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40 Things People Said That Indicated They Don’t Realize How The World Really Works, As Shared In This Online Community
People have the best knowledge of what they have experienced and to be more aware of what is going on outside their life’s bubble, they have to interact with people who are different from them and to actively search for that information.
Otherwise, they might make themselves oblivious and out of touch with reality, which could make them look stupid in front of others. Ignorance is not bad in itself as it is impossible to know everything, but sometimes it is hard to believe how certain knowledge has not reached a person.
Not realizing that there are people who can’t afford a house or having gaps in general education are some things Redditors considered to be common knowledge that doesn’t belong just to a single society group, but they were wrong and told some funny and frustrating stories answering the question “What did somebody say that made you think: ‘This person is out of touch with reality?’”
More info: Reddit
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#1
I’m a nanny and I’ve worked for some rich clients. Old money. These people know nothing about reality.
The best one I heard was this family I was working 12 hour days for. Good pay, terrible schedule. At one point I was bouncing their baby on my knee and the Mom goes “Being a mom isn’t that hard. I don’t know why other women complain about it so much”.
While her nanny is literally caring for the baby.
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#2
Pretty much any time I see someone yelling at a Starbucks or other service employee. They come into a crowded shop, wave their big $5 bill around like a high roller, then yell at a 16 year old for making their coffee incorrectly. Lame. If you find yourself to be one of the people yelling at service workers, fix your own problems before telling other people what to do.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
Why should they? That kind of attitude has always worked, so why change now? When I became a manager in retail at a theme park, I was finally able to get revenge on those assholes. And I will take up for any service worker getting abused.
#3
There are a lot of older fugly apartment buildings near the house I grew up in.
My friend at the time that lived a very privileged lifestyle, $200-300+ weekly weekend dinners with the family, timeshares over the place, skiing and snowboarding trips, etc. She was like why would anyone want to live in these apartments? I would never
I was like, people that live there don't have a choice...
#4
Showed a parent the security footage of her 8th grader hitting a teacher. She claimed the footage had been edited. Sigh…..
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
My sister taught 6th grade English. More than one parent was required to sit in on their kid's classes. The kids still acted up because their parents refused to hold them accountable. The most common comment from the parents, and I use that word lightly, "We can't control him/her." When it came to the report cards, and the kids failed, they would storm in yelling that it just had to be the teacher's fault. Sure it is. No homework was turned in, every test failed. Yep, it's definitely the teacher's fault.
#5
Me: telling someone I’m a type 1 diabetic
Rando: “you shouldn’t have eaten so much sugar as a child”
Also:
“Are you still diabetic” - P.A. At a checkup
Plus the limitless amount of “cures” people have for this incurable disease.
#6
once got in an argument with a girl that people would rather die of starvation than eat something that's carcinogenic. I asked if she was seriously saying people would choose to starve to death over the course of a month than risk potentially developing cancer in a few years and she said yes.
I asked if she'd ever gone an entire day without eating before or knew what that felt like. she hadn't.
#7
Billionaires and multimillionaires singing 'Imagine' while sitting in their gigantic mansions largely unaffected by the pandemic.
#8
Had someone today tell me they are anti vaxx because 2 days after thier daughter got the covid shot she turned gay
#9
Went to a super rich girls house, she had had a baby 2 months prior, she had nannies coming in and out maids and a literal house manager plus PAs etc. and she was bragging about how she was back at work so soon and how she doesn’t know how people can stand doing ‘nothing’ for so long.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
And when the baby says "mama" for the first time, it's for the nanny.
#10
"I'm entitled to my opinion" when presented with facts showing they were wrong.
NsG 2 years ago
This bothers me sooooooo much. Opinions are not facts. Facts are not opinions. You are entitled to the opinion that Nickelback is a good band. You are even entitled to the opinion that certain Presidents/Prime Ministers are good/bad at their jobs because you can narrow your opinion down to very slim frames of reference (BoJo *was* the right guy to get Brexit done (unfortunately)). But you do NOT get to opine on whether the Earth is flat or whether vaccines work effectively.
