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Honest People Share The Most Difficult Conversation They've Ever Had

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Honest People Share The Most Difficult Conversation They've Ever Had
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Life is all about love and hard truths. There is no way around it, being hurt, feeling pain and having to do difficult, soul crushing things is inevitable. We all dread those moments in life when you have to look someone in the eye and have one of "those" conversations. But through pain will come triumph or... more pain. It's a toss up... it's why we have vodka.

Redditor u/paytie wanted to discuss some hard truths by asking... What's the worst conversation you've ever had to have?

Thank God for whiskey. 

I had to call my older brother and tell him that our younger brother had died. I then had to call my younger brother's best friend, girlfriend, and a few of his other friends and tell them the news.

That was a long night. hopebirmingham

It's not all that bad! 

I thought this one was going to be... I got caught smoking herb off campus by my VP. Dad had to pick me up. Most angry I've ever seen him. As part of my punishment he decided that I had to call all my relatives and tell them. I was most nervous about my grandmother because she lived close enough to visit and tell her in person. On the way there I was so nervous that I was reflex gagging. This is the only time and reason why I know I don't have actual anxiety issues. Anyway I sheepishly told her and her response was awesome. She said "well do you feel bad about it?" I nodded. "Then I guess that's it. The reason your dad dragged you over here was so you would feel bad." She gave me a hug and whispered to me. "Your dad sold drugs when he was your age. He doesn't want you to make the same mistakes. But honestly sweetie it's not as terrible as you feel." Rumplestiltman

I'm so sorry...

I ran over a dog once in high school. I went up to the house to tell the owners and after telling the woman who answered the door she told me it was her husband's dog and he had Alzheimer's and it was his best friend then invited me inside to tell the husband. I stayed there until the cops arrived as this woman told me every story she ever had about her family and the dog. To make matters worse, a girl I was dating at the time was in the passenger seat crying the entire time. expresidentmasks

Help our Vets! 

Was homeless and had a homeless vet for a friend. We would hang out watch each others belongings etc. helped one another out. Would go in half on motels and food when we had money from panhandling or from just doing odd jobs that day or what change we could scrounge up here and there.

One day we were sitting down talking at this corner store, he pulled out a gun said he couldn't handle living life like this anymore and how he served for this country and no one cares etc. and when he got back no one would hire him and how he lost his family, his wife, his kid, not from death they just left him he said he couldn't take it anymore and shot himself bled out and died in my arms. I tried getting the gun away and such but couldn't.

A week later I was at his funeral, only a couple people showed up and one of his sons showed up. I talked to his son told him what happened and handed him his dad's dog tags and a letter he wrote months before he ended his life and told me to hand it to his family if something ever happened and they happen to show up. I held on to it for months didn't think I would really had to hand it to anyone. dunnonymore881

It's like a movie.

"Your step-dad finally got a heart transplant, but it had been too long, his body was too weak, it didn't take. He's gone." I remember this scene unfolding like I was standing outside of my body, watching it happen to someone else, until I crumbled into my mother's arms. CreampuffOfLove

I'm empty. 

Breaking up with my girlfriend of 4 years, not because my feelings were gone but because I noticed her feelings were diminishing and I couldn't give her the freedom she wanted.

Edit: Just wanted to clarify, although I do appreciate all the kind words, the decision was not 100% because I only wanted her to be happier, but also because of self preservation. I could no longer stay in a relationship I knew was not equal, and I knew it was going to end badly for me eventually. So if you think of me as a selfless person I'd have to disappoint you. CannedCancanMan

Life changes in an instant.

My ex and I were still friends when she got into a car accident that gave her a significant amount of brain damage. Mentally, she was reduced to a 5 year old.

My first conversation with her after the accident was the worst conversation I've ever had.

It looked like her. Sounded like her. But... it wasn't. It was like some weird soap opera nightmare. I knew things changed the second she looked at me. It's like she was looking at the mailman or something. I was just a stranger again. Retro_Mutagen

I can't imagine... 

