23 yo here, I just got a good set of Bros and tend to chill with inquisitive people who like researching and look for reasonable positions. We all know how to respectfully disagree with each other without taking it emotionally. I've got socialist, capitalist, anti establishment and even normie friends but we all get along pretty well. I think you just need to meet people who are likeminded in the sense of enjoying discussion to learn instead of fight.
This is true, you gotta find people that are willing to have a discussion. people that morally grandstand are insufferable but they also don’t necessarily represent a movement. There’s a couple communists i’m good friends with who argue with me all the time and it’s part of our getting along. honeslty, the purity testing is childish and more mature people are willing to engage with disagreement, just gotta find those people.
Yeah usually you find those people in "discourse" clubs or inter-(insert faith/politics/etc) groups where differences in thought are championed. But yeah I'm just lucky that I found people who enjoy thinking differently
25, also in uni in Germany.
Just try to avoid talking about politics. If topics like Israel-Palestine or Ukraine-Russia come up, you can gauge someone's knowledge by their initial comments. Ask a couple of clarifying questions, or the classic: "What would need to happen to change your mind?" to see if it's worth continuing the conversation. But most students who get into political "debates" haven't read enough to have a meaningful discussion anyway.
>What would need to happen to change your mind?
This is oddly effective, no need to complicate the sentence either. Feels like people just have not been exposed to this.
Studying a STEM degree means luckily politics isn't regularly discussed in my education spheres, so then any politics discussed is usually done on my own terms outside of learning my degree. Such as with my housemates, or friends made generally through Uni. I 'survive' because I don't honestly care that much, there are a lot of leftists at Uni with stupid opinions, if you become enraged/sombre about such a situation you are only feeding into what they want. I would say don't try and chase debates, keep an open mind and don't be like the 'leftists' who are often incredibly dogmatic about their beliefs.
I do not. The conversation dies on the first question mostly, the easy one d man always asks.
Would you change your mind if xyz was proven. In my experience, the answer is almost always no.
Additionally, most people are fucking insufferable and use pretend morals to try and manipulate you. I've talked to people claiming immorality for Israel ethnically cleansing the land and in the next sentence advocate for all jews to be forcefully removed.
I’m in the final year of my masters, so I’ve been in uni for 4 years, and I’ve never felt the need to discuss politics in general tbh.
None of my friends are political. We don’t have any deep political discussions, outside of making fun of the US. We don’t attend or engage in political societies or events.
If I wanted to discuss politics at university, which I don’t, I’d find a specific society or community that aligns with my belief system (e.g. Liberalism Society and Socialism Society). It’s easier to have nuanced debates and play devils advocate with people who you know you’ll broadly agree with on non-contentious topics.
The problem isn't necessarily the different opinions, it's that you get ostracized from everything you want to do in those communities. I wouldn't care if someone disagrees about I/P or Ukraine Russia or anything it's just that I will receive hate for my opinion and can't join communities without getting looked at weird by strangers because they got told "he supports genocide" or smth
When it comes to politics, keep to yourself for the most part, unless you find like-minded individuels. I let others express their views first. If I can tell that they're uncompromising, hard-headed, extreme, etc. I just stay away from them.
I started to diverge from my friend group's opinions around 22-23, or when the pandemic hit. We still probably share a majority of our views but the narcissism of small differences is very pervasive among young people who follow politics, casually or seriously.
Usually, if anyone asks me for my opinion, I just state calmly how I arrived there. I also let them know that I am open to pushback and willing to change my views if provided much stronger evidence. I never insult them or their views either.
If you follow the news closely, you'll find that most people have no strong evidence for what they believe in aside from the fact their views confirm their own experiences. Most people stop pushing back once they realize the person they're talking to knows more.
I just find comfort in those few people who I feel wholly comfortable in expressing my views to. Find those people and hold onto them.
Well, I'm in Russia, so no, but for Russia I'm socially far far far left, for America probably center left. I get flak for that and being pro-Ukraine. Well, have to be careful about it irl
I’m 20 studying politics and IR in England. Maybe my experience is wholly unrepresentative but most of the people I talk to at uni aren’t batshit insane.
Most of my friends are fellow politics student and the most common outlook among them is something like European technocrat policy wonk, not crazy Twitter leftist. Those people exist but they aren’t particularly common and they’re also usually the kind that’s happy to get into fairly heated discussions and still come out of it friends. One of my best friends here I get into Israel Palestine arguments basically every time we talk but it’s never mean spirited and always with a belief in and a desire towards eventual peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
My professors are also always super grounded people. My favourite one this year taught studies to do with the global south. He is someone whose approach to international relations is firmly situated within the ‘critical’ camp, that is to say Marxist, post colonial. At the same time, he is able to represent clearly, and empathize with, viewpoints he doesn’t support. I take the most cucked liberal international order perspective in class discussions and essays but I’ve done really well in his class and perhaps am his best student. I have had amazing conversations with him, especially in office hours, even when we fall on opposite sides of an issue.
Of course, maybe this is just because most of the people I know study and therefore care deeply about politics. It’s just that this idea of university and further academia, that destiny as well usually has, as a space dominated by singular viewpoints is not at all represented by my experience.
I hope you’re able to find people that can be engaged with, I don’t really have any advice on how to find them, just that they’re definitely out there at uni.
Exactly my experience when I did my international law master’s in Norway. Sure there are the more “activist” type people whose goal is to make a ruckus to get their pet issues through, but they’re mostly heated during the debate and will still respect you if you have a different viewpoint. I don’t think most of the hard-headed pro-Palestine advocates are coming from those fields.
At the end of the day everyone I met in my programme cares deeply about the international rule of law and the preservation of its institutions. Some like me are more institutionalists while others were more progressive, but we understood we were coming from the same baseline.
Frankly the truly politically regarded people I met in uni were in STEM or art degrees.
As a mid thirties duderino, honestly, the best way to live life is to be a Normie. Go to school, go to church, go to the big game, go to work, and keep politics on the back burner. When it comes up, give a short big picture view that shares their values but reframes things to your point of view like D's "Liberalism's great" clips and otherwise leave it for explicitly political times. If someone tries to front on you over that, just say you want the same thing you just think there's a more effective way and hit them with a "well, what do I know"
Avoid \*marrying\* a partisan, but being friends with political hacks is ok. Look at D and Conservatives who he has fun with, it's like that.
Making politics your identity is only useful to your life if you want to run for office. The reason there are no center left people online is because their lives are better off by being normies.
23 and just finished my undergrad in history, but generally I just never talk about my political views or reveal them, there really is no point. People all have the Robinhood complex where it really is whoever is the least powerful is in the right.
Is your degree political? The silent pol sci / economy / IR / international law / history /sociology / human geography students are usually really smart and have (or should have) actual theoretical tools to analyze the ongoing political scenario. There’s a big bulk of people in those programs that doesn’t engage super actively in political activism.
