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GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 08:25 PM Oct 2016

I may have turned one today!

This afternoon I was in our local hang out/small tavern with a few of our beer club guys. It is really an establishment owned by someone who loves drinking and serving beers. There are always over 200 different ones there. The regular beer club guys are apolitical as a group, and I am sure some of the guys may vote for Trump, but they do not talk about it. Plus we are a racially diverse group which I am sure keeps the hardcore Alt-right(racist) away.

An older man and his wife came in and we welcomed them like we do all strangers-very friendly. The owner was busy in the back so we helped him pick out his beer from the cooler. No Bud, Miller or anything like that here. He settled on a very good German beer while his wife had a wine. This is a very small place, one employee on a slow Sunday afternoon-the owner.

They ended up ordering some food and had another couple of beers, joining in our conversation on and off. By this time there were only about 5 of us left and he asked a question...Does anyone here know anything about guns? There was a brief silence and I told him I was a hunter and owned several guns, what can I help him with? He wanted a small pocket .380 and was wondering where the best place to get one was. I let him know I owned a handgun and told him where I purchased it. And I asked him why did he want one?

And here it came...he wanted to get one before Hillary bans them. And the statement sat on the room like a fart. But taking the advice I have read hear, I did not attack. I hurrmphed and asked him if he had heard that Obama was going to take his guns. He answered yes. And I stated that Obama had better get busy because he only has 3 months left. The guy actually chuckled. And then I informed him that the second amendment is respected in the Democratic Party Platform and Democratic Party(I actually said Democrats, but we have language purist here!). And that we are in favor of smart gun laws.

At this point one my buddies chimed in much to my surprise. He is the most blue collar of the bunch said he would not mind limiting AR-15's and such, which really did surprise me. Realize we are in the Orlando Metro area and the Pulse event really shook us. But I was still surprised as I do know he owns guns. But we had not talked politics and I do not know how he votes. We share a love for good food and beer.

So the guy out and asked me who I was voting for. Normally I would dodge that question in a bar, but the conversation had gone well so far and I told him that I had been a conservative republican most of my life but had come to realize it was all bullshit(the word I used) and I am now a Democrat and my vote was going to Hillary.

At that point his wife screwed her courage to the sticking point and exclaimed 'I am too'. The guy was surprised, he actually said 'you are?'. After a little more back and forth the guy stated 'Trump really is kind of scary, I don't know'. And the conversation then changed away from politics.

He and his wife stayed almost 2 hours and he shook all our hands on the way out and told us how much he enjoyed meeting us and asked if he could join us next week. You know the answer. Unless he votes early I may have another shot, although I think it may be a done deal. The best part of the day was his wife speaking up!

I am still smiling about it.

Oh, and early voting starts tomorrow in Florida. By this time tomorrow night Hillary will have my vote. Unless there are too many members of the Democratic Party in line in which case I will try another time.

Have a nice evening.

22 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I may have turned one today! (Original Post) GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 OP
Speaking of turning... Xipe Totec Oct 2016 #1
That's great. Thanks for sharing. :) n/t Zing Zing Zingbah Oct 2016 #2
Great work awake Oct 2016 #3
I think I may have GP6971 Oct 2016 #4
Good for you GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 #5
Good work! Cracklin Charlie Oct 2016 #6
Laughed out loud about his wife! manicraven Oct 2016 #7
Good Work GC! leftieNanner Oct 2016 #8
K&R! DemonGoddess Oct 2016 #9
Good Story! DemInND Oct 2016 #10
Realize we had been engaging GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 #11
Great job! And this one by one "turning" could also get us the House, pnwmom Oct 2016 #12
What a great story, GulfCoast.. riveting all the way! Cha Oct 2016 #13
Thank you for that story. PoindexterOglethorpe Oct 2016 #14
I respect your opinion and defend your right to it. GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 #15
Your excellent points are exactly why PoindexterOglethorpe Oct 2016 #16
It si *SO* awesome when you flip one! It makes all the bickering worth it. nt LaydeeBug Oct 2016 #17
You made me smile! UCmeNdc Oct 2016 #18
Awesome story! Madam45for2923 Oct 2016 #19
Ran out of time GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 #20
HRC's Birthday is on Wednesday the 26th! Madam45for2923 Oct 2016 #21
I did not know that GulfCoast66 Oct 2016 #22

awake

(3,226 posts)
3. Great work
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 08:45 PM
Oct 2016

If you vote for Hillary thats one vote but getting a Trump voter to vote for Hillary is worth two votes the one that Trump lost pluse the new vote for Hillary. Keep up the good work.

