Changing Attitudes

[kevin_standlee]

On a whim, I went out to lunch today at a little family restaurant near my apartment in Fremont. I had breakfast for lunch, as sausage and eggs with hash browns is something I can safely masticate. The place was busy and rather than wait for a table, I took a seat at the end of the counter. Sitting next to me were two older gentlemen who mostly paid me no mind as I settled in to read a book and drink my coffee. I couldn't help but overhear their conversation, though. As near as I can tell, one of the two men is a former Fremont city councilor. He also seemed pretty conservative, as the two men were seriously discussing the remaining Republican presidential contenders and who they thought should be the nominee. But then the conversation drifted and it became clear that they both also favored medicinal marijuana use ("It's legal in California; why should the Feds be bothering us about it?") and gay marriage ("Who cares? It doesn't hurt my marriage for other people to be happy.")

Hearing people who identify as "conservative" and "Republican" taking what I consider the right side of social issues makes me happy.

Comments

[twilight2000.livejournal.com]

Sounds like Old School Republicans - *them* I can work with :>

[petrea-mitchell.livejournal.com]

Pretty standard for conservatives west of the Rockies, actually. Sadly, the libertarian streak seems to have been all but obliterated at the national level.

[retro-rider55.livejournal.com]

You having dental problems?

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I had root canal treatment on Thursday afternoon. Where my next-to-last upper-right molar should be is a tooth-shaped hole with a temporary filling in it. The specialist will do the second stage of the treatment next Thursday, after which I'll have to have a new crown made to fill the hole. Although I have no pain, I'm supposed to avoid chewing on the right side of my mouth and avoid hard foods until I get a new crown, which may take some weeks. I just realized that the original post I made about the planned treatment was behind a lock because it mentioned something work-related in passing, so not everyone will have seen it.

[retro-rider55.livejournal.com]

I'd completely forgotten. My bad. Hope you can tuck into a bar of Mackintosh's Toffee soon...

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

I termed this "cranky old man conservatism" - that is, the idea that it's nobody's business what I get up to, coupled with enough lack of hypocrisy to agree that it's also none of my business what you get up to. It seems to be reasonably common once folks get away from TV cameras.

[randy-smith2.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm not surprised by this. The comment about "old school" Republicans is on target. Also, I remember watching the California Gubernatorial debate back at the time of the Gray Davis recall election and the one item that all seven (7) major candidates agreed on was favoring medical marijuana. The gay marriage divide seem to be more along racial and possibly religious lines than along political party lines.