person. - not a Trump supporter |
Anonymous
Oh boy. Good luck to your children who have to live in this country and deal with people of all persuasions, as we all do. You are not preparing them well for this world. |
Anonymous
I’m a moderate to left leaning Democrat and I think this is kind of crazy. To answer the question, I would not prevent my kids from being friends with a kid whose parents are Republicans. I don’t assume someone is a terrible person just because their political views are different than my own, and I don’t think it’s possible or a good thing to prevent my kids from hearing views that are different than the ones they hear at home. |
Anonymous
Unfortunately, you are a Trump supporter. If you think being closed to the idea of befriending those who support a racist and sexist rapist makes me a bad person, then you just told on yourself. Your projection is a confession. |
Anonymous
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I don’t typically talk politics with people. So unless someone is totally over the top, which for me is a turnoff in general, I couldn’t tell you the political views of our kids friends. I think one of the things that has really been a negative in general society is how openly aggressive people have gotten about politics.
If our kids have friends that come from kind families, I truly don’t need to know and don’t care how they vote. |
Anonymous
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I don’t know the voting preferences of most parents. I have an equal dislike for all adults who wear their politics like a badge of honor. I imagine most people I relate with are moderates from both parties. People I avoid are those who apply the term ‘hate’ to anyone who thinks differently from them.
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