#11
"Nobody has ever died from rationing their insulin, nobody" - My FIL. That was an odd take of his, I'm still kinda puzzled over it. People have died doing almost anything. He didn't think they died from rationing something that costs hundreds of dollars per week though.
#12
Sophomore year of high school, in my biology class, this one girl got into a conversation about what causes the winter season with the teacher.
And she goes, “winter happens because the sun turns cold, right?”
Honestly, I’m still having trouble processing that one, and it’s been eight years.
#13
Wharton students were interviewed asking what they though the average income was. 25% said 6 figures. The same question was asked at a local community college and the collective agreement was $15k
#14
My aunt was bragging that her knee surgery cost her zero dollars because of Medicare. I said “yeah, that kind of socialized medicine is nice”. She the threatened to “take me out back and beat my a**” for saying that.
Bacony Cakes 2 years ago (edited)
Your aunt is mentally weak, sorry. She's like the Spongebob of brainpower.
#15
Whenever a disabled person shares their experience and a non-disabled person tells them how they can "fix" all of those problems.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
I could write an entire dissertation on this. My best friend is visually impaired but has tunnel vision. She has no peripheral vision, and people tell her to get glasses, which she has, and tell her she doesn't look blind, so she must be lying. There is so much more I can say, but I am too angry just thinking about this.
#16
Working for a super wealthy client who lived in the most expensive gated neighbourhood in the country... A Walled community, filled with old money and old political families, and he was complaining about "the elites" who the f**k do you think you are ? Joe F*****g 6 pack?
Punkee Broomeister 2 years ago
When liberals complain about 'the elite', they are often referring to the rich/super-rich. When conservatives b***h about 'the elite', they generally mean the educated. Stupid, rich, and conservative is the worst combo.
#17
my sister, who traveled from the US to europe for the first time when she was 15 and has now lived there for over 5 years. We were talking about reasons people join the military and I mentioned a friend of mine who grew up on a reservation with very little and joined because he wanted to travel and get out of the rez. She looked at me and said “why can’t he just save up if he wants to travel?”
I’m 27 years old, grew up with most of the same privileges as her, and have never had the time or resources to leave the country. But she thought it was reasonable for a historically disenfranchised community member, growing up with nothing, to save up his money in order to leave home and travel.
#18
When my boss said “My word is better than getting it in writing.” I can think of several instances where they’ve promised something or given their word on only to later renege on the deal.
#19
I'm a 911 operator and had a man call 911 because the internet at the hotel he was staying at got disconnected. I told him it was not a police issue and he would have to talk to the hotel staff and/or just wait for it to reboot. He responded, "Not a police issue? This is criminal. If I unplugged someone's life support, isn't that a crime?"
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
Misuse of the 9-1-1 system. Let's see how you feel in a jail cell. Wishful thinking on my part.
#20
Me, homeless at the time and working my way out of it.
Coworker: I don't know why people go on game shows for money, winning 100,000 dollars wouldn't be life-changing, anyway.
#21
Had a coworker that noticed an item’s tag said Made in Vietnam. She’s said “ Made in Vietnam? That’s a place? I thought it was a war !! “
#22
My husband's friend insisted on taking us to the 'best, most authentic' Chinese restaurant in town.
I'm Chinese. He's a Jewish guy who has never been to any Chinese speaking country.
The food wasn't good, nor was it authentic.
He had the most smug look on his face when he sat back and quirked his eyebrow at me as if expecting me to heap praise onto him. Anyway, I didn't.
Best part is that they aren't friends anymore (I had nothing to do with that, I promise), so now I don't have to pretend that crab rangoons are the peak of Chinese cuisine.
