People who identify as liberal are revealing their most "right-wing" political opinions, and the responses are going viral. It turns out even the most diehard, lifelong Democrats might disagree with their party about a thing or two.
The conversation started when Reddit user u/JuiceNoodle posed a question to the internet: "Left-wingers, what is your most right-wing opinion? Right-wingers, what is your most left-wing opinion?"
Read the top-voted responses from liberals below — and then check out how conservatives answered the same question:
1. "Lefty here. I own tons of guns."
2. "I'm left-wing, and I personally believe that cancel culture shouldn't apply to things people did when they were younger. If you were a racist when you were 19 and have moved on and acknowledged that you used to be stupid, then you're fine. So long as you're not a prick anymore."
3. "Left-wing. One misguided tweet from seven years ago should not get you fired from an unrelated job today."
4. "Left-winger. I think we have started to expect an unreasonable level of moral purity from people, and our attempts to make everything PC is akin to the war on drugs in that it does far more hurt than good. Nuance has also been lost, and many on the left have resorted to black-and-white thinking. Calling people out or canceling them doesn't help anyone, and I can't think of anything more dreary than a fully-sanitized world."
5. "Left-winger here. A strong military is still necessary. Decisive action is still necessary. BETTER DECISIONS ABOUT THE USE of our military are very much needed."
6. "I’m very left-wing socialist (US), but I believe that owning guns should stay a right. I think gun control is important but we have to make sure not to backpedal on our first 10 constitutional amendments because it sets a precedent and would make room for the government to take away other constitutional rights. I’m not usually a fan of 'slippery slope' arguments, but I think the consequences of giving the government that much control could be really bad."
7. "Left-winger here. I don’t think the economy of any nation can support unlimited immigration."
8. "Leftist here! I think the border wall is a good idea. Walls make for better neighbors, in many circumstances. And the USA has a responsibility to its citizens and its neighbors to police the border."
9. "Left of center here. During the pandemic, the US southern border should be closed to non-cargo traffic."
10. "Pretty far left. Capitalism isn’t all bad. Runaway capitalism is bad, but so is any other -ism if left unchecked."
11. "Leftie. Some cultures are really, really fucking backward and need to be fearlessly called out on their shit."
12. "Left wing. Political correctness going too far is the sole reason, in my opinion, why Trump got elected."
13. "Left-winger here: I believe you can joke about anything. As long as it's made in good fun (not made with the overt intent to cause pain to other people) you can joke about literally any subject no matter how traumatic, evil, or disgusting it may be. Now, I'm not saying jokes should be a complete free-for-all, there can be a wrong place or time for one, but it's just not realistic or satisfying to say you can never joke about something."
14. "Left-winger here. I am strongly against cancel culture and removing scenes from old movies or banning them. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it."
15. "Left-winger here. My most right-leaning opinion is my disagreement with ACAB ('All Cops Are Bastards'). I’m certainly not pro-cop and agree that a lot of cops, far too many of them, are bastards. There needs to be sweeping changes and more accountability, but law enforcement is necessary, and by calling all of them bastards we discourage any of the few people that are trying to help. I would prefer something more like FTMCAFB,DBOOT ('Far Too Many Cops Are Fucking Bastards, Don't Be One Of Them'), but I understand that’s a mouthful and not a pronounceable acronym."
16. "Left here. 'Defund the police' is arguably the worst possible name for the police reform movement. It should be 'Reallocate police funds so cops learn how to do their jobs better and stop murdering Black people.'"
17. "I'm far left and I'm worried about the more gullible people in my party. Those who are afraid of vaccines and nuclear power and GMOs are of grave concern to me, as it is based on the same failure to understand and accept reality that the right is so terribly guilty of. Facts and evidence matter. There is one reality, one truth. Gender isn't a binary and global warming is real — and GMOs are safe to eat and nuclear power is a handleable problem."
18. "Leftie here, but my conservative opinion comes from being an ESL teacher. If you move to an English-speaking country, you need to learn English. And I don't mean, 'Learn to speak English!' in the way jerks shout it at anyone with an accent. But, just genuinely, you need to do everything you can to learn the language of the country you’re living in. I know it’s hard, it’s overwhelming. ... But it will get you further in your new life than almost any other skill."
19. "I’m pretty left-wing, but I believe that the death penalty can be justified in some situations."
20. "Leftie here. Honestly, I think the death penalty is deserved in many cases. The reason I'm so against it is I simply don't trust the people in charge to use it on the right people."
21. "Left-winger. Government should have to balance the budget."
22. "Left-winger here. As a Filipino from the Philippines, I think people policing culture appropriation is fucking dumb. Especially when they're American (not necessarily white). Also kinda peeved with the whole "Filipinx" thing. It's dumb, especially when our language's pronouns are gender neutral."
23. "Generally left, but the government should not be writing down people’s student debt. Fix the system by properly funding nonprofit educational institutions, make 0% loans or refinancing available to debtors, and maybe give relief to those who were conned by for-profit institutions (while suing for restitution and eliminating them). But people made the choice to go into massive debt for degrees that are useless because they wanted 'the college experience.' How about the experience of not starting out your life in debt? Improve high school counseling and trade education, and make sure people know that they have the option to learn a trade and be more successful than spending four years going into debt for something that will not help them further their careers or lives. Will help bring much-needed manufacturing jobs to the US, too."
Curious to see how people on the right answered this question? Check out:
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.