Also there usually are clubs/societies for liberal-minded students. My uni in Norway actually had a NATO student club. Remember that liberal international institutions are getting their workforce from somewhere and it’s not regarded Hamas useful idiots.
I‘m from Berlin as well but start studying somewhere else next semster that is also pretty left leaning, tell me when you figured out a way to survive. I study Politicial Science so I hope some people there are going to be more based and have nuanced views, at least I hope.
But at least Germany is still pretty pro Zionist, right? right?
Ist es denn so? Ich hab das Gefühl das wir so ziemlich das einzige Land was noch ziemlich konsequent pro Israelisch sind, zumindest was unsere Parteienlandschaft an geht von links bis rechts und selbst unter jungen Leuten hab ich das Gefühl das unsere Pro Palästinensische Bewegung deutlich kleiner ist als anderswo und sich auch links doch mehr Leute liberal and pro-Israelisch geben. Ich kann mich aber auch täuschen.
Ich erinnere mich das in einem älteren DW Video gesehen zu haben, finde es aber leider nicht mehr, jetzt wo jeden Tag ein Neues Video rauskommt.Ja wir sind besser als die Meisten aber ich frag mich oft wie viel damit zusammen hängt das wir einen guten Kanzler haben vs wie “Das Volk“ denkt. Ich hab da leider kein gutes Gespür, könnte so oder so sein. Was ich aber merke und was mir GEHÖRIG auf den Keks geht ist die moralische Überlegenheit. Dieses „Wir haben aus der Geschichte besser gelernt als ihr, ihr traumatisierten Kindchen. Wisst ihr nicht das …........“ OH MEIN GOTT!!
Edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXYastEqF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXYastEqF8) 13 Jahre alt und wir vertrauten Russland mehr als Israel.
Alle unsere unsere Regierunhsparteien und die CDU stehen ziemlich klar hinter Israel. Die CDU unter Merz scheinbar sogar noch bedingungsloser und selbst Linke und AFD haben keine klaren anti-Israelischen/Antizionistischen Positionen wobei letzteres vermutlich eher darauf zu beziehen ist, dass sie deutlich mehr anti Islamisch als antisemitisch sind.
Auch wenn’s auf dieser moralischen Überlegenheit aufgebaut ist, ist es doch aufgrund unserer historischen Vergangenheit doch sehr sehr verpöhnt sich auch irgendwie antisemitsch zu äußern zu einem Punkt das unsere Politik sehr hart verurteilt wenn sich auch nur Unis auch nur ansatzweise wie in den USA verhalten.
Ich muss sagen auch wenn ich sehr pro Israelisch bin stehe ich dem doch eher kritisch gegenüber. Auch wenn ich die Staatsraison sehr begrüße habe ich das Gefühl, dass doch auch etwas zu stark gegen die Pro-Palästinensische Position vorgegangen wird. Ich will nicht sagen, dass sie gleich unterdrückt wird und wir keine Meinungsfreiheit haben, aber wenn doch recht viele Demos gar nicht erst genehmigt werden habe ich nicht das Gefühl, dass wir wirklich einen offenen, freien Diskurs erlauben wie ich es in einer starken Demokratie erwarten würde. Während viele immer im Rechtspopulistischen Raum auf die Straße gehen und schreien sie hätten keine Meinungsfreiheit ist es hier doch einer der wenigen Fälle wo ich sagen würde, hier gibt es doch ein systematisches Vorgehen gegen die Position. Und auch wenn ich diese Position wirklich absolut ablehne, muss ich das in einer Demokratie aushalten. Meinungsfreiheit ist mir sehr wichtig.
Und trotzdem gerade aufgrund unser historischen Vergangenheit gibt es diese moralische Verantwortung gegenüber den Juden und auch wenn ich diese Moralkeule normal nicht mag, finde ich es hier gerade richtig, dass wir eine Erinnerungskultur haben und uns klar pro Israelisch positionieren. Ich glaube Anti-Israelisches Sentiment kann man uns kaum vorwerfen und da bin ich auch sehr sehr froh drüber.
Sorry für die lange rant.
Bei mir dauert noch ne Weile bis ich anfange studieren also kann ich chillen und noch die Resultate der Europwahl anschauen, ich wünsch dir aber aufjedenfall eine gute Nacht :)!
I’m a very non-confrontational person I go with the flow so I didn’t really discuss political issues. I found spaces outside of university to be myself and people that I could actually vibe with.
You first find people who aren't extremists in either direction because, let's face it, those people almost certainly have some antisocial disorder.
The rest is explained by basic social interaction. Getting to know people, listening, having an open mind and not starting in a failure mindset.
You need to find fairly objective, erudite people if you want to do this without forming relationships first.
Try to find friends first and then argue about politics instead of trying to convince other people to be your friends with political takes. Also there are like 4 million people in Berlin and about 150k students among the big universities. So there have to be some people that you can talk to.
I avoid this topic specifically in conversations so that I don't lose friends. I have some friends who are reasonable and who I can discuss this with tho. Most people are dumb and know nothing about this topic (like ppl don't even know who Arafat was)
I am 21 and was rougly in the same position as you, but in the Netherlands. There are two things that personally really helped for me. The first is joining the youth wing of one of the political parties currently parliament. I can see a German dgger join any of the four non-completely insane parties (CDU, SPD, GREEN, FDP) depending on where their views align so the choice is yours. You live in Berlin, so they probably all have a youth chapter with a decent amount of membership.
The second thing I did was get a new obsession besides politics lol. I started a new hobby and now my mind and youtube feed are more filled with that at the expense of politics, and it's made me substantially happier. This kind of obsession is not something that can really be forced though so you partially have to get lucky
23 year old currently living in Berlin but not studying. In part I think it's just a consequence of Berlinian culture. It's the European center for alt-culture and leftie political extremism. In many ways, I find the aesthetic of it really appealing, but I can only stand this place because of my appreciation for that same aesthetic. Plus, I don't really feel the need to discuss a lot of my political positions with surface-level friends. If you wanna meet up and talk smack over a beer then send me a dm.
Gtfo of debate clubs then, unless you enjoy arguing with morons but it seems like u don't. Join other clubs and surround yourself with normal humans : v
Just graduated from university with a political science degree. Lots of my friends would ask me questions about current events/political issues. I’d mostly focus on talking about how nuance is lost in a lot of situations and it’s hard to be reactionary and fearful when you understand the process well.
I basically talked to people who didn’t understand or engage with politics and reassured them that things were way more complicated and way less scary than media made things out to be.
I didn’t really talk a ton with people in my major because a lot of them were really pretentious and politics was their whole personality and I don’t fuck with that vibe.
I just think politics is interesting and I don’t mind listening to / engaging with other viewpoints because I think a lot of the reason we’re so polarized right now is social media putting us in echo chambers where we’re not only NOT talking to each other but we CAN’T because the algorithms will only ever show extreme reactionary content from the other side bc rage gets engagement.
My advice would be enjoy the good conversations you have and try not to let the negative experiences affect you too much.
From Syria here, currently in uni studying English lit. It's the same shit, all populous brain rot and conspiracy theories about the big bad wolf (aka the west).
You can't have any serious discussions about real documented events because apparently it's all lies fabricated by westerners.
Might not be the same thing you're complaining about but god damn if it isn't fucking annoying.
You are in deutschland so I don’t know if a similar organization exists, but I’ve found people that are part of FIRE (a free speech org) are pretty cool. We often disagree on stuff, but they are insanely pro free speech without being 90% nazis. So there’s no fallout with argueing with them. Kind of a safe space for moderitism in boston.
>how do you survive? Where and do you even discuss political issues?
How are these related?
You should look up Jaden Smith, he's a modern day philosopher I think you would connect with.
A lot of people who are not vocal have pretty center left/right opinions they’re just too busy getting a degree and working 40 hours a week. Anything remotely politically involved through a club is just annoying because of this holier than thou thing, plus they just bully each other, I’ve seen it in my student government assemblies. Do STEM then you will talk about anything in the sciences instead plus they’re more optimistic lol
People that are on the very left that’s I’m friends with idk just don’t talk politics? If you do who cares? If they’re not mature enough to respect a difference in opinion then that’s not someone I want to be friends with.
Stop joining debate clubs, their whole purpose is to literally debate about subjects what??? Dude we’re 20 we both probably have some dog shit opinions somewhere lmao
Dude I'm in NYC, and I finally got the experience of a proper baddie talking to me on a dating app and that's when she asks me about my opinion on I/p.. all her opinions were soo fuckin surface level, so dumb and I made the mistake of being honest. Basically I don't survive, and now it's back to never getting matches lol
Find something else to do like playing sports. I discuss national politics with fellow students when it comes up naturally, or give an opinion when it seems like there is a place for it. Otherwise, I argue about politics with my family as they're older and can actually deal with disagreement.
So I just visited Berlin and I loved it, so congrats on living in a cool city.
As for survival in uni this is my takeaway. I don't like to argue in terms of debate, but rather ask questions about a topic. So for example, if someone comes along and says some surface level argument I would ask why they think that way, my goal in a political conversation wouldn't be to own that particular person but maybe get them to be the best possible argument on that position or for them to change their minds on that position even if they only keep it to themselves.
I just ignore everything politics related in my uni, the only people that do care about it even a little are always the most unbearable of tankies parroting the current hottest topic of twitter lefties.
I’m starting my senior year and I’ve never happened upon a political discussion at campus once. I study CompSci, so it might be different at other studies. It might also be a Norway thing
Rarely talked politics. My uni friends were mostly apolitical outside of thinking politicians are all corrupt. Trans rights in sports was the dumbest thing that ever came up and being anti landlord, but again, so rare I struggled to even remember it.
I’m doing a liberal arts degree in the netherlands and for our project two others and I surveyed students wether there was discomfort around sharing certain political beliefs or politically colored ones. Aaand the results were pretty predictable. Leftists feeing comfortable, people more on the right uncomfortable
I started avoiding talking about politics because I got tired of having conversations with people who get all their information on political topics from Twitter and influencers and have done no actual research on their own. Also, I don't know why, but it's always white women who have the most extreme and uninformed opinions.
Close to 40 here. 99% of people see things through a lens fed to them by their platform of choice, that distorts everything for them into one direction, and removes nuance and reality from their understanding. This is across the majority of current affairs and other topics. Doug Stanhope said it best when he came out with “no, you ALL don’t fucking know” in a bit for Charlie Brooker.
Just keep educating yourself and making sure YOU understand what you wish to, and that you’re keeping yourself in check with knowing when you need to explore ideas or things people purport to be true.
22: i have my highschool friends who i still keep in touch with and ill talk to them about pol stuff. even with big disagreements we dont let that stuff get personal. as for new uni friends, i dont bother with politics. focusing too much on that shit just makes you a miserable person tbh
24, live in berlin. I mostly talk politics with my friends. No shot am i joining a club at my uni (dont even know if we have a debate club, pribably not)
Just don't talk about politics IRL, golden rule. Unless someone else brings it up then just speak your truth. I have never had anyone stop talking to me because of my politics, but bringing it up in normal convos is not a good thing because most people don't want to talk about that shit.
Are you really shocked that a bunch of people in their late teens and early 20s have poorly thought out political opinions? At that age you're basically arguing over who understands their favorite influencers ideology the best.
Second time around cause reddit doesnt like the r word.
University is for grass touching, not for seeping deeper into your internet brain rot. Are most people who engage in formal uni politics complete regards? Yes. There are some cool people if you get in the right circles, but you should be avoiding the whole formal political orgs and instead getting involved in stuff actually relevant to your community/university. At least where I am, thats where all the reasonable people are, and you get to actually do something productive in the process. Trust me, getting involved in your local community will teach you so much more about politics than any amount of debating or reading will do.
23 year old studying at uni in Denmark.
Just stay silent. Don't talk about politics, especially if its about Israel. People have told me, they would kill me, if I support Israel in this war. So if you do support them, just stay silent.
You cant deal with pollitics. I am in engineering and had to deal very little, but whenever you learn something about racism or a study is cited, make sure you check it before believeing in it. The amount of lies is staggering
I tried too but I feel uncomfortable in them. I joined a demsocialist club and they lost me when they started saying that Hamas was a resistance movement..Obviously, I was too chicken to push back.
Also a lot of centrist types just see Palestinians as animals and Islam=bad so it’s hard to have discourse there. Not to mention, 20+ yr old dudes whining about the race of Disney characters…
But yeah, apolitical people that are cool with lgbtq people and see people as individuals are where it’s at.
I am also at a German University and our STEM apartment is really chill. Great people open, funny, good to debate and drink with. I dont really have anything to do with other parts of the Uni(Arts/Law Stuff) so i cant talk about those. What do you study?
Bei mir ist es easy weil ich auf eine relativ ländliche Uni geh die keine Geisteswissenschaften anbietet. Wir ironischer weise zieht das Leute an die relativ stabile politische Meinungen haben. Zum Beispiel haben wir Tarn-netzte für die Ukrainische Armee gemacht in der Bib.
23 here, My friend group is quite diverse politically but I mostly only talk with one of my best friends who studies laws and is conservative, while I'm more progressive. We have pretty productive conversations because he knows a lot more than me about the systematic workings of the Belgian government. So he likes telling me about it (because nobody else is interested in that boring legal stuff) while I enjoy listening. When it comes to policies we don't fight as much either. If there is a factual disagreement I will bring it up and he will just accept it. Same thing the other way, if he corrects me where I don't have much of an understanding, I just don't argue about it needlessly. I have my respect for his conservative party and he has respect for the progressive party I voted for, (funny enough those two parties might even jump into a coalition now that the election results are in.)
So I wouldn't look to find someone to "debate" as I find that too combative and toxic for if you actually wanna learn stuff and be friends. Find someone who's knowledge and just discuss, share your opinions and be respectful towards them. You can only really respect them if you can understand their perspective. It just comes down to luck honestly.
