0:00 Do you guys think it's possible to be best friends with somebody if they have opposite political beliefs? >> How long have you guys been best friends? >> I mean, can you be best friends at all? >> I think it depends on how deep you are into politics cuz some people are just like born and I'm like, I'm just going to vote Democrat cuz my parents do and my whole like I don't give a ████ I'm just going to pick >> like I have a lot of friends who I I'm close to who have different political beliefs >> and they're just like default politics. You mean >> like I they're not that deep. >> Well, is it possible at all? >> If they're crazy about it, it's impossible. >> Oh, it's impossible if they're like if they're crazy about it. Yeah. Like two people that are they make their identity politics >> impossible. >> Well, if it's opposite >> if it's casual, it's kind of like Yeah. You got a casual Christian, a casual Muslim, they could be best friends.
0:50 >> Let's say it's opposite political beliefs at the same intensity as you. >> But how how where are you on that spectrum of intensity? Like if I don't give a ████ to you. It's up to you wherever wherever you are. The opposite of that of the other person. >> Oh, so me personally then >> I don't I wouldn't consider myself like a crazy super into politics person. >> Um I don't I don't go like oh I identify with this political group. Um, and I don't uh and I don't think that like whichever party is in control like has that much effect over my own personal future. So with that being said, I don't think I could be close with someone that has the opposing beliefs. Yeah. Because I think a lot of mine is based off of a lot of personal agency
1:40 and I think the core belief of the other group is is like a lot of the control of your life is outside of your hands and I think that core belief it it's hard to like talk or bond over anything like that you know. Yeah. like one mine is more like, oh, is LeBron James going to be a good basketball player because of his own skills? And the other one is I feel like, well, this person could be way better if the NBA changed this. >> And so, I think we're already looking at basketball >> different, >> way different lenses. And so, I think I could be cordial and all that. For sure. I could respect people, but I think if we were to get close, >> like closer and closer, um, I don't think we see the world even in the same way. Yeah. >> All right. What if it's somebody that is
2:30 like a best friend preolitics? >> I think that's >> Can it survive >> if the friendship is strong enough? Yeah. >> Yeah. >> But I I I also think like to Bart's point about the difference in the polit like the like the ideology, but also like what brings that ideology to like reality. It's like so that's changed, right? So, like if you think about like when we were kids, >> what a Democrat and Republican was. >> It was so different. Like the Democrats were just like union workers. >> Yeah. >> Like they were like people that worked physical labor. >> Yeah. >> But it wasn't like the Democrats of today. >> Same with Republicans. Like they like Trump would have never been a ████ Republican. And like you know what I mean? Like it's just uh
3:20 >> it's just keeps changing. So what I think it's it's less of an ideology but I think it's like um the person do how much do they change and like how do they apply the politics that's what matters to me. So, the reason I'm asking is I got this good friend who uh recently he watches the show, by the way, and he was uh kind of like confiding in me last time we hung out and he sort of just brought up this thing and he's like, "Hey, can I just like candidly, you know, talk to you about something and he was like, so he goes like, I had a falling out with a lot of people like all at once. Just he didn't do anything. his lifestyle doesn't even reflect what he believes in at all. And kind of neither do the rest of them. But just because by nature, a lot of artists and dancers, musicians, creatives are very free
4:12 Palestine >> and they found out that he was a Jew. >> That he was a Jew and that's it. >> Oh ████ But he's not a Zionist or anything. He's just a Jewish. >> He just can't even choose his own ethnicity. He's just who he is. Yeah. >> Well, because if you're Jewish, you you're going to there's like a I guess like an expectancy that you're not going to be free Palestine, obviously. >> But there's a lot of Jewish people who are against Israel. >> Well, there are, but then he's he's not fighting that fight. >> No, he's like, I'm just trying to live. >> He's not even in political >> and he's not like um he's not even, you know, he's just not with their movement, that's all. >> So, that's what I mean with like the the way you see the world. I believe in a lot of uh personal agency, right? So with the whole free Palestine thing, I'm like whether free or not free, how does
