Have you seen Midnight in Paris? The movie is not about the city per se, rather it’s about our fascination with it. Woody Allen asks us why the dream of Paris seems more powerful than walking on its streets.
However, it’s not just historical European landmarks that infatuate our minds. That cause us to look at the world through an unrealistic lens. No, no, there are many more culprits — we’re too easily swayed.
Last week, Redditor u/Buttercuppy44 asked other users, “What’s something we need to stop normalizing?” And it turned out to be a discussion we really needed. People straight away came through with plenty of specific and accurate examples.
Having to respect a damaging point of view because it’s part of someone’s religion.
No, I don’t have to respect your belief that women are inferior or that LGTBQ+ people shouldn’t have rights because your religion tells you to believe that. It’s a bad point of view.
Canceling people for things they did 10+ years ago. If someone has shown growth in that time then let them grow.
Filters that change the shape of your face to fit a beauty standard. Kids are growing up with an even more distorted view of what they should look like than previous generations
Taking pictures of strangers without their knowledge and posting it on the internet. It is toxic as hell and it wasn’t that long ago it was seen as creepy.
Coming to work sick. People tend to get praised for that, but they are in fact just endangering others to get sick as well — and in the end, it costs the company more than if they would’ve just stayed home.
That anything is possible if you try hard enough. Don’t get me wrong, a lot is possible, but not everything. There are factors beyond ourselves that determine our success. The best we can do is to give our best, and be happy that we’ve done so.
Using mental illness as an excuse. I suffer from several, and it’s very hard on me.. But, i get professional help and deal with it head on. Reading constant posts everyday about people having this disorder and that disorder and that’s why it’s ok to act a certain way is demotivating. Awareness is important, but dozens of posts everyday about having borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder and why it’s acceptable for you to be an asshole is not awareness… If you suffer from these so badly, please get help
Having an opinion on everything.
It’s okay to look at something on the internet and think to yourself “I don’t have to care about this.”
Being rude to retail and food workers. We work hard all day, deal with some of the worst customers bar none, and really don’t get paid enough to support families but we do it anyway. For way less than it’s worth
The idea that being an as*hole is a sign of intelligence. Jerks are rarely intelligent. Sheldon Cooper, Rick Sanchez, Hannibal Lecter, and Dr. House do not exist.
In my experience, being rude and condescending turns out to be a sign of stupidity, not intelligence.
The entire “game” involved in modern dating or even most social interactions. The playing hard to get, the “arriving fashionably late” like people can we please keep it simple?
Ya go on laugh at me.
Kids doing animal abuse. Stop it with, “they are just kids they don’t know any better”
Bullying. It’s absurd how society will frame it as a “stage of your life” rather than supporting individuals more so they know how to deal with it. Especially academically, still overlooked majorly.
Alcoholic moms. No, you don’t NEED to bring wine to your daughters soccer game. It’s not quirky. It’s awful. Wine mom stuff on social media only strengthens it and makes it more popular.
Working while on vacation. You go on vacation to relax and enjoy yourself, not to try to fill out spreadsheets and deal with work stuff in your hotel room.
The idea that a woman can slap a man if she’s angry at him, but a man should never hit a woman regardless of the circumstances.
The former is assault – hitting people who aren’t already involved in a physical altercation is never OK, regardless of the circumstances. The latter ties into that; if you are being attacked, the level of force you use in defence should be dependent on the danger you are in, which has almost nothing to do with the sex of your attacker.
Both of these rely on the tired and sexist trope that women are meek little does who have not the physical strength nor moral turpitude to commit violence against the big, strong, tough men. They normalize assault and abuse and accordingly belong in the dustbin of history.
Diamond and gemstones as gifts. They’re shiny rocks with artificially inflated value. They’re only expensive because people are willing to pay so much for them. If everyone stopped buying them, the price would fall faster than the Hindenburg. Or faster than the employment rate this year.
having unsocial and aggressive dogs, and not leashing or otherwise controlling them
Using the phrase “it’s my right” as a get out of jail free card to engage in whatever reckless behaviour that takes your fancy.
