“What’s The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers)

Times are constantly changing. In the majority of the world, women have way more opportunities than they did a century ago, and the technological advancements we've seen in recent decades are mind-blowing. But at the same time, saving up enough to purchase a home is nearly impossible for many young people today, even if their parents had no issues buying a house in their twenties. We all seem to be living in a completely different world than our grandparents had when they were young, but one of the best changes we’ve seen is a decreased tolerance for toxic behavior.

Redditors have been calling out the worst actions that they’ve heard people attempt to justify by noting how common they were in the past, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts below. From tactics parents used to discipline their little ones to casually driving home after a few beers, be sure to upvote the behaviors that you’re glad have finally become stigmatized!

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) I pointed out that the Mayan and Aztecs' child sacrifice practices weren't any less barbaric because they happened a long time ago, and I got downvoted to hell here.

angrymonkey , Luidger/wiki Report

Final score:

176points

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TotallyNOTAFox 1 month ago (edited)

Yup, mentioning atrocities commited outside of european cultures in a respectful way isn't well received on the internet.

87points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) How many witches were burned at the stake during the salem witch trials?

None. There’s no such things as witches, they burned innocent girls and women. Awful.

Grouchy-Range-9032 , unattributed Report

Final score:

170points

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FreeTheUnicorn 1 month ago

No one was burned at the stake in Salem. 19 hangings, one man pressed to death. More than 180 accused were not killed. Many were toetured. It's a stain on our history but so get your facts right.

188points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Open sexual harassment, unwanted touching, SA, etc against secretaries, female assistants, etc by their bosses. Woman were supposed to just grin and bear it.

TheVendingMachineWas , Sora Shimazaki/pexels Report

Final score:

157points

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Johnny McFearless 1 month ago

Also the fact that women were only secretaries and assistants.

96points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Doctors going on duty for more than 24 hours straight.

Young_Old_Grandma , Mulyadi /unsplash Report

Final score:

151points

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Tamra 1 month ago

I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in the US there has been a long-standing culture of over-working healthcare professionals. It's nearly ubiquitous to see doctors and nurses working insane hours, and it makes absolutely no sense.

77points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Child marriage.

TrickySeagrass , Manoj Chauhan /unsplash Report

Final score:

150points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

🤮

55points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) The way some people treated pets. Leaving them outside. Hitting them.

shutupandevolve , Pranidchakan Boonrom/pexels Report

Final score:

141points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

Talking about shooting cats just to prove they are real men.. no you are not, you are covering up some inside insecurity and feel you have to prove you are a real man to cover it up! 🤨🤕

55points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Spousal r*pe. It was legal up until 1983 in Canada. It wasn’t until 1993 that it became illegal in ALL of the US; prior to that it was only illegal in 3 as of 1975. I’ve heard some men reminisce about the days when they didn’t need consent from their wives. I’ve even heard women condemn other women for having the “nerve” to ever deny their husbands sex. It’s disgusting.

MamaKit92 , Inga Seliverstova /pexels Report

Final score:

137points

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WonderWoman 1 month ago

Republicans are trying to bring that back as well

20points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Bull fighting in Spain.

Outrageous-Yak4884 , @coldbeer /pexels Report

Final score:

131points

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Mavis 1 month ago

The pic looks like a rodeo not bullfighting. Rodeo is also disgusting.

106points

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“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Hitting children. Beating up children badly.

Flat_Ad1094 , Lucas Metz /unsplash Report

Final score:

126points

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cerinamroth 1 month ago

Hate to break it to you but still pretty common.

72points

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#10

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Definitely slavery, not just because it's a horrible thing to justify but also because people try to justify it *so often*.

One of the most popular lies in America is the lie that the so-called "founding fathers" can't be judged for owning slaves because that was accepted practice back then. In fact, the judge in the British Somerset case called slavery an "odious institution" in 1772: well before the US constitution was written. The abolition movement was very much in full swing in the anglosphere at the time. The Somerset ruling banned slavery in the British Isles in 1772. Canada banned slavery in 1793.

And yet Americans persist in pretending that slavery was widely accepted with no concerns at the time of the country's founding, just because they don't want to admit that the US founding fathers were bad people. They have their very own mythology, complete with heroes and villains, and they will not tolerate harsh criticism of those heroes.

Bizarre_Protuberance , John Trumbull Report

Final score:

118points

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GettingCereal 1 month ago

There was also a major push to get abolition into the constitution, but the southern states threw such a hissy fit that the rest caved.

