Śūnyatā

Okay, story time! I had this friend that seemed really cool and we aligned on a lot of things. They were hella anti military, which is super fucking valid, but it was to the point where they told me if I wanted to stay friends with them, I needed to force my husband to cut off his mom because she teaches first aid and swim lessons on a base. Being anti us military is an incredibly valid stance, but to try and force me to force another person to cut off their only family because they work on a base? His mom isn’t even a soldier, she’s fucking red cross and is working with the military to teach first aid and water safety lessons! The things he was saying legit felt like talking to a fed that was trying to sow division. It would’ve been bad enough to set that line and try to force me to cut off my family, but that’s not even MY mom! I have zero say in whether someone else chooses to cut off their family, that is not a decision me or anyone else can make for someone! It was just such a wild ultimatum to get from someone I considered a friend and I essentially told them, “hey, i agree with a lot of your points about the military, but it isn’t my place to force someone to cut off their only family and it sure as hell isn’t yours”