Along the way to humanity becoming a 21st century global civilization, we’ve picked up a few norms. Lots of them make sense — holding the door open for others, obeying the law and all that — but others really don’t make a lot of sense.
Perusing the r/AskReddit thread, ” What’s something that is normalized but shouldn’t be? ” should have you questioning some of our weirder societal norms.
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Wealth dictating medical care.
“Allowing rich people to jump the queue ahead of poor people for medical care.
Not only is this normalized, but it’s actually considered a selling point in America. People who bash Canadian health-care always point out that a person with money can get care faster in the US. As if that should be our benchmark: how fast a rich person can get care in a system which prioritizes rich people for care.”
Teachers spending out-of-pocket.
“Teachers spending their own money and countless overtime at school. Also, the implication that, if you don’t, then you don’t care about children.”
Teachers having to fork out their own money for basic classroom supplies is weirdly expected of them, which sort of amounts to an adult peer pressure pay cut.
So much waste.
“Companies throwing out and destroying perfectly good merchandise, edible food etc. to save their image or because they are too lazy to recycle/donate/repurpose etc.”
Yeah, if we could normalize less waste in society in general, that would be great.
Plea bargains.
“Defendants are routinely overcharged by DAs with every possible crime they can think of. They’re facing 20 years in jail if convicted of all charges. But if they plead to a ‘reduced’ charge they’ll ‘only’ go to jail for two years.
Most people accept this to avoid the risk of a draconian sentence but it’s not right. And it is especially damaging to indigent defendants that can’t even make bail.”
– u/barto5
Unhealthy obsession with social media.
“Friend of mine asked me why I hadn’t put photos of my apartment up on FB yet or instagram or whatever, having bought it and moved in around 1.5 years ago and have it basically ‘finished’ now, almost.
I have no interest in begging for approval from others, that’s why. I refuse to get that dopamine addiction. Which on the other hand can be lonely, because you can feel like nobody cares you achieved this part of your life.”
Expensive, unsubsidized childcare.
“Parents not being able to afford to be a one income family but then having to give up a huge portion of one of their pay for daycare.”
Yep, lots of families out there basically trade one person’s paycheck for daycare, straight up.
Pushing religious views on others.
“I do not teach my children religion. I’m letting them be kids and focusing on teaching critical thinking skills, facts, history, science and how to be kind open minded beings. If they have questions I answer them, I have books on world religions. If they decide give any I try I’m okay with it. But I will not brainwash them from a young age.”
Blaming bad behavior on mental health.
“I mean, it’s great that talking about Mental Health nowadays is becoming less of a taboo. Awareness. But scumbag Steve saying that he’s not a scumbag. He’s just coping with his depression, or he’s oblivious of social norms because he’s neurodivergent. And he’s open about it. So if you feel bad, you’re the one judging and the bad person on the ordeal.”
Judging others’ interests.
“Being Judgmental about peoples’ genuine interests/likes. Why should you care if someone likes cartoons, anime, furries, etc when they’re 25+ years old?
Let people enjoy things. Not everyone wants to watch the same cookie cutter 911 cop / hospital / fire fighter shows.”
Alcoholism.
“Sooo many shows, movies, songs, etc show people drinking as super fun and something to be done on a regular basis. Nearly every sitcom, even cartoons, have the characters drinking constantly. It’s become normalized and it’s terrible. It’s almost seen as weird if you go to a party or bar with people and say you don’t want to drink.”
Politicians talking a big game.
“Politicians living rich lives and speaking for, the harsh conditions of common people.
I say it’s been a long time since we the people did not have a revolution but the time is nigh.”
Uh, calling for a revolution might be a bit much, but there is certainly a lot of frustration and anger out there.
Controlling partners’ behavior.
“Controlling behaviour, going through phones, controlling behaviour etc. its so detrimental to mental health and abuse. And there is such a fine line between being curious and domestic abuse however, both can have a huge negative effect on someone’s mental wellbeing.”
Working long hours because of salary.
“Salaries (vs hourly) and not being a ‘team player’ if you don’t work more than 40hr a week/lose benefit because you cannot use your vacation before it you lose it.”
I sure wish somebody had told me about those expectations before I switched from hourly to salaried pay.
Believing propaganda.
“At this point we should be past this. But propaganda has been part of civilization as long as wars have been. Someone is always telling lies to benefit them.”
And it’s only gotten worse as the internet made it cheap and easy to distribute, too.
Unpaid internships.
“When I was about to graduate college, my professor got me lined up for a job that would have started at $60,000 per year (Back in 2005). Only catch was I had to work an unpaid internship for six months and the terms were that I could not have a second job while I did that. Sure, that works for people going to school on scholarships as they can still get money while doing that kind of thing. But I paid for my own school out of pocket, I couldn’t make it.”
Being connected all the time.
“Being expected to be available ALL the time, because you have a device in your pocket, that people know they can get in contact with you through.”
I miss downtime, and I know I’m not the only one.
Not questioning why things work a certain way.
“Asking this question make people’s minds reboot.
Most people simply cannot comprehend it.. And most of them do not want to. They want simple answers. Even if that answer is bad. They just want the simplicity of knowing something is concrete.”
Shrugging off corruption.
“Corruption is illegal, but is treated as normal thing in most societies, because it is hard to fight against it and you still need to get the job done, so it’s much easier to just go along with it.”
Treating politics like sports.
“I can only speak about my experiences here into the US but many people vote based on affiliation. They don’t care who is running as long as they have the right (*) next to their name. And it’s lead to some wack behavior.”
Punishing people for admitting fault.
“I had a friend who made a $100,000 mistake on his job. He had been there about two years and his mistake cost the company not only the money but about five days of work production as well. After the mess was cleaned up, he asked the Boss if he was going to be fired. The response was perfect. ‘I just spent a hundred K on you to learn a very important lesson, one I am sure you are never going to do again. I’m not spending that much money on you just to throw you out.'”
