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While there is progress in certain areas and certain things are better now than in previous historical times, the need to look out for the downside of various processes is undeniable and possibly more urgent than ever, for the simple fact that power becomes dangerous without developing one’s responsibility accordingly.

No wonder some of the mental or real-life pictures of the contemporary world can leave us feeling… dystopian. These can include the massive amount of non-nature-friendly trash being produced and dumped all around the world, or attempts to imagine the implications of AI on our near future if we don't take the necessary precautions to play it safe.

People online stepped up, trying to raise awareness, answering one Redditor's question: "What's something that is accepted as normal, but is really dystopian when you think about it?"

More info: Reddit

#1

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Jailing people for stealing food while throwing away tons more every day.

Vegan_Harvest , Markus Spiske Report

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Spencer's slave
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sell by and use by dates are guidelines that are considered law in many countries. There's no real health science behind it as most foods are absolutely fine until opened. Reduced sticker shopping is perfectly fine if you eat or freeze the product. If supermarkets don't sell it all they should be legally required, as in France, to donate it to food banks and shelters.

Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the UK, the big supermarket chains have started removing use by/best before date's with the specific purpose of reducing food waste.

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naksaystheduck
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On the same note, I was on the streets and just utterly shocked about how many houses are abandoned (mostly owned by banks/the government) while I didn't have amy safe place to stay. The ones intact usually get occupied illegally. Why not make special contracts with homeless people like me who are responsible and able to keep the place clean and safe until it gets rented/sold again... So sad.

Ge Po
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In certain countries it is even forbidden to give your staff some left-overs to take home. (Thinks restaurant, bakery, grocery-shop etc.) It is considered tax-evasion, because you are 'paying wages in kind.'

Matthew Fox
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then stop giving the government the power to fine stores and people who want to give away food.

El Dee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No one should EVER be jailed for stealing food. Remember 2008 and the bankers who stole £billions? They walked away from it and CAUSED people to have to steal food, jail THEM..

Fluffy mommy panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think we should throw away food. I think it is so wrong to do that. Donate it to a shelter let employees take it home. But they aways make up all kinds of excuses why they can not. And that pretty damn sad, when there starving families all over the world.

Minino
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They put you on jail dor steal food, but in jail they will give you more food that the amount you were stealing

Colin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Logistics play a bigger role. Storing the food safely while awaiting pick up can be problematic at times.

Jared Robinson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh no it's even better when restaurant throws out food they could give to the homeless.

Shawni N
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately some restaurants and even fast food places throw it our amd not let the homeless or less fortunate, knew of a carls Jr in az, the manager would throw out the food and then pour bleach all over it. These kind of people make me sick 🤢😡 shame on them. ITS ALLLLL ABOUT GREED AND THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR 🥺😒

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Moosashi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

False & justifying looting. High priced items are their target

Black Rabbit
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Theft is a crime. Doing crime gets you sent to jail. It's not hard. Sucks that people are in the position to need to steal food, but that doesn't mean it's suddenly not illegal anymore.

Ken Beattie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While I somewhat agree with that, there is a point where it's steal or starve. If you've exhausted other possibilities I don't have a problem with someone stealing enough food to not starve. But that doesn't mean going into a supermarket and stealing a whole trolley of sirloin.

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David Paterson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never seen anyone stealing food. Unless you mean shoplifting. And nobody ever goes to jail just for shoplifting food.

Alexander
Community Member
1 year ago

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Why stealing tho? In most civilized countries you get paid an unemployment benefit that is high enough for a decent living (at least its more money than some americans earn at their jobs)

StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

mmm.... Not everyone qualifies for those benefits and they are not sustainable amounts to live on. I had to be on one of those programs over a decade ago when my rent was just $650 a month. They refused to allot me enough to pay my whole rent. So I had to dip into the other funds for my bills and groceries to make up the difference. But I do agree what you're saying about stealing. No matter how much of a pickle I was in I never stole. If I was hungry I would go to family for help. I think most homeless people do. You never really see them being homeless because they're couch surfing, sleeping in cars, staying with family for a temporary time until they can get their feet up, or staying in shelters. It's not all poor people who steal, either. Some just do it because they have a problem with just taking things, or they just think money and laws don't exist to them.

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Nancy Marine
Community Member
1 year ago

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When did it become acceptable to commit a crime simply because you think you deserve the thing you are stealing? When does it escalate to clothes, cars, houses? A crime is a crime, no matter how much the person doing the stealing might actually need something.

StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You're totally missing the part about grocery stores throwing away good, decent food because of best before dates, or just because there's no room for more products, rather than donating the unbought food to shelters and food banks.

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#2

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Advertiser friendly language in daily life. Like people getting used to not being able to say words like "dead" on Tiktok because advertisers don't like it, so then you see a bunch of people saying words like "unalive" in real life.

Foxlikebox , Daniel Thomas Report

#3

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online All of those "Feel good stories" about people working extra super duper hard just to barely scrape by.

"Kids make business to help another disabled child buy a wheelchair"

"Teacher runs out of PTO days fighting cancer so the whole school district started to donate sick days"

"Man walks 15 miles for a job interview, community raises money for a bicycle."

