if I were a rhetorical question, I would look like this

[the_siobhan]

Is it possible for somebody who is pro-life and somebody who is pro-choice to be friends?

Is it simply a matter of difference of opinion? Or is it more than that? Is there an underlying difference in values that makes it impossible to be friends?

What do you think?


What I'm listening to right this second: Stromkern

Comments

[50-ft-queenie.livejournal.com]

I feel sometimes that the but means what you say, but (ha!) esp. in the case of "I've never had an abortion but..." as in "I've never lost someone close to me but..."
The "but" becomes empathic.
But (again, ha!) sometimes people do use it to create a sense of superiority. "*I* would never have an abortion but..."

Exactly. Whether or not the "but" is empathic or disapproving depends entirely on the words that come after the "but". That's why I try very hard not to throw up a mental barrier as soon as I hear the word "but" in this and similar contexts.