67points

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#11

Just yesterday i had someone try telling me they regretted taking the covid vaccine and that "back than no one took vaccines".

I replied with "and people got polio".

whelplookatthat Report

Final score:

116points

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Black Cat 1 month ago

And smallpox and diphtheria and TB and measles and rubella and and and

14points

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#12

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) "My parents whipped my butt and screamed at me. I turned out fine."

Umm... no you didnt. You need therapy, boundaries, and a healthier friend group.

texaslucasanon , Monstera Production/pexels Report

Final score:

113points

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Miranda Veracruz de la Joya Cardenal 1 month ago

If you think child abuse was acceptable, you didn't turn it fine

59points

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#13

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Open misogyny and sexual harassment in the workplace. I’m a 64 yo professional woman and the behavior of some my male colleagues and superiors was horrible. And no one batted an eye.

Monalisa9298 , Polina Tankilevitch/pexels Report

Final score:

100points

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El Dee 1 month ago

Still happens..

29points

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#14

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Forced marriage.

anon , Aastha Bansal/UNSPALSH Report

Final score:

98points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

An scientific education and sexual education should be mandatory for everyone, all over the world! Let go of old s**t!

41points

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#15

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Adult musicians sleeping with puberty-aged groupies. Guarantee every single one of your faves did it or was in a band with someone who did.

rougecomete , Pavel Danilyuk /pexels Report

Final score:

93points

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WonderWoman 1 month ago

I think that is still happening

42points

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#16

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Throwing rocks at Ruby Bridges.

TwincessAhsokaAarmau , Uncredited DOJ photographer Report

Final score:

91points

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Weirdo with Internet 1 month ago

These people are still alive! This wasn't that long ago and even if it was, still wouldn't justify throwing rocks and insults at a child

57points

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#17

Genital mutilation of children.

qmriis Report

Final score:

86points

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Not Who You Think 1 month ago (edited)

"It's a cultural/religious thing." Maybe you need to take a step back and really pay attention to what you're saying.

52points

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#18

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Automatically needing to respect your elders (and anyone older than you) just because it's the 'right' thing to do, not because they deserve your respect or did anything to earn it, but just because.

PickleFluffy1387 , Andrea Piacquadio/pexels Report

Final score:

85points

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Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 1 month ago

As Tony Benn said, you should respect everyone, until they give you good reason not to.

116points

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#19

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) All forms of bullying. It looked cool from people in high school according to my classmates. Now some of my classmates were now gone due to bullying. It’s not cool.

AetherealSubject , Keira Burton/pexels Report

Final score:

84points

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Ace 1 month ago

Bullying was and is never cool. I really don't think anything has changed in this case, it's still just as common and bad as it used to be, just that a lot of it is done via modern tech rather than ust face to face these days.

40points

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#20

Genociding Native Americans.

Jack-of-Hearts-7 Report

Final score:

84points

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Hans Georg 1 month ago

Genociding any people.

78points

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#21

Horrific mistreatment of disabled people. It’s still not great on a general global scale, but at least we don’t get left in the woods as infants or stuck in freak shows to entertain the masses.

an_ineffable_plan Report

Final score:

82points

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WindySwede 1 month ago (edited)

And even just women who be "out of order"? Edit: like put in asylum for being anything her husband/dad didn't want to?

38points

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#22

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Ownership and the subservience of women. "Back in my day the women didn't vote or work, they waited on their knees for the husband to come home with a hot meal in one hand a strong drink in the other" along with a litany of other female slave fantasies men have of modern women.

BeeMyHomey , cottonbro studio/pexels Report

Final score:

77points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

That is also a thing in the bible, if someone hurt a women so she miscarriages, they are supposed to pay money to her spouse or otherwise her father. That is nothing in the line of being an independent individual!

26points

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#23

Lynching black people for failing to show the proper deference to a white man on the street.

Get_It_Hexyy Report

Final score:

75points

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Weirdo with Internet 1 month ago

Or looking at a white woman

47points

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#24

Smoking everywhere--even hospitals.

Grouchy-Display-457 Report

Final score:

67points

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Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 1 month ago

We were doing a good job of limiting smoking areas, but now vaping is taking its place with a vengeance. I regularly see (smell them first) people sneaking a vape inside restaurants. It's illegal and it ruins my meal out. Just selfish w4nkers.

