Bob and Van: What We Lose When We Know Everyone's Politics
Marco Arment reflects on two childhood neighbors, Bob and Van, whose kindness defined them far more than any political stance. He mourns a time when neighbors, coworkers, and local shops weren't judged by their views, and questions whether today's insistence on public condemnation has made us poorer as a community.
And I can’t help but feel that maybe we were better off before we knew everyone’s hot takes on everything.
- anon7725
Bob and Van didn't make you aware of their political views within a few minutes of meeting them. They didn't put a sign in their front yard or a bumper sticker on their vehicle. They weren't wearing any particular apparel. You didn't notice them in the town's Facebook group making their opinions crystal clear. It's much different in a world where people make their political views their whole identity.
- duck
It is still like this in most neighborhoods in the US, but it does require being outside and actually talking to them... which does seem rarer today.
- AprilArcus
This sounds nice, but what if your neighbor's political views are an existential threat to you personally? What if they don't want you to live in their neighborhood because of the color of your skin, or if they don't think you're a fit parent because you let your kid wear certain clothes? There are some things about which we can have friendly disagreements, like Laffer curves, school vouchers, the death penalty, environmental regulations, or whatever. But there are other disagreements which mean we cannot be friends.
- recursivedoubts
I intentionally try to foster friendships with all sort of different people with obviously different political positions. Many of them are very far left and very far right and very far in a third direction i have trouble articulating, in ways that would shock most normal people.
What I have found is that, accepting the inevitable human flaws that we are all prone to, they are all pretty good folks.
- bensyverson
For context, this post seems to be a reaction to MacStories deciding to return to X [0], which has been quite controversial in the Apple developer community.
There has been the predictable blowback, then the blowback to the blowback, which he alludes to in the post: "should I be condemned for not publicly condemning them myself?" [1]
Ultimately, everyone needs to do what's workable. If you find X's owner repugnant but you feel you need to be on the platform, that's a choice you have to make. If your audience revolts, that's a consequence of the choice. Each audience member also has to do what's workable for them. There is no "right" or "wrong" response.
[0]: https://ticci.craft.me/explanation
[1]: TFA
- mulderc
This is a post that only a straight middle-aged white guy could make. I’m also a white middle-aged guy, but being in a same-sex interracial marriage really opens your eyes to the reality of living in America.
Also, there was a time when your neighbors’ politics probably didn’t want to strip you and your family of their rights and citizenship; times have changed a bit.
- spenczar5
This is still the case today, if you let it be. I am friends with many neighbors with differing views from my own and literally do have them over for dinner, invite them to my toddlers' birthday parties, etc.
I don't recognize the things the author describes here - awareness of hot takes, opinions about coffee shop owners... they strike me as features of the online world, but not the offline one I inhabit.
- swazzy
Too bad Marco quit Twitter, I enjoyed following him.