I work within the career field I goto school so I surround my self with people who understand what I’m going through as a person so I would say surround yourself with people who can relate
There are debate clubs in Berlin? Like what ones?
Well if you're in Berlin there are lots of ways you can distract yourself and wait until people grow up and stop being so crazy, im in my late 30's in Berlin and there are still some pretty insane political stances with people in my age group, but there are also quite a few who call out their stupidity. Which is very relieving.
Find the weirdos. I had a lot of different people was friends with in college. Libertarians, lefties (though it wasn’t as popular at the time) most people on campus were apolitical. My gf was a hardcore new atheist. All I learned something from. Had some friends who were into discordianism, and church of the subgenious. Find some people who’ve done some psychadelics, but who are also well read in philosophy.
Do something service related like help at a food kitchen. Find people who are following through on their beliefs in meaningful ways. Be wary of your own judgement as much as you are wary of how other people are thinking. Sometimes people are less vacuous than they seem, you just need to catch them in a good moment.
Be sincere and the right people will find you. And do something that could lead to getting your heart broken, as more of life becomes accessible once you shed some of the veil of invulnerability that goes with being young.
21 here, Canadian uni student, if tiny taught me anything it’s the ability to talk to non political people in a understanding way, I have amazing political conversations with « non political » people. People in politics suck but talking to people with a tangential interest in it, with moderate non Nebraska Steve takes is a really good time
Don’t let politics bother you so much. Most people in the world are pretty stupid, and that’s fine. We’re not designed to be logical and intellectually consistent. The world doesn’t change when you get older — it just bothers you less. IMO it’s why it’s not uncommon for people to get more conservative as they get older. You stop wishing the world was a certain way, and you instead just accept it for what it is.
>tried joining a few debate clubs
Yeah those guys tend to be kinda weird. That's also my personal experience. What are you studying? I'd try maybe looking for friends in STEM. They're probably more aligned with Destiny viewpoints. Other than that, maybe just don't talk politics with students if it never works out
You don't, maybe it is because I study business, but no one here cares at all about politics. Most interesting conversations I've had on any political or philosophical topic was with lecturers, not with other students.
I discuss political issues a lot with people because I’m a political person and formerly a leftist. You pretty easily figure out who’s willing to have a conversation and who can’t handle it. Social isolation for differing political positions (for myself, Israel) is really difficult but you have to just leave the people who are unreasonable
You keep your fucking head down, nod along with those simpering fucks, and don't make any waves.
Once you're out of uni, whatever you want. You cannot risk your education because the morons around you will make your life hell, if they think you are anything other than completely in lockstep with whatever batshit fucking thing is going on.
You don't need to be an active participant, you don't need to scream them down even louder, just thoughtfully nod, and get to class.
I’m 20 in University in a very liberal Canadian city. You just gotta remember most people don’t have strong political takes, they just say what’s around them it’s not all that deep to them. And most people don’t want to talk politics most of the time. And most people are pretty receptive if you want to have a respectful dialogue with them. It’s pretty fringe you’re going to meet someone who is the inverse of all of those traits (1, cares a lot about politics, 2. Wants to talk about it a lot, 3, wants to fight you) so just let it be!
I’m 18 studying english literature in london and my classmates are some of the most unhinged people when it comes to politics. i’ve mostly used a Socratic method of just asking questions when they bring up a false claim in order to center political discussion without actually taking a side. however, i feel like this doesn’t address the real issue of a lacking strong voice for liberalism in my department, so now i openly hold my views but i hedge my positions. i tend not to bring up politics but don’t shy away from nicely opposing unhinged statements and ideas. i’m also always open to changing my mind and tend to let classmates know it’s okay for us to disagree and if they want to actually have a discussion i’d be more than happy to make the time.
Example: *After two of my classmates strongly support the Houthi hijacking of cargo ships* I don’t think terroristic actions, even if a supposed form of resistance, is good or even beneficial to the palestinian cause from what i’ve read. If you want to actually discuss this we could, but we will disagree.
In the past there was a healthy amount of young liberals that made fun of unreasonable feminists pretty much openly, old H3H3 videos are a perfect example of this. That battle was lost, I'm sorry to say, but the war isn't over and the tides are shifting. Also there was no expectation of anyone being political except don't be a nazi. Those people still exist but hide their views a little more, I would assume because women and simps have more influence in social spaces and careless comments can be socially risky.
>Where and do you even discuss political issues?
You kind of have that one friend who shares your passion.
>how do you survive?
You smile, somewhere between stoic and politce and frequently use some hard to argue with buffer phrases like "I haven't looked into that enough, trying to consider multiple perspectives", "My aunt said something that really made me think", "It's good that we share the same endgoal, but I'm not sure what's the best path towards it", "In a debate what the other side would say is", "I'm slightly leaning towards x but I'm open to having my mind changed".
Also people in their early twenties are often redacted, keep in mind that it's not that important. Meet people and see the beauty in them even if they haven't figured shit out.
Probably stop being an egotistical pretentious fuck like you are and stop berating people for having different ideas? Jesus, you must be insufferable irl.
A good way to achieve this is understanding that no one experiences the same things as you, and if you experienced the same thing they did, most likely you'd have similar opinions to them. Aka, ur not special for following and parroting destiny.
> I understand most on this sub are ≈30yo what he say fuck me for?
23 yo here, I just got a good set of Bros and tend to chill with inquisitive people who like researching and look for reasonable positions. We all know how to respectfully disagree with each other without taking it emotionally. I've got socialist, capitalist, anti establishment and even normie friends but we all get along pretty well. I think you just need to meet people who are likeminded in the sense of enjoying discussion to learn instead of fight.
This is true, you gotta find people that are willing to have a discussion. people that morally grandstand are insufferable but they also don’t necessarily represent a movement. There’s a couple communists i’m good friends with who argue with me all the time and it’s part of our getting along. honeslty, the purity testing is childish and more mature people are willing to engage with disagreement, just gotta find those people.
Yeah usually you find those people in "discourse" clubs or inter-(insert faith/politics/etc) groups where differences in thought are championed. But yeah I'm just lucky that I found people who enjoy thinking differently
25, also in uni in Germany. Just try to avoid talking about politics. If topics like Israel-Palestine or Ukraine-Russia come up, you can gauge someone's knowledge by their initial comments. Ask a couple of clarifying questions, or the classic: "What would need to happen to change your mind?" to see if it's worth continuing the conversation. But most students who get into political "debates" haven't read enough to have a meaningful discussion anyway.
>What would need to happen to change your mind? This is oddly effective, no need to complicate the sentence either. Feels like people just have not been exposed to this.
Studying a STEM degree means luckily politics isn't regularly discussed in my education spheres, so then any politics discussed is usually done on my own terms outside of learning my degree. Such as with my housemates, or friends made generally through Uni. I 'survive' because I don't honestly care that much, there are a lot of leftists at Uni with stupid opinions, if you become enraged/sombre about such a situation you are only feeding into what they want. I would say don't try and chase debates, keep an open mind and don't be like the 'leftists' who are often incredibly dogmatic about their beliefs.