Eyruaad , Avi Richards Report

#4

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Working full-time for a wage that won't support a family.


A family?? How about 1 person.

Famous_Bit_5119 , Maxime Agnelli Report

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VidGam4
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every job should have a wage high enough that just one person working that job can support a family (food, housing, clothing, childcare, etc) without having to work multiple jobs!

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#5

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Corporations being considered people and having more rights than real human beings.

anon , Pixabay Report

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madbakes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Businesses should not be able to make campaign donations, no exceptions.

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#6

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Subscription for everything

NotToast2000 , alleksana Report

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never being able to own anything online. Used to be, you paid for it once and it was yours. Now you can’t do that— and you’re paying the same amount every year that you used to pay to buy it and permanently own it outright.

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#7

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Claiming drag queens are child predators, and ignoring all the abuse going on in the church, cause that, and all the new laws being proposed...seems kind of dystopian.

Spankywzl , Greta Hoffman Report

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Bec
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The anti-LGBTQ activism reminds me of the Satanic Panic 40 years ago, it is a big nothing burger but real people are getting hurt

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#8

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Privatized-for-profit prisons, healthcare, and education.
 
Corporations and foreign entities buying up all of our land and housing.
 
Lack of Congressional term limits and self-oversight of Congress and Scotus.
 
2A absolutism.
 
Forced sex, forced birth, forced sterilization, and the medical community treating women as if being female is a "condition" while using male bodies as the standard.
 
Outlawing the act of collecting rainwater, while charging for the amount of runoff attributed to your property (my city has both of these).

phoebeluco , RDNE Stock project Report

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#9

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Homelessness in countries with enough money to keep it from happening

AlthorsMadness , MART PRODUCTION Report

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StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Homelessness is a complicated matter, though, and is not always caused by not having money. Some people make themselves homeless, while others have become homeless based on their lifestyle and consequences. There are people out there who want to be homeless. They don't view paying rent, having their own home to go to every night as a worthy thing.

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#10

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The existence of billionaires whilst so many people are living in poverty. Justified cause they supposedly "work harder" or "earned it".

intellectkills , cottonbro studio Report

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MagicJacket
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know of one billionaire that indeed did earn it, by providing joy to millions. Sir Paul McCartney! There may be a FEW others. I don't THINK Paul got his riches by exploiting the lower classes and stepping on the necks of others in a mad rush for cash like most billionaires. I hope I am right!

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#11

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Ads everywhere you look 24/7

chopsthedrummer , Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura Report

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Malfar
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And some mpeople actively ranting about "If you block ads the internet will die, all your favorite content makers will starve and there will be no fun in the world".

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#12

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Credit scores.

raytaylor , Paul Felberbauer Report

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Spooky Scary Skeletons
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Credit Scores are a zero sum game. If you use your card you'll get dinged on your credit score. If you don't use your card you'll get dinged on your credit score. Even if you pay your bill on time you'll get dinged on your credit score.

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#13

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The cost of rent. Or mortgages. Or the wealth gap. And the way minimum wage was ignored for decades while the top 1% took higher and higher raises and bonuses while paying very little to no tax. Trickle down economics.

Graceland1979 , https://unsplash.com/photos/xlCmFoIS3oE?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Report

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#14

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The way women have control legislated away from their own bodies. Not even just abortion, but abortion laws that prevent women from being able to get medical care for their own conditions. Women who have to get close enough to death to get treatment, regardless of their present suffering or other long term effects. Prostitution laws. Certainly parts of them make sense but why is it illegal for some stay at home mom to give handies for spending money at home while the kids are in school?

Melvolicious , Manny Becerra Report

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Apatheist Account2
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never understood why prostitution is illegal, particularly since there is no longer a need to increase the population for the species to survive, and contraception is so easily available.

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#15

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The amount of trash we humans produce. How distanced we are from the natural world.

biscaya , Jas Min Report

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Fabian Bernard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly old as civilisation...I heard there is a big hill in Roma, that is in fact made of Antique Roma trash: broken amphoras etc...

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#16

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online American burial traditions. Spend thousands of dollars to preserve the body, pack it in an expensive box and bury it, sometimes in a concrete vault. To keep it from naturally decomposing? Why?

kateinoly , cottonbro studio Report

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Fat Harry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not just American, but burial in general. Why do we bury the dead? What an utter waste of space.

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#17

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Anti-intellectualism.

Potential-Ostrich-82 , Markus Spiske Report

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Ross “Sarcastic Dad”
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember when Obama was first running for President, and the commentary was, "He thinks he's better than us." He's running for President. He SHOULD be better than us!!

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#18

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Working until you’re in your late sixties when 50 billionaires control most of the wealth in an entire country.

bkornblith , cottonbro studio Report

#19

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Health insurance.

Rare_Cranberry_9454 , Negative Space Report

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Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Healthcare should be, if not free, at least affordable. Basic preventive care should be free, as well as emergency care. When over 500,000 people in your country go bankrupt every year due to medical bills, and especially when 3/4 of them HAD HEALTH INSURANCE, that's f---ed up.

