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Asbestos, indoor smoking and child labor are just some of the things that used to be a lot more common in the past and are, fortunately, less common now. However, it’s still important to note that back then, folks would have thought that these things are very normal parts of everyday life.

Someone asked “What's something that's normal to us now, that in 50 years people will look back on us as barbaric?” and people gave their best suggestions. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own ideas and thoughts in the comments below.

#1

“What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Forcing terminally ill people in constant pain and discomfort to stay alive without the option to be helped to end their lives peacefully and with dignity.

Simple_Knowledge6423 , Olga Kononenko Report

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    #2

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Women getting procedures on reproductive organs without pain medication.

    Life-Experience-7052 , Getty Images Report

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    MEB
    Community Member
    2 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh Lord! I have PTSD from an uterine biopsy without pain medication. Was told it would cause "discomfort". I thought I was gonna die, the pain was so severe. Makes NO sense. None!

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    #3

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) My votes are:
    Countries that lack universal healthcare.
    Environmental neglect.

    Danoga_Poe , Pablo Merchán Montes Report

    #6

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) For-profit prisons and for-profit health insurance hopefully.

    Lack_my_bills , Markus Spiske Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Since the election of DJT stocks in for profit prisons are skyrocketing. Think about what that means.

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    #7

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) I think the way we treat the environment will be something future generations look back on and see as barbaric. We’ve been very careless with pollution, waste, and climate change, and in 50 years, they might wonder how we didn’t do more to protect the planet when we knew the damage we were causing.

    Substantial_Walk1061 , Stijn Dijkstra Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All for the relentless pursuit of profit. We're trading the next generation and the generations after them's wellbeing for temporary luxury today. BTW we are capable of solving these issues. We healed the hole in the ozone layer. We can fix this but we are choosing not to.

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    #8

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Hopefully child beauty pageants but especially child marriage.

    OhTheHueManatee , Mariana Yarritu Report

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    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Child beauty pageants put on display the ugliest sort of parent.

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    #9

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) The cruelty with which we treat animals.

    Alternative-Purple96 , cottonbro studio Report

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    ScootyPuffJr
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's a nice pipe dream. We can't even stop abusing and murdering each other.

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    #10

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Letting people die from lack of medical care because they're poor.

    EasyBounce , Levi Meir Clancy Report

    #11

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Might be too soon, but the goddamn school shootings. There’s got to be a way out of this.

    jc80greybeard , Pew Nguyen Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    LESS GUNS! Look at the statistics. If you have a gun in your home there is a 90% chance that it will kill YOU or someone you love. Only 1% of guns kept at home are ever used to stop intruders. Just stop the flow of guns. How about make gun owners have INSURANCE like we do with cars? See how much they like paying $300 a month just to own the damn thing. The 2nd Amendment says a "Well Regulated Militia". That's it. So regulate that Sh!t!

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    #13

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Factory farming, fur farms, animal experimentation, animal cruelty--all the horrific things we're doing to nonhuman animals that would get you in jail for life if it were done to a human.

    Leafmonkey_ , Haberdoedas II Report

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    Hassel Davidhoff
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish I could upvote this 1,239,705 times. Animal agriculture is destroying the planet.

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    #14

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Hopefully, underpaying workers. No one who works full time should only be able to afford a studio apartment and top ramen.

    radioactive-sp*rm , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

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    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh, dear. For minimum wage workers in America, a studio apartment and top ramen is aspirational in every state. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/14/full-time-minimum-wage-workers-cant-afford-rent-anywhere-in-the-us.html

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    #15

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) The pet industry. Especially the inbreeding.

    Sheilahasaname , Elena Mozhvilo Report

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

    Puppy mills. Are there kitten mills? There are plenty of good breeders out there, you just have to be careful where you get them. And the "pet industry" includes the companies that make pet food and supplies.

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    #16

    Removing iud without anesthetic

    Most uterine medical ‘care’.

    MaleficentMousse7473 Report

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    #17

    Mammography machines. Maybe they'll finally invent an anatomically appropriate machine instead of the torture device?

    Alternative_Win_6629 Report

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    Betsy S
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No kidding. The inventors should have to have their Johnsons squished into one, to the same pressure as a mammogram uses. Make them use one of the cold metal ones. I bet that design would change right quick!

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    #18

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Horse and dog racing.

    Eldel74 , Absolute Charm Report

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    Kelly Scott
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I knew someone who thought obedience competitions for dogs were cruelty. Doing obedience training was why my dog was better behaved than your kid and why he behaved better in public places while your kid was running around like a feral animal.