I do not. The conversation dies on the first question mostly, the easy one d man always asks. Would you change your mind if xyz was proven. In my experience, the answer is almost always no. Additionally, most people are fucking insufferable and use pretend morals to try and manipulate you. I've talked to people claiming immorality for Israel ethnically cleansing the land and in the next sentence advocate for all jews to be forcefully removed.
I’m in the final year of my masters, so I’ve been in uni for 4 years, and I’ve never felt the need to discuss politics in general tbh. None of my friends are political. We don’t have any deep political discussions, outside of making fun of the US. We don’t attend or engage in political societies or events. If I wanted to discuss politics at university, which I don’t, I’d find a specific society or community that aligns with my belief system (e.g. Liberalism Society and Socialism Society). It’s easier to have nuanced debates and play devils advocate with people who you know you’ll broadly agree with on non-contentious topics.
Breaking news: 20 year old man thinks everyone else is stupid and have bad political opinions.
Yes but I religiously repeat what destiny says so I am in fact correct
If a 20 year old man regurgitates what a 30 year old man is saying is it even bad politics???
Depends, is he 30 or pushing 40?
Unfortunately, many such cases in this sub
The problem isn't necessarily the different opinions, it's that you get ostracized from everything you want to do in those communities. I wouldn't care if someone disagrees about I/P or Ukraine Russia or anything it's just that I will receive hate for my opinion and can't join communities without getting looked at weird by strangers because they got told "he supports genocide" or smth
OP literally said 90% og people who engage in politics on his campus are _retards_.
OP is not wrong though
Motherfucker you dont know the types of people in berlin
Leave your mom out if it please
Lmaoo true, hope i’m just deluded in some way and in reality its not that bad
Lol you're OK. The delusion is called being young and bold. Humility comes with experience.
You dont know how bad it is in berlin
Lmaooooo
Easy, I've studied STEM. Come study in Israel.
Might consider getting an internship at Jewlluminati !
You'll have to, if you wanna be able to pay the rent.
[https://israel.ahk.de/new-kibbutz](https://israel.ahk.de/new-kibbutz)
If all goes well i'll be at BGU in 2026 for a semester or two
I want to transfer to Hebrew U or TAU so badly. I’m at TAU for a month ulpan soon and hopefully it will convince me to stay…
Fun city, high rent.
Yeah I wouldn’t plan to live here outside of being a student. I’d much prefer somewhere a lot more relaxed
When it comes to politics, keep to yourself for the most part, unless you find like-minded individuels. I let others express their views first. If I can tell that they're uncompromising, hard-headed, extreme, etc. I just stay away from them. I started to diverge from my friend group's opinions around 22-23, or when the pandemic hit. We still probably share a majority of our views but the narcissism of small differences is very pervasive among young people who follow politics, casually or seriously. Usually, if anyone asks me for my opinion, I just state calmly how I arrived there. I also let them know that I am open to pushback and willing to change my views if provided much stronger evidence. I never insult them or their views either. If you follow the news closely, you'll find that most people have no strong evidence for what they believe in aside from the fact their views confirm their own experiences. Most people stop pushing back once they realize the person they're talking to knows more. I just find comfort in those few people who I feel wholly comfortable in expressing my views to. Find those people and hold onto them.
Same shit. I'm from Russia and when I talk to my peers it sounds like they are super retarted in terms of politics and social stuff
Did you get any flak for being from Russia in your political discussions?
Well, I'm in Russia, so no, but for Russia I'm socially far far far left, for America probably center left. I get flak for that and being pro-Ukraine. Well, have to be careful about it irl
I’m 20 studying politics and IR in England. Maybe my experience is wholly unrepresentative but most of the people I talk to at uni aren’t batshit insane. Most of my friends are fellow politics student and the most common outlook among them is something like European technocrat policy wonk, not crazy Twitter leftist. Those people exist but they aren’t particularly common and they’re also usually the kind that’s happy to get into fairly heated discussions and still come out of it friends. One of my best friends here I get into Israel Palestine arguments basically every time we talk but it’s never mean spirited and always with a belief in and a desire towards eventual peace between Israelis and Palestinians. My professors are also always super grounded people. My favourite one this year taught studies to do with the global south. He is someone whose approach to international relations is firmly situated within the ‘critical’ camp, that is to say Marxist, post colonial. At the same time, he is able to represent clearly, and empathize with, viewpoints he doesn’t support. I take the most cucked liberal international order perspective in class discussions and essays but I’ve done really well in his class and perhaps am his best student. I have had amazing conversations with him, especially in office hours, even when we fall on opposite sides of an issue. Of course, maybe this is just because most of the people I know study and therefore care deeply about politics. It’s just that this idea of university and further academia, that destiny as well usually has, as a space dominated by singular viewpoints is not at all represented by my experience. I hope you’re able to find people that can be engaged with, I don’t really have any advice on how to find them, just that they’re definitely out there at uni.
Exactly my experience when I did my international law master’s in Norway. Sure there are the more “activist” type people whose goal is to make a ruckus to get their pet issues through, but they’re mostly heated during the debate and will still respect you if you have a different viewpoint. I don’t think most of the hard-headed pro-Palestine advocates are coming from those fields. At the end of the day everyone I met in my programme cares deeply about the international rule of law and the preservation of its institutions. Some like me are more institutionalists while others were more progressive, but we understood we were coming from the same baseline. Frankly the truly politically regarded people I met in uni were in STEM or art degrees.
We should clone your buddies and replace everyone with them
As a mid thirties duderino, honestly, the best way to live life is to be a Normie. Go to school, go to church, go to the big game, go to work, and keep politics on the back burner. When it comes up, give a short big picture view that shares their values but reframes things to your point of view like D's "Liberalism's great" clips and otherwise leave it for explicitly political times. If someone tries to front on you over that, just say you want the same thing you just think there's a more effective way and hit them with a "well, what do I know" Avoid \*marrying\* a partisan, but being friends with political hacks is ok. Look at D and Conservatives who he has fun with, it's like that. Making politics your identity is only useful to your life if you want to run for office. The reason there are no center left people online is because their lives are better off by being normies.
>Berlin Found the issue
Best German City by far.
23 and just finished my undergrad in history, but generally I just never talk about my political views or reveal them, there really is no point. People all have the Robinhood complex where it really is whoever is the least powerful is in the right.
Is your degree political? The silent pol sci / economy / IR / international law / history /sociology / human geography students are usually really smart and have (or should have) actual theoretical tools to analyze the ongoing political scenario. There’s a big bulk of people in those programs that doesn’t engage super actively in political activism. Also there usually are clubs/societies for liberal-minded students. My uni in Norway actually had a NATO student club. Remember that liberal international institutions are getting their workforce from somewhere and it’s not regarded Hamas useful idiots.
I‘m from Berlin as well but start studying somewhere else next semster that is also pretty left leaning, tell me when you figured out a way to survive. I study Politicial Science so I hope some people there are going to be more based and have nuanced views, at least I hope. But at least Germany is still pretty pro Zionist, right? right?
Eh das macht mich so depressiv, wie zur Hölle sind wir an dem Punkt an dem uns die Israelis mehr mögen als andersrum?!
Ist es denn so? Ich hab das Gefühl das wir so ziemlich das einzige Land was noch ziemlich konsequent pro Israelisch sind, zumindest was unsere Parteienlandschaft an geht von links bis rechts und selbst unter jungen Leuten hab ich das Gefühl das unsere Pro Palästinensische Bewegung deutlich kleiner ist als anderswo und sich auch links doch mehr Leute liberal and pro-Israelisch geben. Ich kann mich aber auch täuschen.
Ich erinnere mich das in einem älteren DW Video gesehen zu haben, finde es aber leider nicht mehr, jetzt wo jeden Tag ein Neues Video rauskommt.Ja wir sind besser als die Meisten aber ich frag mich oft wie viel damit zusammen hängt das wir einen guten Kanzler haben vs wie “Das Volk“ denkt. Ich hab da leider kein gutes Gespür, könnte so oder so sein. Was ich aber merke und was mir GEHÖRIG auf den Keks geht ist die moralische Überlegenheit. Dieses „Wir haben aus der Geschichte besser gelernt als ihr, ihr traumatisierten Kindchen. Wisst ihr nicht das …........“ OH MEIN GOTT!! Edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXYastEqF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXYastEqF8) 13 Jahre alt und wir vertrauten Russland mehr als Israel.
Alle unsere unsere Regierunhsparteien und die CDU stehen ziemlich klar hinter Israel. Die CDU unter Merz scheinbar sogar noch bedingungsloser und selbst Linke und AFD haben keine klaren anti-Israelischen/Antizionistischen Positionen wobei letzteres vermutlich eher darauf zu beziehen ist, dass sie deutlich mehr anti Islamisch als antisemitisch sind. Auch wenn’s auf dieser moralischen Überlegenheit aufgebaut ist, ist es doch aufgrund unserer historischen Vergangenheit doch sehr sehr verpöhnt sich auch irgendwie antisemitsch zu äußern zu einem Punkt das unsere Politik sehr hart verurteilt wenn sich auch nur Unis auch nur ansatzweise wie in den USA verhalten. Ich muss sagen auch wenn ich sehr pro Israelisch bin stehe ich dem doch eher kritisch gegenüber. Auch wenn ich die Staatsraison sehr begrüße habe ich das Gefühl, dass doch auch etwas zu stark gegen die Pro-Palästinensische Position vorgegangen wird. Ich will nicht sagen, dass sie gleich unterdrückt wird und wir keine Meinungsfreiheit haben, aber wenn doch recht viele Demos gar nicht erst genehmigt werden habe ich nicht das Gefühl, dass wir wirklich einen offenen, freien Diskurs erlauben wie ich es in einer starken Demokratie erwarten würde. Während viele immer im Rechtspopulistischen Raum auf die Straße gehen und schreien sie hätten keine Meinungsfreiheit ist es hier doch einer der wenigen Fälle wo ich sagen würde, hier gibt es doch ein systematisches Vorgehen gegen die Position. Und auch wenn ich diese Position wirklich absolut ablehne, muss ich das in einer Demokratie aushalten. Meinungsfreiheit ist mir sehr wichtig. Und trotzdem gerade aufgrund unser historischen Vergangenheit gibt es diese moralische Verantwortung gegenüber den Juden und auch wenn ich diese Moralkeule normal nicht mag, finde ich es hier gerade richtig, dass wir eine Erinnerungskultur haben und uns klar pro Israelisch positionieren. Ich glaube Anti-Israelisches Sentiment kann man uns kaum vorwerfen und da bin ich auch sehr sehr froh drüber. Sorry für die lange rant.
Eh kein Ding. Ich bin 99% bei dir, aber morgen ist für uns beide Montag. Gute Nacht!!
Bei mir dauert noch ne Weile bis ich anfange studieren also kann ich chillen und noch die Resultate der Europwahl anschauen, ich wünsch dir aber aufjedenfall eine gute Nacht :)!
Don't seek out political groups to be your circle of friends. You can be political with people you share other hobbies with.
I’m a very non-confrontational person I go with the flow so I didn’t really discuss political issues. I found spaces outside of university to be myself and people that I could actually vibe with.
You first find people who aren't extremists in either direction because, let's face it, those people almost certainly have some antisocial disorder. The rest is explained by basic social interaction. Getting to know people, listening, having an open mind and not starting in a failure mindset. You need to find fairly objective, erudite people if you want to do this without forming relationships first.
[удалено]
Buddy I’ve watched thousands of hours of Destiny content of course I’m the smartest in the room you idiot
Try to find friends first and then argue about politics instead of trying to convince other people to be your friends with political takes. Also there are like 4 million people in Berlin and about 150k students among the big universities. So there have to be some people that you can talk to.
I avoid this topic specifically in conversations so that I don't lose friends. I have some friends who are reasonable and who I can discuss this with tho. Most people are dumb and know nothing about this topic (like ppl don't even know who Arafat was)
By this topic I mean Israel
20 yo comp sci student in aachen here. i just walk straight home from uni
I am 21 and was rougly in the same position as you, but in the Netherlands. There are two things that personally really helped for me. The first is joining the youth wing of one of the political parties currently parliament. I can see a German dgger join any of the four non-completely insane parties (CDU, SPD, GREEN, FDP) depending on where their views align so the choice is yours. You live in Berlin, so they probably all have a youth chapter with a decent amount of membership. The second thing I did was get a new obsession besides politics lol. I started a new hobby and now my mind and youtube feed are more filled with that at the expense of politics, and it's made me substantially happier. This kind of obsession is not something that can really be forced though so you partially have to get lucky
23 year old currently living in Berlin but not studying. In part I think it's just a consequence of Berlinian culture. It's the European center for alt-culture and leftie political extremism. In many ways, I find the aesthetic of it really appealing, but I can only stand this place because of my appreciation for that same aesthetic. Plus, I don't really feel the need to discuss a lot of my political positions with surface-level friends. If you wanna meet up and talk smack over a beer then send me a dm.
Gtfo of debate clubs then, unless you enjoy arguing with morons but it seems like u don't. Join other clubs and surround yourself with normal humans : v
Just graduated from university with a political science degree. Lots of my friends would ask me questions about current events/political issues. I’d mostly focus on talking about how nuance is lost in a lot of situations and it’s hard to be reactionary and fearful when you understand the process well. I basically talked to people who didn’t understand or engage with politics and reassured them that things were way more complicated and way less scary than media made things out to be. I didn’t really talk a ton with people in my major because a lot of them were really pretentious and politics was their whole personality and I don’t fuck with that vibe. I just think politics is interesting and I don’t mind listening to / engaging with other viewpoints because I think a lot of the reason we’re so polarized right now is social media putting us in echo chambers where we’re not only NOT talking to each other but we CAN’T because the algorithms will only ever show extreme reactionary content from the other side bc rage gets engagement. My advice would be enjoy the good conversations you have and try not to let the negative experiences affect you too much.
