Unsolicited political comments in casual conversations are unintelligent

A few years ago, I was having coffee with my start-up co-founder. His wife had stopped by briefly. I don’t remember how exactly our conversation flowed during her brief appearance, but she expressed her surprise about the number of people supporting Trump. She was very animated in her bewilderment. They were all idiots to her.

Well yeah, you’re right, I thought. Tens of millions support Trump. Some of them are your neighbors here in the Bay area. And not all are idiots or rednecks. I knew people — successful, educated, and sophisticated — right there, in Silicon Valley, who were Trump supporters. One of the potential investors we were talking to was a hardcore Conservative. He was Google employee #30 something and made his fortune in Silicon Valley. I knew his views because he was quite vocal on social media. It’s not that he was a hardcore Trump supporter, but he loathed the liberals and thought they were destroying America and its values. To that end, Trump was the best option he saw. Another family in the Bay area we had known closely was divided. The husband, a partner and founder at a venture capital firm, was also a firm Trump supporter.

I was annoyed by my co-founder’s wife’s arrogance. What right did she have to make assumptions about my political views? You can have a strong opinion, but you don’t have a monopoly over righteousness or intelligence.

I’m not hinting at my views in this story. If she said Governor Newson is the…