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    #19

    I wish I had the optimism necessary to believe we'll still have a functioning society in 50 years.

    AboynamedDOOMTRAIN Report

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    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish I had the optimism necessary to believe we have a functioning society today.

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    #21

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Forcing people whose disabilities prevent them from working to live in poverty--the average amount of a monthly Social Security Disability Insurance benefit check is $1400.

    writeyourwayout , Marcus Aurelius Report

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    leendadll
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I looked into fed disability, I learned I didn't qual because you must have less than $2k in "assets" (I have very small 401k). Given current rent, pretty much anyone who saves up for monthly rent is disqualified. Even if I did qualify, my benefit would have been less than $300/mo.

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    #22

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Lack of effective American gun laws, I hope.

    Okay_Holiday_9178 , Sawyer Sutton Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We have more guns in the USA than people. I'm talking men women AND CHILDREN! Are we arming pets now? It's nuts!

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    #24

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) The way companies are using the internet and what its doing to our brains. I mean the constant garbage we consume on the internet and its long term effects on our mental health.

    abohra1122 , cottonbro studio Report

    #25

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) The fact that any child can turn on the TV and find several shows where violence is rife. Oftentime, it's even promoted and glorified, but if a channel shows one teet, it's banned. I've heard this is not the case in Europe, but in the U.S., it damn sure is.

    30791213 , Getty Images Report

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    Betsy S
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ludicrous to allow gratuitous violence but not allow human body skin or respectful affection. SO weird!

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    #26

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) I think the use of single-use plastics for real. The amount of waste we create is crazy, like super barbaric. The future generations will probably be shocked that we didn’t find better solutions sooner.

    Electrical-Chef-9211 , Christopher Report

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    Orysha
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Meanwhile private jets and supercargos can pollute as much as they want.

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    #27

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Over 90% of NFL players getting chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The NFL will be viewed like we view gladiatorial battles now.

    CupOk5800 Report

    #28

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Seeing images of children left unattended with electronic devices. Similar to how we see old pictures of children smoking cigarettes today.

    LexBusDriver , Andrej Lišakov Report

    #29

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Burning fossil fuels for most of our energy.

    Apayan , Engin Akyurt Report

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    Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Every nation should have a plan in place to end fossil fuel. It will end. Right now, with fracking, we're squeezing the orange that is our planet. We will run out of juice. It's not a renewable resource unless you believe some really deranged conspiracy theories.

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    #30

    Any form of circumcision ( male OR female ) that isn't absolutely medically necessary.

    OldCarWorshipper Report

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    #32

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Driving. I think in 50 years it will seem crazy that people controlled vehicles themselves, leading to countless deaths on the road.

    lightwoodandcode , Sergei Starostin Report

    #33

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Hopefully chemotherapy: I mean, it's the best we got in many cases to treat cancer, so i'm thankful it's an option, but basically you're putting poison in your body.

    VampireHunterAlex , Thirdman Report

    #34

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Our meat industry.

    memeandme83 , Getty Images Report

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    Angie May
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They're probably referring to the amount of pollution the meat industry creates, which is a staggeringly high amount. No joke, cows are legitimately one of the biggest contributors to global greenhouse gases via the methane their waste produces and the meat industry as a whole hits something like 15% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions.

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    #35

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) All testing on animals.

    nocturnalbutterfly7 , Pixabay Report

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    Ace
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Where would your life-saving medicines come from if we hadn't been able to prove they were safe by first testing them on animals? It's not as simple as you may think it is.

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    #36

    50 years is probably not quite long enough, but I think that in the near future people will look back on the process of industrialized agriculture and wonder how we could have *possibly* been so foolishly stupid. I'm talking about plants here, not animals which is a whole different bag of hammers. People are going to judge us and revile us for the way we farm animals, but it's the plants that are more harmful in my opinion, and it all boils down to insects and how unimportant people today consider them to be.

    TheFocusedOne Report

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    Montanavanna
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The science has been out there for some time now, suppressed or marketed as progress. Ùgh, the key to success is genetic diversity. Our totalitarian agriculture systems aim.to destroy genetic diversity and anything that threatens the crop by any means necessary. How were companies going to use all those chemical weapons after the war? Rebrand them into pesticides for one. Our global food system is crazy fragile, the way it has been done and continues to progress.

