I hope this is relevant for this community, because I don’t know where else to post this. I’m honestly scared to post it anywhere else.

I live in Eastern Europe. I’m a university student, and recently, we got an American exchange student. They’re a very outspoken liberal.

A few days ago, we took them out with a few mates out for beers (they’re under 21, so they didn’t drink, even though you can here if you’re at least 18) to break the ice and make them feel comfortable. We got talking and because I’ve never been to the US, I asked them what I thought was an innocuous question. For some context, I’ve been a communist for a very long time, and joined the communist party the day I turned 18.

I basically asked them: Why would I vote for Harris? How would that improve the situation in the US and abroad? I’m not too familiar with her, but her politics don’t seem too appealing, especially her support for Israel and her incarceration background.

That made them launch into a screaming rant about how I’m a conservative for doubting her abilities and deserve to be jailed for wanting to infringe on the rights of women. There were a few more insults targeted at me for asking that question, I didn’t really understand them. The entire time, I was not even saying anything, I was honestly too shocked to react, but they just kept screaming until they got up and stormed out in a rage after calling me a Trump supporter, misogynist, and a fascist. My mates were equally confused. We tried to figure it out, but everyone is equally stumped.

I’ve been thinking about that entire situation for a couple days, and I’m so confused about their reaction. They even refuse to speak to me now.

What have I done wrong? Can someone please explain? ☹️ I really don’t understand what happened. We have liberals here of course, but even the worst ones never behave like this.

  • SpaceDogs@lemmygrad.ml
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    3 months ago

    While I understand your reasoning, there are actual non-Americans who support Trump. Are they rare? Sure, but they do exist and it’s as weird as you would think.

    • partizan@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Im an European, and I would like to Trump get to the office for one simple reason: He was the only US president when no new armed conflicts emerged, most in fact quieted down - even Ukraine during the time he was in office calmed down for some time. North Korea calmed down, the middle east calmed down, even the Abraham accords was created.

      If I could, I would support him just for that reason. I dont care if he is a buffoon, if it means less conflicts globally…

      • SadArtemis🏳️‍⚧️@lemmygrad.ml
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        3 months ago

        Agreed, with the caveat regarding the Abraham accords- because seriously, that wasn’t a positive thing. The MENA region was calmer overall perhaps, but the stage was being set for the industrial scale genocide going on today (not that the Zionists weren’t committing genocide continuously prior to this- or that any other POTUS would have not also been just as bad).

        I don’t think anyone should support Trump in a similar vein to how a choice between Hitler, Goebbels, and/or even Churchill would be no choice at all- but I’d say that in pretty much every way that matters, Trump was better for the world at large than the “Biden” regime (which itself is just a return to the bipartisan global destabilization and genocidal encroachment policy that the US had been following for decades up to Obama, before Trump’s bad optics and lesser hawkishness threw a wrench in the works.

        Hell, I’d even say he was probably better in most ways domestically as well (as an outsider looking in). The second he left, it seems half of the US (and pretty much all of the broader west) or more turned right back from performative hysteria over the business-as-usual fascism inherent in the system, to stepford smiler-style willfull ignorance and complete denial of reality once again (with an added bonus of warmongering suicidality and somehow accelerating the fascist spiral even more while pretending things had never been as good or progressive).