GP6971

(31,133 posts)
4. I think I may have
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 09:33 PM
Oct 2016

turned my sister. Her husband is an arch conservative and has great influence over her. How they raised 2 very liberal daughters is beyond me. Anyway, her daughters have been working on her and I think I may have sealed the deal.....my father and uncle both had dealings with Trump and both hated him. I just kept hammering for the last 6 months and it appears to be paying off.

manicraven

(901 posts)
7. Laughed out loud about his wife!
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 10:13 PM
Oct 2016

Regarding conservative couples, it makes me wonder how many wives are breaking with voting for the Republican this time and their spouses have no clue.

leftieNanner

(15,080 posts)
8. Good Work GC!
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 10:38 PM
Oct 2016

Having this kind of conversation in a friendly atmosphere and in a polite manner can go a long way. And a good beer doesn't hurt either. Excellent.

DemInND

(164 posts)
10. Good Story!
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 10:42 PM
Oct 2016

I'm glad that converstation turned out good. Usually when it comes to politics, a friendly conversation can turn nasty in a hurry. But I'm glad that guy's wife spoke up. Anyway, no guns will be taken away. That would require repealing an amendment and that is very very very difficult to do...about as hard as Trump winning the election!

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
11. Realize we had been engaging
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 10:58 PM
Oct 2016

In friendly conversation for almost an hour before it came up. And I pushed nothing on him. I think that was the key. I asked a question and made a friendly comment.

Normally I avoid politics where alcohol or guns are involved!

I hope I have a new friend.

pnwmom

(108,973 posts)
12. Great job! And this one by one "turning" could also get us the House,
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 11:09 PM
Oct 2016

if enough of us take these opportunities -- or carefully set them up.

Cha

(297,120 posts)
13. What a great story, GulfCoast.. riveting all the way!
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 11:15 PM
Oct 2016

Politics are such a touchy subject these days.. that went very well.

And, it was brilliant to ask if he had heard that President Obama was going to take away his guns, too. I was living in upstate New York when he was elected. Near Remington Arms and knew some people who came into our store who were always on Overtime.. they couldn't keep up with the demand.

Wonder if anyone ever figured out wayne la pierre was lying to them?

I had just posted this and my internet connection went out.. hoping this goes through!

Mahalo and good luck with your new friend the next time you see them~ Great about his wife!

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,841 posts)
14. Thank you for that story.
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 11:17 PM
Oct 2016

What an excellent conversation.

I will say right here that I'm anti-gun to the point I'd cheerfully support out and out confiscation, but I'm also sufficiently grounded in reality to know that won't happen. Nor will Hillary be banning very many guns. Maybe things like AK-47s, but certainly not handguns or ordinary hunting rifles.

I recognize that I occupy an extreme place on the gun ownership continuum. No need to point out to me that I'm wrong or anything like that. Had I been in that bar with you I would have laughed in the face of that man. Glad you were there instead of me, to hold a sensible conversation with him.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
15. I respect your opinion and defend your right to it.
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 11:41 PM
Oct 2016

But as you point out, had I laughed in the man's face I would not only have lost him but my fellow beer club members who own guns. And apparently support reasonable gun control laws. That is something I did not know until today. And as an aside...I cannot wait until politics never rears its head in our beer club meetings. It is nice to have a fun activity with folks you share a passion with free from politics.

But we have to engage with our political opponents(not enemies) on their terms if we hope to win them over. And I know this personally. I began a transformation from a Reagan republican to my current status as a Social Democrat(NOT Democratic Socialist) slowly. I had pretty much made my transformation when I heard President Obama's address to the Church in South Carolina after the terroristic racist killings there. That was the most powerful speech, or hell, sermon, I have ever heard.

I am now a proud member of the Democratic party.

Have a very nice evening. And thank you for the comment.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,841 posts)
16. Your excellent points are exactly why
Sun Oct 23, 2016, 11:55 PM
Oct 2016

I should not often be let out in public.

I feel so very strongly about certain things that I cannot be rational about them. I've learned not to speak about those things in public, and I always appreciate those who can talk about them more coherently than I can.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
20. Ran out of time
Mon Oct 24, 2016, 09:35 PM
Oct 2016

Relatives in town and I made steak Frites with duck fat fried fries.

Timing the steaks on the wood fired grill with hot fries takes planning.

But no worries, I have not missed an election since I could vote 30+ years ago.

And supper was epic! The best part is that our relatives have always been loudly right wingers, but definitely not at all religious. Politics never came up. That tells me that are not riding the Trump train off the rails. I felt no reason to rub their noses into it.

And it was so pleasant enjoying a great meal and wine with family talking about various non-political subjects.

Have a nice evening.

 

Madam45for2923

(7,178 posts)
21. HRC's Birthday is on Wednesday the 26th!
Mon Oct 24, 2016, 09:46 PM
Oct 2016

Maybe Wednesday is a good day for voting!

In any case you are a great story teller! Those steak frites sound yummy!

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
22. I did not know that
Mon Oct 24, 2016, 10:01 PM
Oct 2016

I will try to vote Wednesday in honor of our first female president!

And the steaks were great. I splurged on prime filets for the ladies. The men got choice ribeyes.

But as always the frites were the hit. Twice fried in duck fat till golden brown. As I type the fat is solidifying in mason jars in the icebox.

This election has shaken me to the core. It was nice to have a friendly non political evening.

Have a great evening.

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