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Ask HN: How divided are US-Americans in real life?

4 points by domano ↗ HN
As an european i get my impressions of US life from the news, shows and through communities like HN or dev stuff.

In my bubble it seems like there should be constant political conflict in everyday life - which just seems impractical.

In your daily life, how much influence do current events regarding the elections have and how often do people talk or argue about it?

9 comments

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rel2thr
Ha There is almost 0 in person arguing about politics, I think that’s why it gets hostile online

Generally a persons friend group are all on the same side

In the workplace there are mixed opinions obviously. Depending on if it’s a liberal or conservative company , the majority may make mild discussion about various things, and the minority will keep quiet to not make a fuss

polka_haunts_us
I think my friends group has a pretty range, we have a Bernie bro, Squad member, Clintonite, Romneyite, Extremely Religious bro, Everythingsucks-ite. (Admittedly, no Trump supporters in my group, in that way we are pretty homogenous).

I think the big deal is we've all known each other a long time and have things we like about each other that aren't politics related, so we pretty self selectively don't discuss highly political stuff very often, and if we do we're able to separate it from our other perceptions of each other.

I will admit, I doubt this experience is typical in 2021 USA.

starkd
Even media/journalism is divided along sides. So, people end up talking past each other. Proper vigorous debate is almost impossible, so channel ends up constructing straw man arguments to counter the argument they percieve the other side making. Not the actual argument. It'd be great to see a proper debate on tv, like the old firing line debates with William F. Buckley.
awnird
Depends, does planting bombs at the capitol count as real life or not?
starkd
It's what happens when people feel their voices aren't heard. The current media landscape has a lot to do with it. We're talking past each other.
domano
I meant social interactions in day-to-day life, but i am aware of the events that happened at around the time of my submission.
gamechangr
Almost none...and I have family members on both sides.
rossdavidh
What I see is that things are so hostile, that most people try not to raise the topic if they're in a "mixed" group.

Having both conservative and progressive friends myself, I sometimes find out that people assume I'm on their side, and are a bit deer-in-the-headlights when they find out I'm not.

I think the nastiness online is so bad that most (not all) people have figured out it is unwise to be having an in-person conversation about it unless everyone's on the same side, because it could get out of hand very quickly.

All of this mostly amounts to "everyone stays in their bubble", of course, which likely makes it all worse.

domano
Also to add to my submission, i am aware of the events in the capitol but wanted to know more about everyday life and typical interactions. So far it seems that there really is a great divide even in close-knit groups.

This is very interesting for us europeans i think, since a lot of arguments and political movements spill over. At least it is that way in germany in my experience.