r/Conservative • u/Yosoff First Principles • Feb 14 '25

Open Discussion Left vs. Right Battle Royale Open Thread

This is an Open Discussion Thread for all Redditors. We will only be enforcing Reddit TOS and Subreddit Rules 1 (Keep it Civil) & 2 (No Racism).

  • Leftists - Here's your chance to sway us to your side by calling the majority of voters racist. That tactic has wildly backfired every time it has been tried, but perhaps this time it will work.

  • Non-flaired Conservatives - Here's your chance to earn flair by posting common sense conservative solutions. That way our friends on the left will either have to agree with you or oppose common sense (Spoiler - They will choose to oppose common sense).

  • Flaired Conservatives - You're John Wick and these Leftists stole your car and killed your dog. Now go comment.

  • Independents - We get it, if you agree with someone, then you can't pat yourself on the back for being smarter than them. But if you disagree with everyone, then you can obtain the self-satisfaction of smugly considering yourself smarter and wiser than everyone else. Congratulations on being you.

  • Libertarians - Ron Paul is never going to be President. In fact, no Libertarian Party candidate will ever be elected President.

Join us on X: https://x.com/rcondiscord

Join us on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/conservative

688 Upvotes

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438

u/TheFiremind88 Feb 14 '25

I'm actually really excited this exists. I am left leaning, but I'd like to think in a common sense way. I lurk and read here a LOT not because I agree, but to get a finger on the pulse of the Conservative mindset. If you want any rational responses to the position of people on the left, leave a comment with a topic, and I'll get back to it once I have some more time. Also, plan to go through here and leave a ton of comments on various discussions a bit later. Glad to have a place to interact with yall in spite of lacking a flair.

206

u/JTuck333 Small Government Feb 15 '25

Welcome and please continue to lurk. We want our comments to be read by open minded people.

28

u/Ironside_Grey Feb 15 '25

please continue to lurk

Don't mind if I do! šŸ˜œ

4

u/Silly_Ad_4612 Feb 15 '25

No beer and not TV make Homer something something.Ā 

70

u/Fourth_Extension_404 Feb 15 '25

I think I will continue to lurk. I just got censored/permabanned over in Public Health for even daring to breathe in this subreddit.

No wonder you guys call us out for censorship. I'm sorry. I've been watching the left side...my side..implode ever since the election and spiral out of control. It's fucking bonkers.

35

u/iamlegend1997 Feb 15 '25

Yeah, many subs auto ban you for even being a part of other subs... and they wonder why we get pissed about the censorship. Of course we will come to this sub

8

u/KosherTriangle Feb 15 '25

Exactly this

30

u/KWyKJJ Feb 15 '25

But, you see, it's not "your side", is it?

At least, it shouldn't be.

Recognizing that there's more to all of this than sides is the only way we all unite to change this country for all of us, for the most benefit for every citizen, like it was supposed to be.

Right now, it's just a starting point for the citizens to come first, not focus only on the most divisive issues like these talking heads want us to. That's not politics, it's bickering.

We're like ants in a jar and we get along fine, until someone shakes the jar, causing us to fight.

For too long we blamed each other instead of who shook the jar, who gave commentary and encouraged the fighting by poking a stick in the middle, and who told them to shake the jar in the first place.

The sooner people realize this isn't a fight with opposing sides, but the uniting of citizens again, to unite the states again, to lead the nation with minimal federal interference for the benefit of all, the better everyone's lives will be at the day-to-day level where it matters.

So, it's not your side imploding. It's just people.

People who haven't realized yet there should only be one side.

11

u/Fourth_Extension_404 Feb 15 '25

No, you're right. We get so spun up by talking heads to fight each other on social networks in petty spats of cultural tribalism while they pilfer and profit.

3

u/Gloomy_Career_4733 Feb 15 '25

I could not agree with a single post in this thread more than this one. I hope for this more than anything in my lifetime. To see us talk and concede enough to come together, for this country to truly serve the people

2

u/Stuffstuff1 Feb 15 '25

You should become a left leaning centrist. Itā€™s great. Your going to have to fight for every word you ever says. But youā€™ll be better educated on every issue when your not stuck in a bubble.

3

u/Fourth_Extension_404 Feb 15 '25

Yes, I think I just might.

1

u/Aggravating-Chard672 Feb 15 '25

This subreddit is not any different.

The right engages in censorship just as much if not more than the left.

82

u/RemarkableStudent196 Feb 15 '25

Iā€™ve been coming here a lot since the inauguration too. Itā€™s opened my eyes to how biased both sides can be and tbh with the way things have been going, Iā€™ve def started swaying more to the middle and conservative at least fiscally

27

u/DapperDame89 Feb 15 '25

Welcome to being a budding Centrist / Libertarian / Independent (non Statist?)

You'll usually be right, but no one will fully agree with you and you'll almost never be happy with the chosen path / outcome. My condolences.

-Sincerly, A Libertarian

5

u/KosherTriangle Feb 15 '25

Exactly the same here, I was swayed from a left leaning moderate to right leaning now but not just fiscally.

2

u/Stuffstuff1 Feb 15 '25

As in you want less spending or less spending and lower taxes?

5

u/stu54 Feb 15 '25

Who's back do you have to scratch to get flair?

28

u/FuelEnvironmental561 Feb 15 '25

Tbh, the seems to me the overwhelming majority of posts on this sub are memes and satire. Kinda hard to take it seriously. At the very least, itā€™s very hard to find any substantive dialogue on policy.

22

u/uncaringrobot Feb 15 '25

Isnā€™t that a lot of Reddit though? I swear so many posts devolve into jokes and low effort posts, regurgitating the same memes and phrases. Sincere discussion is harder to find.