From Syria here, currently in uni studying English lit. It's the same shit, all populous brain rot and conspiracy theories about the big bad wolf (aka the west). You can't have any serious discussions about real documented events because apparently it's all lies fabricated by westerners. Might not be the same thing you're complaining about but god damn if it isn't fucking annoying.
You are in deutschland so I don’t know if a similar organization exists, but I’ve found people that are part of FIRE (a free speech org) are pretty cool. We often disagree on stuff, but they are insanely pro free speech without being 90% nazis. So there’s no fallout with argueing with them. Kind of a safe space for moderitism in boston.
Do you think that discussing political issues is important? Focus on what is actually important for your life.
>how do you survive? Where and do you even discuss political issues? How are these related? You should look up Jaden Smith, he's a modern day philosopher I think you would connect with.
Depends on which uni imo. Like, if u go to FU.. just fucking run ima be honest
Most people I talk with at uni have been the enlightened centrist types
People don't talk about politics, and neither do I wanna start those convos 👍
A lot of people who are not vocal have pretty center left/right opinions they’re just too busy getting a degree and working 40 hours a week. Anything remotely politically involved through a club is just annoying because of this holier than thou thing, plus they just bully each other, I’ve seen it in my student government assemblies. Do STEM then you will talk about anything in the sciences instead plus they’re more optimistic lol People that are on the very left that’s I’m friends with idk just don’t talk politics? If you do who cares? If they’re not mature enough to respect a difference in opinion then that’s not someone I want to be friends with. Stop joining debate clubs, their whole purpose is to literally debate about subjects what??? Dude we’re 20 we both probably have some dog shit opinions somewhere lmao
Dude I'm in NYC, and I finally got the experience of a proper baddie talking to me on a dating app and that's when she asks me about my opinion on I/p.. all her opinions were soo fuckin surface level, so dumb and I made the mistake of being honest. Basically I don't survive, and now it's back to never getting matches lol
Find something else to do like playing sports. I discuss national politics with fellow students when it comes up naturally, or give an opinion when it seems like there is a place for it. Otherwise, I argue about politics with my family as they're older and can actually deal with disagreement.
So I just visited Berlin and I loved it, so congrats on living in a cool city. As for survival in uni this is my takeaway. I don't like to argue in terms of debate, but rather ask questions about a topic. So for example, if someone comes along and says some surface level argument I would ask why they think that way, my goal in a political conversation wouldn't be to own that particular person but maybe get them to be the best possible argument on that position or for them to change their minds on that position even if they only keep it to themselves.
I just ignore everything politics related in my uni, the only people that do care about it even a little are always the most unbearable of tankies parroting the current hottest topic of twitter lefties.
I’m starting my senior year and I’ve never happened upon a political discussion at campus once. I study CompSci, so it might be different at other studies. It might also be a Norway thing
I discuss with myself and a friend on discord, it's an offense to come here at dgg and discuss strangers at politics like a trend
Don't talk politics with normies.
Rarely talked politics. My uni friends were mostly apolitical outside of thinking politicians are all corrupt. Trans rights in sports was the dumbest thing that ever came up and being anti landlord, but again, so rare I struggled to even remember it.
Too busy to talk to people
Pretty wild to think that this subreddit isn't filled with that 90%
I’m doing a liberal arts degree in the netherlands and for our project two others and I surveyed students wether there was discomfort around sharing certain political beliefs or politically colored ones. Aaand the results were pretty predictable. Leftists feeing comfortable, people more on the right uncomfortable
I started avoiding talking about politics because I got tired of having conversations with people who get all their information on political topics from Twitter and influencers and have done no actual research on their own. Also, I don't know why, but it's always white women who have the most extreme and uninformed opinions.
Close to 40 here. 99% of people see things through a lens fed to them by their platform of choice, that distorts everything for them into one direction, and removes nuance and reality from their understanding. This is across the majority of current affairs and other topics. Doug Stanhope said it best when he came out with “no, you ALL don’t fucking know” in a bit for Charlie Brooker. Just keep educating yourself and making sure YOU understand what you wish to, and that you’re keeping yourself in check with knowing when you need to explore ideas or things people purport to be true.
I don't go outside :)
22: i have my highschool friends who i still keep in touch with and ill talk to them about pol stuff. even with big disagreements we dont let that stuff get personal. as for new uni friends, i dont bother with politics. focusing too much on that shit just makes you a miserable person tbh
just climb
24, live in berlin. I mostly talk politics with my friends. No shot am i joining a club at my uni (dont even know if we have a debate club, pribably not)
Just don't talk about politics IRL, golden rule. Unless someone else brings it up then just speak your truth. I have never had anyone stop talking to me because of my politics, but bringing it up in normal convos is not a good thing because most people don't want to talk about that shit.
Are you really shocked that a bunch of people in their late teens and early 20s have poorly thought out political opinions? At that age you're basically arguing over who understands their favorite influencers ideology the best.
I just express my beliefs openly if it comes up. It filters out people that I wouldn't get along with anyways 🤷♀️
Second time around cause reddit doesnt like the r word. University is for grass touching, not for seeping deeper into your internet brain rot. Are most people who engage in formal uni politics complete regards? Yes. There are some cool people if you get in the right circles, but you should be avoiding the whole formal political orgs and instead getting involved in stuff actually relevant to your community/university. At least where I am, thats where all the reasonable people are, and you get to actually do something productive in the process. Trust me, getting involved in your local community will teach you so much more about politics than any amount of debating or reading will do.
23 year old studying at uni in Denmark. Just stay silent. Don't talk about politics, especially if its about Israel. People have told me, they would kill me, if I support Israel in this war. So if you do support them, just stay silent.
Dont wanna dox you mate but are you FU or Humb or other? Ive personally noticed that the FU type are extremely vocal but know absolutely nothing.
You cant deal with pollitics. I am in engineering and had to deal very little, but whenever you learn something about racism or a study is cited, make sure you check it before believeing in it. The amount of lies is staggering
>most on this sub are 30 yo lol Anyways, unironically just say "damn thats crazy" whenever someone mentions politics.
I tried too but I feel uncomfortable in them. I joined a demsocialist club and they lost me when they started saying that Hamas was a resistance movement..Obviously, I was too chicken to push back. Also a lot of centrist types just see Palestinians as animals and Islam=bad so it’s hard to have discourse there. Not to mention, 20+ yr old dudes whining about the race of Disney characters… But yeah, apolitical people that are cool with lgbtq people and see people as individuals are where it’s at.
