Most people aren’t operating from a place of malice, and you’ll only make them defensive and hostile by treating them as though they are. There’s a latent animosity behind many leftist/libtard ideas, but most of them sound “nice” to shallow thinkers who mean well.
Part of the problem is that they have convinced themselves that they’re kindhearted, generous people who are much more reasonable than the evil, mean-spirited right wing.
There isn’t anything you can do to dislodge this delusion, however you conduct yourself, their ideology will see & affirm whatever they need it to see & affirm.
Personally I prefer leaning into full on villain mode and refuse to dignify their retarded self-concept with any legitimacy whatsoever. I think they are shitty people with shitty values and I’m prepared for them to hate me accordingly.
That said, I can appreciate playing it differently if you’re trying to get them to vote for you in a blue city, in that context I’d empathise & emphasise our shared values.
The problem is that democrats stated values and revealed preferences diverge wildly, so they have no problem repeatedly voting for scumbag communists who do the exact opposite of what they claim to give a shit about. Eg. Karen Bass made the homeless problem blow up exponentially and let 7000 homes burn and LA voters didn’t punish her at all.
Their values are trash because they’ve been groomed into it for decades by Democrat political machines, worthless leadership and cradle to grave propaganda. That’s why I think the only option is to lean into being the villain and showing people a new way by forcing it top down.
Just like women, the only way they’ll know what they want is by being shown, prior to that they’re full of delusional ideas about UBI & walkable cities instead of delusional ideas about Mr Right. It’s only by showing the way that they’ll be capable of seeing how much better things can be, which is why you simply have to change their reality rather than explaining it to them and seeking their permission. Always better to apologise after than seek permission before, fortune favors the bold!