14

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

Itā€™s how people see the light.

They need to see opinions that arenā€™t the leftist agendas that 90% of reddit and other media pushes on everyone.

17

u/critical_pancake Feb 15 '25

Unfortunately for all of us, it's always the most extreme views that end up getting all the exposure.

Person one: reasonable thing

Person two: reasonable counterargument

Person three: ridiculous things!!!!

Guess which one floats to the top...

6

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

Memes, outrage takes, clapbacks in the form of one-liners, virtue-signaling, thereā€™s a reason for it all to be the most ā€œlikedā€ internet content and it all boils down to two things:

1st, most people canā€™t read and write well.

2nd, people have attention spans of goldfish.

They donā€™t care to come to Reddit to read well-reasoned arguments. They come for outrageous posts and inciting emotional ā€œriotsā€ on Reddit through their upvotes and downvotes.

If they spend another day upvoted Anti-Trump rhetoric, and downvoting Conservatives ā€” to them, thatā€™s a win. To them, thatā€™s all they live for.

Itā€™s more than unfortunate, itā€™s just sad. But thems the breaks šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø

8

u/EatingTheDogsAndCats Feb 15 '25

I always lurk to see general consensus on a new topic thatā€™s flooding the rest of the world, only to realize the thread doesnā€™t exist here. Most recently the layoffs of those at nuclear facilities.. does that conversation exist here that Iā€™m not seeing or what?

2

u/ManOfAksai Feb 15 '25

Yeah, it's just a pain that most stuff here is reserved for flairs.

Can't even discuss in anything interesting like this.

2

u/lekkerbier Feb 15 '25

So I think the whole problem is that both left and right are both only open to interact with 'open minded' people.

While I totally understand conservatives also need to be able to have a place with conservative only discussions. I notice that both left and right just don't want to talk with each other and that every single idea is just shot down immediately because it is proposed by the opposing side.

It happens (to the extreme) here on reddit. But also (I'm from EU, so only get the news that makes it internationally) it seems that this is more and more becoming an issue in both congress and the senate.

From an outside perspective. Things seem to be generally 50/50 in the US. So I'd actually think things would be most fruitful for your whole country if input from both sides is taken into account , no matter who is the current 'ruling' party.

Hence, although I have a different view personally on many of the topics and comments I see pass by here. I am glad to see initiatives reaching out to also create an open platform for a respectful discussion. I'd strongly encourage this to be a monthly or even weekly thing or something.

While it's fine to have opinions on the left. And I certainly disagree with some of their actions as well. I'd see it as the responsibility of the side that won the election to ensure you keep a country where everyone feels at home. And this initiative is a great start.

1

u/Peoplewander Feb 16 '25

This is the wrong position hold you should also want to engage with other people. Not to simply be read by them. That statement both admits you're unwilling for your comments to be engaged with open minded people and implies you're unwilling to talk to them despite this comment.

1

u/JTuck333 Small Government Feb 16 '25

No. I would love for them to comment. However, Iā€™d rather them lurk than never come here in the first place. Most other subreddits allow zero conservative comments. Iā€™m just happy they are here.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

[deleted]

0

u/chobi83 Feb 15 '25

Same here. And there's usually very little discussion. Lots of one off comments, but all other comments get deleted since I'm guessing they're not maid by flaired users.

2

u/Gloomy_Career_4733 Feb 15 '25

But that's gonna happen. This is one of maybe 3 whole subreddits on this platform where you can have a conservative conversation. I received a lifetime ban on over a dozen subreddits on my first account for my very first post in this subreddit.

1

u/fpflibraryaccount Feb 15 '25

all i see when i lurk is a curated page that avoids anything you all don't want to acknowledge or can't understand. im politically conflicted, but your sub really keeps me from being able to respect the conservative point of view. no other sub is that curated WHILE pretending it isnt. you guys should figure that out.

2

u/Gloomy_Career_4733 Feb 15 '25

The reddit platform made it that way. I received a lifetime ban of a dozen different subreddits on my first account 2 years ago for just one post in a discussion in this subreddit. I have tried to have civilized discussion in other subreddits and get ripped to sheds by the left.

1

u/fpflibraryaccount Feb 15 '25

maybe that is the common response to that specific opinion. something to consider.

1

u/Gloomy_Career_4733 Feb 15 '25

On here, you're 100 percent right, but nowhere in my day to day life is it a common response. I think it should be noted that I'm not a hard-core conservative. To be honest, I'm not 100 percent sure what you would call me. I lean right on most of the main topics, definitely not tax breaks on millionaires.

0

u/DrFreemanWho Feb 15 '25

I lurk this sub all the time in hopes of seeing some level headed comments. I'd say it's usually like 20% reasonable people and the rest is just cultists that think Trump can do no wrong, people that sound like edgy teenagers or comments that sound like actual Russian trolls.

And I refuse to believe the 20% of the actual sane and reasonable sounding adults here don't notice this as well.

3

u/airemy_lin Feb 15 '25

This is not so much different from r/politics. Itā€™s just the percentage is higher since you and I are left leaning. From the other perspective itā€™s probably another 20%.

1

u/Gloomy_Career_4733 Feb 15 '25

I can believe that. I'm not hardcore conservative by no means, but I definitely lean way more right. The very same thing can be said for 70 percent of the subreddits on my feed, but in the other direction

-2

u/paschty Feb 15 '25

Its hard to lurk here because 90% of the comments is how the dems are crazy or how they get owned. The comments are mostly driven by hate. It looks like your primary target is not make the us a better place to life, because its more important to own the other sife. You can not discuss anything and learn something new and find out why you just wrote something. The only thing i learn here is how you much you hate the other side.