31points

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#25

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) My grandma was telling us about some random stuff about her life as a kid, the usual, and then she dropped that her neighbor would give her a quarter to see her underwear? when she was like 5-6? wild s**t

also cheating on your spouse .

coffeedr1nk3rrr1 , Hobbies on a Budget/flickr Report

Final score:

65points

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Not Who You Think 1 month ago

The 25 cents for a little girls underwear peek is truly awful, but I love how "cheating on your spouse" was kind of added as an afterthought.

31points

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#26

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Listening to stories from older colleagues there is so much stuff that was considered standard practice that would give Health and Safety an aneurysm these days. S**t like handling asbestos with zero protective equipment, even after people started realizing how bad it was for your health! Or guys working with natural gas lighting up a ciggie on the job site and it being perfectly fine because "we're not smoking near where people are working with gas at the moment".

ConstableBlimeyChips , Valiant Made/unsplash Report

Final score:

64points

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Marianne 1 month ago

My family are farmers. 20 years ago, a person would be ridiculed for wearing safety goggles or a face mask while harvesting potatoes. While on the machine, you're exposed to huge amounts of dust that gets into your face. I have asthma and couldn't stand it on dry days. Protective gear just wasn't an option.

31points

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#27

Hazing, overworking and basically bullying new employees. C**p like “it’s character building” or “well, I had to do it”. I think people perpetuate this nonsense because they are basically trying to get some sort of revenge.

Puzzleheaded-Swan824 Report

Final score:

63points

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Kira Okah 1 month ago

Hazing has killed people.

42points

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#28

Gay jokes. Go watch movies from the 80's & 90's. Or just watch "Friends," there were cheap gay gags in basically every episode. .

Upstairs-Storm1006 Report

Final score:

63points

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Marianne 1 month ago

True! I was so normal. Also using the term "gay" as a demeaning word in all kinds of situations.

34points

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#29

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) I take care of a 95 year old woman with dementia who had a black lab as a child. The dogs name was “n**ger”. She sometimes talks about her dog and calls it by name, and everyone reacts how you’d expect, and she always says, “He needed a name! A dog needs a name!”

Not sure if it quite fits this thread, but I was reminded of it so I shared.

Informal_Flight_6932 , cottonbro studio /pexels Report

Final score:

62points

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Ace 1 month ago (edited)

Yeah, this one is a little out of place because although that term and the one it's derived from could have an insulting meaning if used in a certain context it was also commonly used in this way, perhaps much more outside the US, just because it means "black", ,with absolutely zero implied reference to people with that skin colour. Some people still get upset when they see "négro" used in languages like Spanish where that is literally all it means.

20points

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#30

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Hitting a spouse. My favorite tv show of all time is “I Love Lucy” and I have such a hard time watching Ricky put Lucy over his knee. Makes my stomach turn.

DotsSpotsBots , CBS Report

Final score:

60points

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Pencil McGovern 1 month ago

"POW! Right in the kisser!" -Ralph Kramden to his wife, Alice, in about every episode of "The Honeymooners"

7points

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#31

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Maybe riding around in the open bed of a pickup truck all over town and highways when I was a kid in the 70s.

captn_morgan951 , FourthAge/reddit Report

Final score:

54points

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IguanaStampede 1 month ago

That was fun! We called them urban hayrack rides.

25points

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#32

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Cat calling. Honestly can’t remember a time it was okay, but I’m always confused when guys try to justify themselves with “it’s just a comment. It’s always been like this” when I (a woman) get upset. Like I know my a*s is amazing but keep it to yourself, you know?

Brilliant-Hurry-5479 , Ashinia Junior Miller/pexels Report

Final score:

54points

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Apachebathmat 1 month ago

“Thank you for attending our wedding today, I knew Wayne was the one when he shouted ‘WHHHHHHOOOOOA B***H, TIDDIES ON FIRE’ out the window of a speeding car”

63points

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#33

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) My friend quite seriously told me she didn’t understand the issue with Bill Cosby because quaaludes were all the rage and this is just how it used to be for women around men. Never thought I’d see myself storming out of a Los
Angeles McDonald’s in anger but sure enough it did indeed happen.

ExperienceInitial875 , Andrea Piacquadio /pexels Report

Final score:

51points

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Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 1 month ago (edited)

Had to read that twice to confirm the friend was indeed a woman. Talk about brainwashed! (Spelling edit)

35points

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#34

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Not back then, but in the present.

I have heard from a relative that pregnancies of indigenous children in my country are normal because it is "part of their culture".

The_Good_Guyy , ermias Tarekegn/pexels Report

Final score:

51points

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penguino (they/them) 1 month ago

The comments here are weird y’all can go look for yourself-but also, wtf? Kids shouldn’t be pregnant. Period.

30points

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#35

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Drinking and driving. Every adult over 60 wants me to understand why those were the good ol days.

AtomAntvsTheWorld , energepic.com /pexels Report

Final score:

50points

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Ace 1 month ago

Rubbish. I mean yes, is used to be a lot worse, i.e. more common, but you really won't find many people who would suggest that it was better back then as a result.

39points

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#36

Enforced poverty.

Objective_Soil_4054 Report

Final score:

48points

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Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 1 month ago

This has always been a popular policy amongst capitalists - without poor people, nobody would work for sh1t wages in their dangerous factories.

37points

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#37

Racism.

hBoBh Report

Final score:

46points

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Urbangirlatl 1 month ago

I think I understand where Strings is coming from. When the CEO of Barilla pasta made a neg comment about including LGBT in their ads, I thought something along the lines of "thanks for letting me know where you stand so I can buy your competitor's product". It's not endorsing hate speech, but it's how we know we are dealing with @-holes.

18points

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#38

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) Physical abuse.

aesthetic_kiara , Uriel Mont/pexels Report

Final score:

44points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

Any*

16points

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#39

“What's The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers) "When I was starting out, our bosses abused us 10 times as badly as what you get pampered with, you don't know how good you got it".

areUgoingtoreadthis , Yan Krukau/pexels Report

Final score:

43points

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WindySwede 1 month ago

"I'm an unpaid intern with zero health care!"

25points

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#40

Smoking at 12.

Temporal_Somnium Report

Final score:

43points

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Li’l E. 1 month ago

My mom started smoking at 13, in 1959.

11points

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Note: this post originally had 45 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.

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What’s the worst thing people have tried to justify with “It was normal back then, everyone did it”?

UKGrandad 1 month ago

*Note to the usual suspects: please read what I'm about to say for understanding before downvoting it. Thank you* We can all feel morally superior to our ancestors because we know better these days, right? However, how many of us stop to consider which practices we think are morally and legally sound today may, in the future, see us as soundly condemned as we condemn past generations? What do we shrug off as perfectly normal that might make our descend scream 'WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING'?

Michael Largey 1 month ago (edited)

Some people knew better back then too, but the others didn't listen to them.

13points

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I was raised by hippies in NYC in the 60s and 70s. In the 80's and 90's when more LGBT+ started coming out,, I (straight/cis) would be complimented for my "progressive" and "accepting" views and my public support of equal rights. I said 1000 times, I deserve no credit. I was raised that way. I have no idea who I'd be or what I'd believe if I'd been raised differently. I promoted LGBT+ equality, at least in part, because the culture I was raised in, the culture I lived in, *allowed* me to. I have no idea if I would have had the courage of those convictions if I'd been somewhere else. I think we, the masses, tend to give ourselves far more credit for having real courage which only truly belongs to a few.

3points

A Jones 1 month ago

I agree. Realizing stuff that is messed up isn't a form of weakness, it is strength.

1point

Freya the Wanderer 1 month ago

You definitely have a point there. I once started an Ask Pandas thread about what people may find unacceptable in 100 years. You can read it here: https://www.boredpanda.com/unacceptable-things-100-years-from-now-ask-pandas-community/

IamMe 1 month ago

A lot of the things on this list are still happening today.

8points

Fun Size 1 month ago

A lot of them are still happening, yes, but at least they're no longer considered normal or acceptable by society at large.

4points

CK 1 month ago

Of course none of those things are justified; however, we shouldn't give ourselves as individuals any credit for not going along with child sacrifice and slavery in a society where that isn't normalized. The sad truth is that it is incredibly statistically unlikely that you wouldn't have gone along with those things if you had been born in a previous generation. And if you want to prove to yourself that you would have been the one to oppose the brutality? Defy the socially accepted cruelty that's happening now. Fight to end all slavery in the world, to give disabled people all reasonable accommodations with dignity, and to get food and healthcare to all who need it.

5points

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“What’s The Worst Thing People Have Tried To Justify With ‘It Was Normal Back Then’?” (40 Answers)

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