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I'm looking for stories that illustrate how politics gets done to us even if we choose not to "do" politics.

Are there real life stories of persons claiming to be apolitical and then having politics "done" to them (ie something wth clearly political origins caused them trouble or harm)?

Ideally the stories may already partly or entirely well known.

EDIT

I'm seeking this story so as to illustrate, as several have pointed out, that it doesn't matter if you do politics or not, it will still do you.

To fit a bit better in the stack exchange model, the ideal answer would be one that makes for a good story, which would mean:

  1. Someone who made a public show of their stance
  2. That someone can be named (eg a specific individual, or family, or maybe a group)
  3. The political consequences are believable

For example, apolitical Jews in 1930's Germany wouldn't fit #3 because it's too extreme an example ("Ok sure, but that was Nazi Germany, our country isn't going to become Nazi Germany, so I don't need to be political").

ChrisJ
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    As in apolitical Jews in 1930s Germany, for instance? – Denis de Bernardy May 01 '18 at 15:48
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    This is an interesting subject, but I'm concerned that it doesn't fit the Stackexchange model well. You'll get a list of examples that may or may not fit what you want, and no clear way to decide which answer is the best. It could work as a theory question ("Is there a body of research about this, and what examples do they cite"), but I'm not quite sure if that will work for you. – indigochild May 01 '18 at 16:18
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    Every new mandatory interaction between an 'apolitical' and a government? That's a big list, and if you include the last century there was war or revolution in almost every corner of the world. Though I would count the choice to not participate as a political stance. –  May 01 '18 at 16:51
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    I don't really understand what you're asking here. Politics is how you run a country/government, even if you decide to not involve yourself, then it will still affect you. It seems to me like asking "has a tornado ever affected someone who decided to not involve themselves with tornadoes". –  May 01 '18 at 17:00
  • Indeed, I'm looking for a specific story that illustrates this point. – ChrisJ May 02 '18 at 15:21
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    @Carpetsmoker: I'd imagine OP asked, hoping to crowdsource examples that he can regurgitate to apolitical relatives, in an effort to convince them they should vote regardless of how they feel about the current political landscape. – Denis de Bernardy May 02 '18 at 15:40
  • @ChristopherJ You might switch from being too broad to opinion based by asking for "the [best/clearest/most convincing] example" but I don't see how you can make it judgeable. "What are the arguments against X" have been well received, and might include the examples you are looking for. –  May 02 '18 at 18:07
  • @notstoreboughtdirt are you referring to point #3 when you say I've turned it into a "best" question? – ChrisJ May 03 '18 at 02:11
  • I was trying to think about how to get you what you want in this format. I don't think your edit addressed the issue. –  May 03 '18 at 15:44
  • The November 2016 US elections... – agc May 06 '18 at 05:58

1 Answers1

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Denis de Bernardy already mentioned apolitical jews in 1930s Germany.

During the Bolshevik revolution in Russia the "kulaks" (rich peasants) were declared to be enemies of the working class. The threshold for "rich" was so low that many people who would have supported the revolution found themselves on the wrong side of it.

Paul Johnson
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