When I had to call my husband at work and tell him we lost the baby. I was almost 39 weeks pregnant. I heard his heart shatter over the phone. bookluvr83

Just tears...

My good friend got a call one day when we were hanging out, his brother overdosed and had passed away. I drove him home and he couldn't work up the courage to tell his mom, every time he tried he would either gag or start crying so hard he couldn't talk, so I sat her down and told her. I ended up spending the night with my friend to make sure he would be ok and that he wasn't alone (his girlfriend was on vacation). Honestly breaking the news to his mom that one of her son's had passed away due to an overdose was the hardest thing to do, i just hugged her and her son as they cried for probably close to an hour until his mom's boyfriend could get there. His brother was also one of my really good friends I was able to hold back the tears until after I got home from the memorial service. thatbluegti

Chat it out! 

When I was 16 I lost a friend of mine to meningitis and it destroyed me. The councilor in my school decided it would be good to ask me to go over every detail of when he died so we could 'chat it out' and it brought back all of the pain. MrC99

No tears left to cry... 

I had to talk to an older coworker who was incompetent, but thought he was the crap. The guy would do stuff like travel to gas fields near places he wanted to visit, and bring his wife with him.... to the gas fields, who was not an employee of the company or have any sort of safety certifications. He thought all of this was ok. I explained to him how he needs to take the job seriously, and that he was a idiot and all the customers keep writing to me how he doesn't know what he was doing. Yea I made an old indian guy cry, but I stand by it. He was a moron. ooo-ooo-oooyea

The aftermath...

Answering the paramedics questions after my gf tried to kill herself while I was in the house. muchvape2000

Trauma effects us all... 

I have only loved one woman. She ended up leaving me to deal with her own psychological issues, which I understood, but I was heartbroken. Months later, she reached out and told me she was planning a suicide. My life became about helping her maintain balance. I helped make appointments for her, I was emotional support at any hour, I skipped classes to sit and talk with her on the phone, and I did it without hesitation. She was lost and she needed someone. I was her someone. Eventually, when she was out of the woods, we parted ways again.

Years later, she contacted me looking for bizarrely specific information. I asked why. She explained that she was collecting evidence. Days after she left me, she was assaulted with excessive violence outside her apartment by a man I knew. I had bought him a beer when she introduced us. I shook his hand. She hadn't told anyone the specifics of that evening, and because she trusted me, she vented.

It's been about three years since we had that conversation. I haven't dated anyone since. I haven't had sex in five years. It haunts me. I try and let it go, but it has shaped me now. I've gotten to the point where I've all but accepted that I'm psychologically incapable of having another romantic relationship because of the horrific way that my first and only one ended. And even after all of that, she still has a vastly worse experience to overcome.

That was, without any competition, the worst conversation I have ever had. CognitiveParallax

Mommy...

2 both with my mom:

My freshman year of college I wasn't mature enough yet to handle my alcohol responsibly. I woke up the morning after Halloween in a hospital with my mom in front of me. I had turned unconscious while a cop was giving my friend who was driving me home a DUI. By the BAC levels, I should either be dead or have severe brain damage right now. Somehow I have neither. Do you know what it's like to talk to your mom about how she and your sisters were distraught because they honestly thought they had lost a member of their family, aka you?

Years later I was getting a master's at UGA. I withdrew, drove home, sat my mom on the couch in the morning and told her I needed help. Like real help. We committed myself to a hospital over the weekend to keep me safe while we set up appointments with a psychiatrist and psychologist the help figure things out. Do you know what it's like to sit the person who raised you down and tell them that the thoughts of killing yourself have become so heavy you don't trust yourself to be alone anymore? Sirnacane

The heart is fragile. 

I had to tell my 8 year old daughter that my aunt had passed. She was the most beautiful person on this Earth and her Smile would light up the entire house when she was around. She took her life, and I have never had the heart to tell my daughter that she did, she thinks that she had a heart attack, and that is why she wants to become a cardiologist to find a cure to prevent them. sol22516

Nobody's perfect... 

