Were you born to rebel?

[HereSince1628]

Frank Sulloway suggests birth order explains why some people more quickly accept new ideas, or rebel against old ones. His work considered an assessment of birth order and willingness of historic figures to accept novel scientific and political ideas.

In his analysis middle children were most likely to be rebels, compared to society, their parents, and their siblings. Has your birth order influenced your being a democrat or progressive?

I'm 3rd of 5 siblings in a working class family that had one republican and one democratic parent.

[DemExpat]

1. Third of 5 here as well......

I've always had a strong anti-authoritarian streak in me.....

:hi:
DemEx

[WoodrowFan]

2. How do you count one Dem and one reub parent.

Only in a family with Dem Mom and Repub Dad. (took after Mom)

[HereSince1628]

3. What sentiments prevailed at dinner?

Good question, I think in my family my father's political beliefs prevailed...there was always lots of talk about his union.

[WoodrowFan]

7. I think it was a draw.

I think it was a draw, but he was a liberal repub and she was a conservative dem. He got more conservative as he grew older, she got more liberal on most things. (not religion though, she was and is a creationist)

[supernova]

4. Same here

and I'm the youngest.

But my older siblings are more moderate conventional. My sister, the oldest, is straight up middle of the road conventional. My brother, the middle child is more conservative than either of us sisters.

Of the three of us, I'm the most politically left, and politically active.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

5. Im in the middle

and Im the rebellious one, a textbook case of Frank Sulloway's findings.

[On the Road]

6. I Love That Book

and the results here are interesting. Not too strong a correlation yet, but not too many voters yet.

I'm the eldest in a conservative family, which is not the model Sulloway is looking for. But it took me years to change parties and political philosophies, and I'm by no means a firebrand in my personal life.

[On the Road]

8. Very Interesting

that the category Sulloway was most concerned with in this case would be youngest child of conservative parents. That's the only category with NO votes so far. Who knew?

[caledesi]

9. Middle child "born to rebel" nt

[Scott Lee]

10. As an Aries, I'd have to say yes.

It seems rebellion comes with factory Aries equipment.

[prolesunited]

15. What if you're a middle AND an Aries?

Watch out world! :evilgrin:

[leftist_rebel1569]

17. That would be me!

:D

[prolesunited]

20. So, what day

is your birthday and how many in your family?

[geniph]

11. Youngest of 13

My mother's an old-time FDR democrat...my father - who knows what my father is? but I do know he was a JFK fan. Sort of had to be, since he was another Irish Catholic Navy veteran.

[smirkymonkey]

12. I am the oldest of 4 from a Conservative,

although not freeperish, family. I am the exact opposite of what first-borns are said to be in the birth order book.

Not rebellious in a hellcat kind of way (although I was kind of a troublemaker), but more subversive, independent minded and anti-establishment. Have been that way since I was a toddler, apparently.

[leftist_rebel1569]

13. Lone liberal from a family of republicans

Oh, and i'm in the middle (third out of 4)

[JanMichael]

14. I'm the oldest of a Progressive family...And, politically, the most...

...radical.

In regard to my parents my middle sibling was the rebel.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. Also the oldest in a Democratic family

both parents were liberal, so I rebelled with punk rock. But then it turned out my mother didn't really mind the Ramones that much.

[onebigbadwulf]

18. Coming from a broken family

I know how hard it is to get by on barely nothing. Repugs making it harder for us make me want to puke. Goddamn elitist pig fuckers.

[Cleita]

19. Only child in a Republican family

and I was very rebellious. My mother admitted though before she died that she always admired that side of me even though it caused her a lot of grief.

[dawn]

21. Oldest child in a Republican family

I've always been the rebel in the family.