Imogene Cargeaux 2 years ago
American "Chinese" food is good.. some places are better than others. But nothing compares to real Chinese food. My brothers fiancé is from China and her family always has big dinner parties and OMFG... I never knew that American Chinese food wasn't actual Chinese food until I ate at their house. I'm just angry that there aren't any authentic places in the US because it's so much better than what is being sold here. I don't really remember some of the dishes they made. I just remember her mother lecturing us about how Americans ruined Asian cuisines and how she's on a mission to correct this atrocity! Oh and her red bean cakes and moon cakes were amazing! I had never had Chinese desserts before. I think she made some kind of mango pudding too one time that ruined all pudding for me. Nothing compares now.
#23
I heard someone yesterday suggest that children should operate heavy machinery to address supply shortages.
Turns out that guy happened to be the fricken prime minister.
M O'Connell 2 years ago
Not that it's a good solution (or that they would have the aptitude for it), but what small child WOULDN'T want to operate an excavator?
#24
People wonder why there isn't more eyewitness accounts of 9/11 because surely everyone just pulled out their phones?
B***h please. Back in 2001 most people were still using 35mm film cameras, camcorders were usually VHS and digital ones were not cheap in the slightest, and the US was behind the curve on cellular technology anyway. I was in the US a few months before 9/11 and even in New York people didn't understand what SMS was let alone had a phone compatible or were using it.
Bacony Cakes 2 years ago
How is there an amount of eyewitnesses of 9/11 that makes people wonder why there isn't more? I mean, i'm a stupid alt-left radical commie anti-America extremist, but i think that if the tallest buildings in the city had a passenger jet aircraft fly into them and turn into a dust cloud of smoke and non-melting steel beams, i'd notice it.
#25
A friend of mine in college was absolutely shocked when I and several other friends pulled out our childhood/hometown public library cards at dinner one night. She could not fathom that all of our families went to the library regularly when we were growing up and that this is an extremely common experience for a lot of people. When I asked her what she did when she wanted to read books growing up, she said "My family just bought them all."
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
One of my dreams. Own books. I have been able to acquire books and will keep those that I want to re-read. All others go to the library.
#26
Former roommate declared, "I'm an only child, that means I don't have to be nice if I don't want to."
#27
I was 16 years old, in Driver's Ed, and the teacher asks us an extra credit question. "Why are there interstates in Hawaii? You can't drive there from any other state."
A girl in my class raised her hand and asked, "Was it because they were built before Hawaii broke off?"....This girl thought it was a possibility that Hawaii broke off, and drifted to the middle of the Pacific ocean, all in the last 50 years.
Also, Hawaii has interstates because, if a highway is funded by the federal government, it's simply called an interstate.
#28
My old boss was railing on me for placing an order late and getting charged more after missing the ‘early bird special’, when I had been reminding her consistently for at least two months (gradually increasing my urgency that she needed to make up her mind). She was yelling at me and then said, “$$$ might not seem like a lot to you but it is to me!”
This coming from the person who set my wage, signed my checks, owned 4 substantial homes, had MILLIONS of dollars worth of artwork, designer everything, etc… While I was living in a 250sq foot garden studio apartment with my partner, which flooded when it rained longer than two days, making her hundreds of thousands of dollars from sales, with no commission.
#29
My aunt is a bit into that. She's done really well for herself but has forgotten that not all of us are retired engineers who play the stock market for funsies part time. She suggested Thanksgiving at my place one year, and I had to remind her that I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment and inviting around 15 people there wasn't going to work.
#30
I was involved in a nonprofit for women in my last city maybe 2 years back. My ex (we were 27 at the time) was from a rich area of the state, and the mean income for this area was $31k. A teacher talked about how 500+ kids in her school were homeless, abs how seniors would pool their money together to get a hotel for days or weeks at a time.
I remember telling my ex about it, and how awful that’s gotta be to be 17 and living with 10 others in a hotel. He said “they’re stupid. If they had any brains, they’d buy a house so they could get equity; the hotel is just them throwing their money away and not getting anything from it.” He was 100% stuck that these 17 year olds, with no addresses, who are MINORS, can apply and qualify for a mortgage. I fussed at him and don’t regret it, because he is so out of touch with reality. Eventually he went on months later to say he talks down about other people and acts like he’s better than everyone because he is better than everyone.