I had to tell my baby sister how our parents aren't good parents, at best they are ehhh. They had kids way too young and honestly didn't know how to raise them. That our grandparents are better parents than our parents. That she should love them but don't have high expectations of them. They gotten better over the years but not much. venomstrike123

Thank you for your service.

When I had to call my mom and tell her I had orders to Iraq. OrdinaryItem

Bless you Johnnie!! 

I was on a flight from LA to Tokyo. I believe it's around a 13 hour flight but I could be wrong. I sat next to this Christian missionary couple. I'm an atheist but I don't go around preaching what I believe, These two did though. It wasn't even a friendly debate, it was just them telling me what I ought to believe in and how to encourage that belief in others. I ended up opening one of my duty-free bottles of Johnnie Walker which was supposed to go to my grandpa whom I was on my way to visit in India. I ended up downing at least half of it on the flight just to knock out and keep the idiots at bay. EricTheAckAcktor

Stay cool mom and dad...

When I was like 14, my parents checked the internet history on our Shared desktop and found a bunch of gay porn. I'm not gay, it definitely wasn't me looking at it, but no matter how much I told them that, they wouldn't buy it. Luckily they were very supportive of my lifestyle and that it's not bad to be gay or anything like that. So they showed me the Website and I immediately knew what happened. This was ten years ago and at the time the flash game website addictinggames.com was huge. My little brother was on there all the time but he accidentally spelled add**ktinggames.com which was the gay porn site. TikisFury

Grandma misses you too... 

A little late and probably gonna get buried but when my 4 year old daughter and I showed up on the scene of the accident my mom was involved in. She was supposed to be life flighted to the nearest trauma hospital but after landing the helicopter they came and told me she didn't make it. Having to call both of her parents (she was an only child), my brother who was stationed 12 hours away, and my fiancé at the time to come get my daughter and I because the officers wouldn't let me drive. I really think the worst of it all was telling my 4 year old that grandma was gone. She really didn't understand and still to this day, 3 years later, tells me she misses her. kdbk10

REDDIT

honest conversation

People Reveal What Their Significant Other Did That Made Them Think 'F**k This, We're Done'

Reddit user The_King_Of_Spades_ asked: 'What is something that an S/O has done that made you go, 'F**k this, we're done?'

Young man looking defeated with face to palms
Christian Erfurt/Unsplash
Maintaining romantic relationships takes work, and if the people are invested enough in them, they will be willing to do everything they can to stay together.

After all, the honeymoon phase is not forever.

Eventually, reality sets in for those who want to be in it for the long haul as the lovebirds gradually start discovering weird idiosyncrasies that can either be perceived as cute quirks or aggravating annoyances.

Is it worth it?

That depends.

Curious to hear of make-it-or-break-it moments in relationships, Redditor The_King_Of_Spades_ asked:

"What is something that an S/O has done that made you go, 'F'k this, we're done'?"

These exes had no regard for the lives of others, some literally.

Serpent Murderer

"She unplugged the heater on my red tail boa's tank. Since the tank was in the spare room I only checked it every couple days. It was winter and I had just fed it so I would always leave it alone for a few days after so it wouldn't stress and have issues digesting. She went in right behind me an unplugged it after arguing with me for weeks to rehome it, which I refused to do."

"I went to check on it a few days later and noticed it froze to death. I asked her if she knew anything about it and her response was 'oh bummer, now I guess you can throw all that sh*t out.'"

"The next day when she was at work I packed all her sh*t and threw it all over her sister's front yard, since her sister was always the one telling her to just do things if I don't give her her way and had told me numerous times to get rid of my snake or else."

"RIP Doobie. I'm sorry buddy."

– burkechrs1

Funeral Brawl

"She started a fight with someone at my gran's funeral."

– LapOfHonour

"That's odd. