I guess it’s one of the ways in which capital maintains its own checks and balances, but it’s very hard how, as contradictions heighten, your family that at some point might have ignored what you say, now will ostracize you for your views.

My parents have called me saying that me supporting Petro (a socdem at best) is akin to supporting murderers and thieves and they won’t support me with that (which ofc I think the same about the people they support, but I won’t antagonize them over it cause I know they won’t change their views).

Now it’s a sister of mine, married to an american, that considers that my criticisms of gringos also applies to her husband (which, to a point but not really).

I’m now understanding that there is a non zero chance that I will end up shunned out of my family altogether at some point.

Some friends and acquaintances have also cut contact from their end and some from my end.

Basically, being a communist means you will very likely lose a good percentage of your initial social network. It’s probably one of the ways that capital maintains its control on society, forcing you to choose between community or your ideals, while you build a new leftist community (which is likely to be ostracized from their families as well).

And I’m not alone, my comrades in the area in which I organize are basically in the same position. In most of their families they don’t know they are in the communist party for fear of their reactions. Or in the case of one of them, they consider it will be a phase they grow out of.

It’s exhausting but enlightening to see how the left continues to be attacked through so many mechanisms.

  • magpie [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    44·
    29 days ago

    I got cut off by my family when I came out, and my dad told me that he would kill me if I ever interacted with them again. I just got out of a long stint of homelessness after losing my job due to my workplace organizing - disappointingly received no support from the union.

    It can be painful to reconcile that this is what the rest of my life will look like, and that there’s little the left can do to help me.

  • eldavi@lemmy.mlEnglish
    34·
    29 days ago

    are you me? lol

    Basically, being a communist means you will very likely lose a good percentage of your initial social network. It’s probably one of the ways that capital maintains its control on society, forcing you to choose between community or your ideals, while you build a new leftist community (which is likely to be ostracized from their families as well).

    i think i’m fortunate on this point in two regards:

    first: an overwhelming majority of my extended family is further left leaning that my immediate family due to the fact that they’re not white passing like my immediate family is nor did they marry maga-white people like my siblings did. also my extended family is deeply ingrained within a latin american political frame of reference so they already seem radical to my trump-tolerant immediately family.

    second: my autism prevents me from ever building a large enough social circle to impact me if i lost access to them; so an individual shunning me has no impact. unfortunately this is a bit of a double edged sword since my autism also gives leftists pause to associate with me, but my anecodotal experience with leftist groups over the last 5-ish decades informs me that most are ephemeral relationships anyways.

      • machiabelly [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        10·
        29 days ago

        this is a great analogy. But, I might do +5 Social Pressure Resistance/ -5 Social intuition instead. For me the hardest part about being on the spectrum is how different my social needs are and how differently I explain or express things. I have low social energy because I’m constantly translating between a ND brain and a NT world. Or because I’m trying to decide how many things I should do that feel unimportant or inauthentic to me in order to maintain a relationship.

      • eldavi@lemmy.mlEnglish
        10·
        29 days ago

        Speaking for myself only: I’m unable to keep away from the misanthropy, especially considering that such an overwhelming majority of human beings treat me as they do.

        If it weren’t for the years of talk therapy, I would have become a completely angry shutin.

  • SnakeEyes [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    18·
    29 days ago

    Are they uribistas? It sounds like my family lmao

    Also on the topic of murder, what do they think of Venezuelans and what should be done with them? Same with people of the caribe

    Oh oh and what were their opinions on the ESMAD and the DAS?

    • ColombianLenin [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      15·
      29 days ago

      They were openly but now they say they aren’t but yeah, they probably still are.

      I think they have fake pity for venezuelans, just like westerners have fake pity for the people of Iran and China.

      On the topic of Caribbeans? I haven’t ever seen bad regionalisms against people from the coast, in my family or in general. At worst it’s against the paisas in Medellin, but it’s not bad.

      • SnakeEyes [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        8·
        29 days ago

        Thank you for answering, yeah it sounds a lot like my family but slightly less ghoulish

        My family are just concerned citizens saying crap like “something needs to be done about the Venezuelan problem” (Rounding them up)

        Same with the “costeño invasion”

  • aqwxcvbnji [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    15·
    29 days ago

    Try to prevent that from happening by not engaging in talks about politics with them. It’s hard to convince your family, harder than convincing anyone else perhaps, try not to lose them by engaging in a futile activity.