Cheating. Sooo many “love stories” on netflix, or just any sort of romance movie released these days have cheating involved in them so much. It’s always branded as this romantic thing to do. Oooo like at this dark and brooding handsome guy with no personality. Time to fuck him and forget about my 2 year relationship, or some shit like that. It’s not romantic, it’s just wrong, and it should not be normalised.
Degrees for office jobs that take almost no time to learn and usually have nothing to do with the degree anyways . So many people out there who can’t afford college but, are just as capable as anyone else.
Student loans.
Education is getting more expensive by the day and the added burden on a student in paying back a student loan helps nobody.
Furthermore people encourage student loans as though the students are obligated to take them if they pursue higher studies. Pure nonsense.
Hating police. I’ve worked places that police don’t go. You all don’t know how good you have it.
Toxic positivity. There’s a huge difference between being optimistic and having raised colored glasses on. We’re all people, and we all experience negative and positive emotions. The only way you can properly get over your emotions is by allowing yourself to feel them. Glossing over your emotions with an aura of “Everything’s fine” isn’t going to solve anything, and it’s just gonna make you feel bad.
The grind. Not taking vacation. Working on vacation. Working through your lunch break. Working early and late all the time. Answering emails after hours.
We are completely dispensable to the companies we work for. Don’t lose your life grinding for a company who only thinks of you as a number.
Over-consumption. This goes out to social media influencers who flaunt their hauls and influence people to buy things that they don’t need. It will just add on to the landfills. Please, no one’s benefitting from hoarding.
Unhealthily obese pets. You took a warrior and domesticated it! They aren’t happy if they’re fat! They just eat on instinct! Stop inadvertently hurting the beings that love us unconditionally!
Not caring about education. So many people obviously didn’t pay attention in elementary school and don’t care about it.
Students overwhelmed by homework when it isn’t necessary. I’m excluding situations like when the workloads from classes are reasonable and happen to pile on one day or students who aren’t organized, etc. This whole thing is a grey area, but sleep, burnout, mental health exists.
I think people, specifically parents, should stop normalizing that it’s a given that their child will grow up to have a family. Instead, parents should emphasize that it’s difficult to find the right partner, and that it’s possible that it might not even happen at all, and that it would be okay as well.
Failures in political leadership. I feel more and more we are becoming less critical of failed character in our leaders.
Obsessing over celebrities/people you do not know irl. So basically stan culture. People will say they ‘stan’ someone as a point of pride. If it’s gotten to that stage then you really really need to take a step back. No hate to those who keep it amongst themselves but yeah not healthy at all imo
The American dream, that your politicians give a damn about you and that there’s any hope for this planet, there’s not, we are just free falling before we hit the pavement right now.
How alcohol is so casual in today’s world.
Lots of people misuse alcohol and don’t even know it. Anytime you’re seriously getting inebriated, you’re hurting your body so much.
I see way too many people coming into the liquor store I work at and buying WAAAY too much. And that’s normal.
Kids should be raised on the realities of alcohol consumption.
Throwing tantrums in public. Time to openly admit that the person flipping out is usually in the wrong.
Unhealthy weight. I’m not talking about being fit and thin and making people feel bad about their bodies. Im not talking about having a few extra pounds and making people feel bad for that. I have a few extra pounds, I’m not super fit, but I’m relatively healthy. Everyone’s body is different. Healthy means a lot of different things.
I’m talking about normalizing morbidly obese people as beautiful and something to be celebrated. It’s dangerous especially if children see them as someone to look up to. Then they’ll think it’s ok for your body to carry around so much weight that your heart and lungs are working overtime to keep you alive. It will lead to devastating later years in life as you age and your body slows down. You’ll be at risk for cardiovascular issues, you’ll probably die before your time, and the last few years of your life will be bed ridden while you waste away.