[root_axis]

> People lose jobs, housing opportunities, and professional connections for being conservative in the Bay Area

Sounds to me like literally the exact same thing the left claims about being black or a woman in contexts where the conservative ideology is more pervasive.

[morgtheborg]

I'm sure that's true. I haven't personally lived in a conservative area in America for any extended period of time.

Hopefully we can both agree these are bad things to occur due to race, gender, sex, political orientation, etc. You should be judged for how you treat and speak to people, not for your political opinions.

I've worked with men that genuinely believe that women should not be educated and just stay home with children. Whatever. They treated women well in class and outside of class and THAT is what they should be judged on for jobs, housing, and connections --- not their personal opinions when they vote.

[root_axis]

> I'm sure that's true. I haven't personally lived in a conservative area in America for any extended period of time.

Whether its true or not, my point is that the complaint is the same as the one you articulated in your original comment.

> You should be judged for how you treat and speak to people, not for your political opinions.

Nobody on either side believes this; the right judges the left as communists destroying America and the left judges the right as Nazis destroying America, that's the nature of politics.

[morgtheborg]

> Nobody on either side believes this; the right judges the left as communists destroying America and the left judges the right as Nazis destroying America, that's the nature of politics.

This attitude is the exact sort of attitude causing all the problems. And, no, not everyone has it.

[root_axis]

It's not an "attitude", it's an observation of fact within the realm of politics. People engaged in political activity are inherently implicated by the rhetoric, philosophy and consequences of the ideals they support, that is the price of taking a stance. This is a non-issue if one simply avoids broadcasting political activity in the workplace and this is true whether you're a conservative in the bay area or a liberal in the heartland.