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#20

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Reality TV.

Muadib333 , cottonbro studio Report

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assdog
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wrote a post a few months ago when i worked on a "reality TV" show. I can 100% confirm that it is all fake as f*k. If you were behind the scenes like me you wouldn't/couldn't keep a straight face of how these "actors" "work"!! I can't mention too much but......they have to learn their lines and have to hate/love certain people on the show. Then when the cameras are turned off it's like.....sup dude/girl. Then they go off to stay with their boyfriends/girlfriends in the hotel. Fake as f*k

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#21

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Food and housing insecurity in a world in which other people are billionaires.

tangtheconqueror , Siegfried Poepperl Report

#23

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Factory farming. Utterly horrific.

Singly-Errancy143 , Mark Stebnicki Report

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StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These poor cows. I'm not a vegetarian nor vegan, but I can't stand how little consideration of the live animals there is in the farming industry. They're not thought of as living souls. Just a commodity, money and food machine.

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#24

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Normalization of debt

Atotallyrandomname , rc.xyz NFT gallery Report

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Emily M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Debt for a mortgage or car has been normal a long time. However, I do not know a single person under the age of 35 that does not have large student loan debt, credit card debt, or both.

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#25

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The fact that we cannot do much on the internet without consenting cookies.

icsulescu98 , picjumbo.com Report

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Ace
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The EU has made the mandatory use of non-essential cookies illegal. When will the US catch up, I wonder?

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#26

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The way big companies have conditioned us to say things we pay for are free.

"You can watch it for free on netflix"

"It's free if you purchase this bundle"

"They keep updating the game, the next DLC is free!"

Anytime you go to say something is free, try saying "it's included" short for "included in the base price"

Altimely , Venti Views Report

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or advertising it as free, but forgetting to mention it’s only free during the initial trial period. If it was truly 100% free, they wouldn’t be asking for your credit card number when you sign up.

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#27

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Tying healthcare to employment

heyodi , National Cancer Institute Report

#28

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The complete lack of privacy we have in 2023. People can record you in public for their TikTok, and everyone will say “BUT ITS LEGAL!!”

cruelsummersadness , Wendy Wei Report

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#30

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Homeless people

Refugee boats and sinking

Anyone anywhere being hungry

Bombing civilians

buckwurst , Eric Masur Report

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Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Caring about five ultra-rich people who perished in a submersible more than 500+ refugees who perished when their boat capsized. And they were already suffering horrific conditions before the capsizing, after paying a fat price to escape.

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#31

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Militarization of local and state law enforcement.

Strong_Somewhere_985 , Diego González Report

#32

Obesity - everywhere... causing death, deceases and low quality lifes and btw impacting environment badly.

lavipeDK Report

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Yali-girl with weird name
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being obese is bad. It’s not fatphobic its a fact. It’s bad for your health and it needs to stop being normalised.

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#33

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Having to work more than one job.

DanMontie , Annie Spratt Report

#34

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Cameras everywhere.. "1984".

CommissionOk9233 , Reuben Hustler Report

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Nonna_SoF
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My "favorite" are the security cameras that point right at debit card reader. So anyone who has access to the video can see your pin.

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#35

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The rhetoric and life behind social media. It's totally a landscape that determines your worth by how others feel about you. It's kinda scary the more you see its use.

GabeBlue180 , https://unsplash.com/photos/NFvdKIhxYlU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Report

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#37

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online Censorship.

ifonlythiswasreal403 , Michael Dziedzic Report

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PattyK
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish people would stop censoring books. Every time I hear a book has been censored, I feel a moral obligation to read it — and I’m way behind!

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#39

Don’t even know where to start… but when thinking about how much of the meat we eat daily is actually produced and how the animals we eat are actually treated is really sick to think about.

Also adding how normal it is to buy things “made in china” or other countries where it’s so clear that the people who produce our c**p is practically living as slaves on huge factories where they don’t even earn enough money or get paid at all to feed themselves, and often die early but in a very slow and painful way…

trickortreat89 Report

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Deborah Rubin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is hard to buy made in America even when you want to. Remember when everything was made in Japan?

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#40

Working at all just to have shelter is dystopian. Whats even gonna happen when all the jobs are done by robots? Yeah more tech related jobs will open up. Whats going to happen to everyone else? Either the governments starts giving people free shelter or everyones going to be homeless.

I-dont-like-pizza Report

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Dodo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I can't write stories set in the future. Because I can't see a way it works out well for anyone but the 1%. Really the only question is whether the rest of us die slowly or are culled.

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#41

40 hour work week

ExeTheHero Report

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Nicole Weymann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For some people living off a single 40 hour/week job is more of a utopia - they either work multiple "small" jobs or do a lot more work than they're paid for.

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#42

35 Things That Sound Perfectly Normal Until You Realize How Dystopian They Are, As Listed Online The News.

Muadib333 , Filip Mishevski Report

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StrangeOne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless I know something went on and want more info, I ignore the news, now. My mental health has improved a bit.

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