5:02 that change your life? Are you late on mortgage payments? You know what I mean? So for me, it would be like I'm already not going to be able to see the world the same way because they those guys believe whatever is happening out here really affects their life. >> But to me, I'm like, you affect your life way more than what's happening out there. >> Yeah. But I think some some people do have the feeling of like, oh, this is greater than my life. What's happening over here? >> Then go over there. Go over there, dude. >> Okay. [laughter] They're like, I have to take this I have to take this stance, right? And that's kind of like within, you know, act the acting world, dance, like music, creative, everyone. So, it's very heavily lean that direction. So just because this dude who has never caused a discourse with any of these people, they didn't know that he was a Jew [laughter]
5:53 >> and they didn't like it. >> You know the Ivan Ramen guy, >> Ivan Ramen, >> he's a Jewish guy that studied ramen and he won awards in Japan. >> He believes the art of ramen is much bigger than his life. >> So he goes over there to learn ramen. Yeah. >> Go wherever the ████ if you to me it's like if that's what you believe go stand by your words. That's what I mean. >> I think now though because of how divisive politics and everything is. >> Yeah. >> It's going to be pretty much damn near impossible to be best friends because people are choosing sides. Like like I think maybe in the early 2000s or whatever it wasn't such a big deal. Like even Obama era, it's like >> you could be a part of the same family and then you're like, "Yeah, there goes crazy Republican uncle, you know? It's
6:44 like who ████ cares?" >> There's even sides within sides now >> and they'll and there's full hate >> cuz there's MAGA Republican and there's like non Yeah. >> Yeah. There's the MAGA Republican and then there and then there's the Republicans who feel like uh Trump lied to them and they hate the MAGA ones just as much as if they were another political party. But they're from the outside they're technically two both Republicans. But even in the Democrats are that too. They're like, "Oh, you guys are too p████." Like they they call the progressives like weaker. They're like, "Now you got to be more socialist." And then like the Democratic socialist guys are more like, "We're the hardcore ones. We're the real ones." And I do think that any idiot that puts their lives into politics that hard is just you're not going to make any friends outside of >> cuz that's too much into your identity. >> Yeah. you're going to you're going to stay divided. I guess like when you
7:34 shrink the scale down, like none of these things really helps his situation, you know what I mean? For if if he fought back and tried to use political ideology and it's it's he wants the friendships. That's the main thing. He's like, I just want to keep my friends, you know, like I don't want everybody to just be like, >> but once you notice that your friends are close-minded and crazy, doesn't that make you go like, >> I need a new set of friends? Well, that's why like I I guess the only thing I could really say is like, okay, let's take me and you for example, right? Like you're you're very this guy's very Jewish and I'm like that doesn't stop me from saying the ████ Jews are controlling everything. Like I'm not going to stop saying that, but we're just not going to stop being friends either. Like I just think that's a funny thing. You know what I mean? Like but a lot of people can't have those friendships. >> I think it depends again where you are on the spectrum. So, if you're toward
8:25 the middle of not >> if you're not overly passionate on either side, then you can kind of just see each other at at eye level and be like, you know, if you're on the opposite side, but we're like this, it's fine. If you're overly passionate about not being political or being super political, then you can't see eye to eye no matter what side you're on, right? because you're it's matters too much to you >> where it it's >> you can't you can't just have a normal conversation >> yeah the weird the weird thing about it is that which he's I think most bummed out about is that so he doesn't have the opposite stance of these people but of course it's going to push you to have that if all of them are telling you that like oh no you're like super wrong for
9:15 you know what's happening not standing up for If all these people that you cared about and were there for start to turn on you and be like just because you're part of that side that they are against, I I feel bad for him because I'm like, how do you not like change your view, you know, because of this thing happening to you? >> I know it's ████ sad, but I would say it like it's almost a blessing in disguise kind of like what Joe said cuz uh I think then outside of politics, it kind of shows where their value system is at. their value system is politics is more important than friendship. >> Okay. >> Right. Cuz for me, I'm like pro gun. I'm pretty prun. Um but I can also I've I lived in I mean I've been to so many other countries where guns are completely illegal and I could totally see myself living there too, >> like Australia.
10:05 >> So yeah, as much as I am like pro gun, um I'm not that's I'm not like I'm not married to that belief. So, and so if I met someone else that was like, uh, no, ████ guns. I would love to live in a country that's like, no guns. I would be like, cool. And I could and I'd rather pick your friendship over this whole gun issue because in my value system, guns actually doesn't weigh as much as the friendship does. >> To me, it exposes um the people that are too stupid to reach out and go, "Hey, um, I know I realize you're Jewish." like, "Are you Zionist?" Like, "What is this?" Like, they can't have that conversation, right? They immediately go, "You're a Jew. ████ you." Right? And then it's like, and I and I've had so many of those kind of examples where
10:56 like, "Dude, you're not going to extend the same love that I would have to you, this friendship can't work." >> Yeah. Cuz if I found out like someone had opposing beliefs for me and if they've been my friend for for a long time, I'm like, "Oh, I have somebody that I can now talk to >> that isn't a boogeyman. He's my friend." And now I can ask you like, "Why do you think that way?" >> That's the point. >> That's different, though. So, I'm working on this whole thing about like the levels of morality and consciousness that people have, right? They're stuck in the realm where everything is a binary. So everything is uh right, wrong, bad, good, right? >> And we run into this all the time and we have these discussions where like sometimes um we're playing with different mental exercises. And then you
11:47 go, well, what compels a person to develop this way? And when you make that description, idiots out there will think that you're defending, protecting, explaining. And I'm like, bro, like I'm not even on their side. It's [laughter] almost like >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Studying >> because you're not just completely refuting 100% of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Let's say you're studying Hitler, right? And you want to talk about his childhood and you go like, "Oh, Hitler had this upbringing." And then you're like, "Oh, he was abused. Oh, that might be the reason why he became crazy, right?" And then some idiot will take that and say, "Oh, so you're excusing everything he did because he was abused." And I was like, "Oh, wow." Like people are really low IQ out there. >> That Yeah, I think that's what that that's closer to. >> And so for me, once I realized how stupid someone is, it helps me go, "Oh,
12:38 we can't I can't I got to talk to you like a baby." Like this person, >> I don't want you in my circle cuz I can't actually have an adult conversation with you, >> right? No layers. >> There's Yeah. There they don't know how to think in terms of the nuance. is just um hey good or bad or you should have an absolute like he's absolutely evil he's whatever it's it just there's no ████ conversation that's what like when I was talking to him like I thought me and him are the same where we thought friendship the point of it was to have malleable opinions like I don't I've you know walked back on a lot of things I believed a year ago two years ago because of friends that were like hey here's here's my opinion on it and I went oh I didn't think of it that way and that's constantly supposed to happen in life. But I think what happened is the initiative for free Palestine was so strong that a lot of
13:29 people aren't willing to change their reputation of supporting it 100%. What you know like there's it's too late for nuance. Like they've already committed to like no this is the truth. So then you know he comes out and then like they find out he's Jewish and they're like oh my reputation of where I stood is too strong now to just like make room for you. >> Yeah. To make room for you. Yeah. They don't care >> because that means they don't care about the relationship with you. They care about their image and how they how they're like a real like strong relationship with people is like no what's important is my friendship not these causes outside of my circle. >> Yeah. I think that's what was sad about it is that it's like they're not even willing to you know at least not and you don't have to change your mind about it but the whole point is the point is that our opinions should be rounded. They should always be like rounded out like
14:19 you round me out with stuff that you believe and I round you out with stuff I believe and at the end of the day we know as much about both sides as possible and it moves it changes it you know stuff the world changes. >> So what you're saying is it doesn't matter the stance of where they're at doesn't matter. It's how they approach it and how they handle the friendship and willingness to talk. >> Yeah. I just didn't I just thought that you're the ultimate losers in this situation if you're just getting rid of friends >> with no conversation. >> Yeah. Because as high up as you go in politics, guess what? They're ████ friends. >> Yeah. >> The opposite sides are friends. Yeah. >> The higher you go, like these guys control everything and they're friends and they're doing this. So at least and they're all closer to each other than the people they represent >> and the rest of us is out here on the streets fighting each other. >> The division doesn't gain anything >> while people up here are ████
15:11 controlling it. >> Yeah. It's a it's a triangle. So that's why I'm like, dude, at the very least that you could do is at least take power away from like, you know, division and just stay together regardless of your beliefs. But I felt I felt really sad for this guy. Yeah. >> I think it's because the absolute thinking of like, well, I can't be seen with a Jew, >> you know? Like it's like, well, you're being you're being just as bad as all those people that that that that do that. Like he's not even on their side. Well, because that's why social media played a big part because it it makes you feel like, oh, I'm I'm, you know, going back on my image. It's not just like open to changing anymore. >> Oh, cuz I don't want to look like a hypocrite. >> Exactly. It's the hypocrisy fallacy of like, no, we're not hypocrites. We're we're meant to do that. We're meant to go, oh ████ why was I ████ so diehard Trump? Like, holy ████ You
16:01 know, that's what it's meant for. >> I think I'm okay with someone having a conversation and being able to say at the end of it, you know what? I respect that. I just I don't agree with it. So, I can't be friends with you from here because of what I believe in. >> But the way that that's gone about where there's no conversation, it's just a like this is it. I think that's where it's wrong. >> They didn't even ask if he was a giant. He just judged them on being a Jew. >> They didn't. Yeah. >> That's crazy. And and it also depends on what age they are too cuz I feel like the older you get, the more humility you have because you've walked back so many of your um opinions and stuff. And because like when you go like I can never be friends with you because you a agree opposite of what I believe. What you're really saying is I know more than you and you're just not at my level cuz that's what you're really saying. But I
16:51 think as you get older you're like no matter how certain I am, I'm probably still going to have more than a 1% chance of being wrong. >> Then if you have that humility, I think it's never going to be like you won't end the friendship. >> Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Let us know in the comments below how you navigate being friends with people with opposing beliefs, not just political, but like I guess any kind. how you were able to uh keep the friendship alive and or if you weren't able to at
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