    #38

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Shoes that constrict our toes.

    shr3dthegnarbrah , cottonbro studio Report

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    Ace
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Err, why is this even a thing at all, and for whom? I assume you must be talking about women's dress shoes, sort of thing? (As opposed to the trainers in the picture).

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    #39

    -Allowing private health insurance companies to get away with only half-insuring people.

    -Allowing companies to fund political campaigns

    -Allowing a revolving door of employment between military contractors and government defense/intelligence agencies

    -Allowing congress to invest in the stock market

    -Allowing human beings to drive automobiles.

    exploringspace_ Report

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    M O'Connell
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The last one is largely a skill issue. We have a LOT of people who are forced to drive by their circumstances, but who have no skill or coordination with which to pilot a vehicle.

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    #40

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Data collection in order to bombard us with targeted information, misinformation, and ads. 

    If most people knew how much data their phones collected, they’d smash them with a hammer.

    Google can tell if you’re standing still, walking, running, cycling, in a car, bus, taxi, or train. They can tell if your device has been stolen from your hands while walking down the street. If you have an Apple Watch, the watch the can detect when you’re having s*x. Our phones can gather enough data to know that our family is over for dinner, or that your wife messaging her friend about jewelry will cause you to get jewelry ads. This stuff isn’t even the top of the iceberg.

    bubbasass , Sincerely Media Report

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    Brian Droste
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    BIg Brother Is watching us. In this case Big Brother are the merchanise companies.

    ScootyPuffJr
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    One of my former students would google all things KFC related any time I was away from my desk computer. His long game was genius. I got nothing but Kentucky Fried Chicken merchandise ads for MONTHS. He called it "KFC School." I hope you're out there doing something great, Kevin!

    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I accidentally clicked "details..." on one of those banners about cookies. Always assumed they were talking about a handful, maybe a few dozen... just in the marketing cookies part, there were over 1200. (no longer remember the site, but it was a national news source of some sort, like NY-level). The intrusion is awful, but on a more personal level, hitting "reject all" every time you get the choice will keep your devices WAY more responsive.

    Ace
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Google cannot tell any of those things from me unless and when I choose to allow it to, for my benefit. Even then (i.e. only when I'm actively using google maps to navigate) I have the option of disabling its saving of previous journeys.

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    #41

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Smoking. I know the mentality is slowly shifting and it’s proven to cause all kinds if health related issues, yet there are still 1.25B smokers worldwide.

    Also, sitting. Same as with smoking. We’re starting to understand the risks. I expect companies in the future to hold standing or walking meetings a lot more than they do now.

    Organic-Algae-9438 , Thomas Stephan Report

    #42

    How much single use plastic is part of our daily lives.

    RelationshipMajor519 Report

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    #43

    “What's Normal To Us Now, That In 50 Years People Will Look Back On As Barbaric?” (30 Answers) Dentistry in it's current form.
    I hope, anyway. I keep hearing things about being able to regrow teeth or enamel and I hope they're true.

    I want fixing teeth in the future to be so quick and painless that we look back at how things are now the same way we look back at surgery pre-anasthetic. Like "I know it was the best option at the time but holy s**t that's horrifying. You had to just yank them out? And live like that? And they used a needle in your mouth to make your face numb? ".

    HalcyonSix , Natalia Blauth Report

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    Captive
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Brushing teeth is one of 3 things I always found very primitive and I'm sure will be revolutionized in years

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    #44

    Maybe in a hundred years--eating meat that is not lab made.

    Most of us (including me) will be on the wrong side of history.

    Bjarki56 Report

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    #45

    In no particular order:

    Homelessness. Healthcare for profit. Prisons for profit. Any/all exploitation for profit (see billionaires) (edit: see also murder, war)

    Slaughterhouses. Perhaps even keeping pets.

    Climate change through fossil fuel dependency. Gridlocked highways crammed with single occupancy vehicles instead of efficient transit.

    All of the ways in which we act against our real (not imaginary like tribalism) collective interests. For a few examples.

    KamiNoItte Report

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

    What's wrong with keeping pets? A pet can be a lifeline, a companion, a helper. Are you imagining that in 50 years all the animals now kept as pets will be gone? Some animals are kept as workers as well as pets. Is this needed assistance to be wiped out?

    #46

    Full time work.

    UBI will give all of us a comfortable life to pursue our own productive interests whilst the robots do all the work.

    Real work-life balance will be achieved.

    justisme333 Report

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    General Anaesthesia
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For a long time most of all labor productivity gains have gone to the C-suite and shareholders. I don't expect much change in that any more.

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