Edit to add: to clarify, he suggested the high schoolers should all buy a house, not my organization. Household income was about 10k higher than individual. His parents were loaded, so he never had to really pay for anything until after college, and even then he didn’t have to pay for housing for the first 3 years of his career, and even still, 95% of his (nice) furniture and everything was given to him. It’s very easy to brag about your 401k when you NEVER had to allocate money towards rent, loans, etc.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
He would have been an EX the first time he said something that stupid.
#31
i’ve genuinely heard someone comment on a homeless person asking why they “don’t just get a home”…
Bacony Cakes 2 years ago
f*ck this y'all i'm picking myself up by my bootstraps *grabs bootstraps and source engine noclips out of the atmosphere*
#32
Some guy whose parents paid for his college tuition mentioned to a coworker who has $107,000 in student loans say he should be able to pay it off in 5 years.
Coworker makes $23 an hour on 5-8s.
#33
Classmate in college kept throwing his Starbucks cups on the ground and other garbage.
"They pay people to pick it up"
He was the son of a guy who owned multiple resorts in South America.
#34
A coworker believes the US Military employs the use of Lightsabers.
#35
Older coworkers asking me why poor people keep spending/borrowing money when they know they'll never pay it back..
Lol, like to live? What's the difference in $2k or $20k in debt when you know you'll only ever be paying back $0?
Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago
It's kind of liberating when you accept that you'll always be in debt. I'm getting a MA and buying a house. I'll die in debt. Good luck collecting the money then.
#36
One of my relatives "Joined the illuminati" on facebook.... On. Facebook. He was really serious too and excited about it.
#38
My fiance is a doctor, I'm an engineer her and I grew up VERY blue collar. We still have tons of student debt to pay off before we can reap the benefits of a good salary.
Her friend, a doctor who was a resident when she was in med school, was talking to us about the new house she bought, and kept asking us when we planned on moving out of our s****y apartment and getting a nice big town house. She couldn't comprehend that unlike her, our parents aren't rich, and they can't buy a house for us in CASH, and let us pay them back interest free.
I love her to death, she's a sweet friend we have known for a long time. She has done so much for us in terms of friendship and emotional support. But her mom was a successful surgeon, her dad retired early after selling his successful business.
Jo Choto 2 years ago
There are poor people in the world who cannot for the life of them imagine what the life of a rich person is, and there are rich people in the world who have never, ever had to be confronted with what a poor person's life is like. They are surrounded their whole lives with people like them, and they really don't have a clue that there is anything else.
#40
Had a girl ask what happened to the Mongolians in history class. She said “there’s not like a present day Mongolia or anything”. She sat under the ten foot wide world map, Mongolia was about two feet above her head.
What do you think ?
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
When the United States legalized same-sex marriage, and Americans said they were going to emigrate to Canada. 1) Canada and Norway are the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage 2) You have to apply to emigrate to Canada. It takes years and tons of paperwork, and you still might be rejected.
Jessica Lutz 2 years ago
Yeah, I don't remember Americans having ever been invited to Canada...just sayin'. - Sincerely, all Canadians
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Buren 2 years ago
That's why we have so many billionaires and rich people yet the world still suffers endlessly.
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Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
When the United States legalized same-sex marriage, and Americans said they were going to emigrate to Canada. 1) Canada and Norway are the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage 2) You have to apply to emigrate to Canada. It takes years and tons of paperwork, and you still might be rejected.
Jessica Lutz 2 years ago
Yeah, I don't remember Americans having ever been invited to Canada...just sayin'. - Sincerely, all Canadians
Load More Replies... Buren 2 years ago
That's why we have so many billionaires and rich people yet the world still suffers endlessly.
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