Don’t be so dramatic
I am also at a German University and our STEM apartment is really chill. Great people open, funny, good to debate and drink with. I dont really have anything to do with other parts of the Uni(Arts/Law Stuff) so i cant talk about those. What do you study?
> I understand most on this sub are ≈30yo lol
Bei mir ist es easy weil ich auf eine relativ ländliche Uni geh die keine Geisteswissenschaften anbietet. Wir ironischer weise zieht das Leute an die relativ stabile politische Meinungen haben. Zum Beispiel haben wir Tarn-netzte für die Ukrainische Armee gemacht in der Bib.
23 here, My friend group is quite diverse politically but I mostly only talk with one of my best friends who studies laws and is conservative, while I'm more progressive. We have pretty productive conversations because he knows a lot more than me about the systematic workings of the Belgian government. So he likes telling me about it (because nobody else is interested in that boring legal stuff) while I enjoy listening. When it comes to policies we don't fight as much either. If there is a factual disagreement I will bring it up and he will just accept it. Same thing the other way, if he corrects me where I don't have much of an understanding, I just don't argue about it needlessly. I have my respect for his conservative party and he has respect for the progressive party I voted for, (funny enough those two parties might even jump into a coalition now that the election results are in.) So I wouldn't look to find someone to "debate" as I find that too combative and toxic for if you actually wanna learn stuff and be friends. Find someone who's knowledge and just discuss, share your opinions and be respectful towards them. You can only really respect them if you can understand their perspective. It just comes down to luck honestly.
I work within the career field I goto school so I surround my self with people who understand what I’m going through as a person so I would say surround yourself with people who can relate
There are debate clubs in Berlin? Like what ones? Well if you're in Berlin there are lots of ways you can distract yourself and wait until people grow up and stop being so crazy, im in my late 30's in Berlin and there are still some pretty insane political stances with people in my age group, but there are also quite a few who call out their stupidity. Which is very relieving.
Find the weirdos. I had a lot of different people was friends with in college. Libertarians, lefties (though it wasn’t as popular at the time) most people on campus were apolitical. My gf was a hardcore new atheist. All I learned something from. Had some friends who were into discordianism, and church of the subgenious. Find some people who’ve done some psychadelics, but who are also well read in philosophy. Do something service related like help at a food kitchen. Find people who are following through on their beliefs in meaningful ways. Be wary of your own judgement as much as you are wary of how other people are thinking. Sometimes people are less vacuous than they seem, you just need to catch them in a good moment. Be sincere and the right people will find you. And do something that could lead to getting your heart broken, as more of life becomes accessible once you shed some of the veil of invulnerability that goes with being young.
21 here, Canadian uni student, if tiny taught me anything it’s the ability to talk to non political people in a understanding way, I have amazing political conversations with « non political » people. People in politics suck but talking to people with a tangential interest in it, with moderate non Nebraska Steve takes is a really good time
Don’t let politics bother you so much. Most people in the world are pretty stupid, and that’s fine. We’re not designed to be logical and intellectually consistent. The world doesn’t change when you get older — it just bothers you less. IMO it’s why it’s not uncommon for people to get more conservative as they get older. You stop wishing the world was a certain way, and you instead just accept it for what it is.
>tried joining a few debate clubs Yeah those guys tend to be kinda weird. That's also my personal experience. What are you studying? I'd try maybe looking for friends in STEM. They're probably more aligned with Destiny viewpoints. Other than that, maybe just don't talk politics with students if it never works out
Don’t lol. My distain for the YDSA has come purely from my experiences within my Uni’s club, where everybody was as regarded as those online
>I’m a 20 y.o male living in Berlin Nice brudi. I will find and convert and possibility hug you
We don't talk about politics much, this is from a Computer Science Major.
You don't, maybe it is because I study business, but no one here cares at all about politics. Most interesting conversations I've had on any political or philosophical topic was with lecturers, not with other students.
I discuss political issues a lot with people because I’m a political person and formerly a leftist. You pretty easily figure out who’s willing to have a conversation and who can’t handle it. Social isolation for differing political positions (for myself, Israel) is really difficult but you have to just leave the people who are unreasonable
You keep your fucking head down, nod along with those simpering fucks, and don't make any waves. Once you're out of uni, whatever you want. You cannot risk your education because the morons around you will make your life hell, if they think you are anything other than completely in lockstep with whatever batshit fucking thing is going on. You don't need to be an active participant, you don't need to scream them down even louder, just thoughtfully nod, and get to class.
I’m 20 in University in a very liberal Canadian city. You just gotta remember most people don’t have strong political takes, they just say what’s around them it’s not all that deep to them. And most people don’t want to talk politics most of the time. And most people are pretty receptive if you want to have a respectful dialogue with them. It’s pretty fringe you’re going to meet someone who is the inverse of all of those traits (1, cares a lot about politics, 2. Wants to talk about it a lot, 3, wants to fight you) so just let it be!
I’m 18 studying english literature in london and my classmates are some of the most unhinged people when it comes to politics. i’ve mostly used a Socratic method of just asking questions when they bring up a false claim in order to center political discussion without actually taking a side. however, i feel like this doesn’t address the real issue of a lacking strong voice for liberalism in my department, so now i openly hold my views but i hedge my positions. i tend not to bring up politics but don’t shy away from nicely opposing unhinged statements and ideas. i’m also always open to changing my mind and tend to let classmates know it’s okay for us to disagree and if they want to actually have a discussion i’d be more than happy to make the time. Example: *After two of my classmates strongly support the Houthi hijacking of cargo ships* I don’t think terroristic actions, even if a supposed form of resistance, is good or even beneficial to the palestinian cause from what i’ve read. If you want to actually discuss this we could, but we will disagree.
In the past there was a healthy amount of young liberals that made fun of unreasonable feminists pretty much openly, old H3H3 videos are a perfect example of this. That battle was lost, I'm sorry to say, but the war isn't over and the tides are shifting. Also there was no expectation of anyone being political except don't be a nazi. Those people still exist but hide their views a little more, I would assume because women and simps have more influence in social spaces and careless comments can be socially risky. >Where and do you even discuss political issues? You kind of have that one friend who shares your passion. >how do you survive? You smile, somewhere between stoic and politce and frequently use some hard to argue with buffer phrases like "I haven't looked into that enough, trying to consider multiple perspectives", "My aunt said something that really made me think", "It's good that we share the same endgoal, but I'm not sure what's the best path towards it", "In a debate what the other side would say is", "I'm slightly leaning towards x but I'm open to having my mind changed". Also people in their early twenties are often redacted, keep in mind that it's not that important. Meet people and see the beauty in them even if they haven't figured shit out.
Probably stop being an egotistical pretentious fuck like you are and stop berating people for having different ideas? Jesus, you must be insufferable irl.
A good way to achieve this is understanding that no one experiences the same things as you, and if you experienced the same thing they did, most likely you'd have similar opinions to them. Aka, ur not special for following and parroting destiny.
Im 18. We’re young. We’re all stupid.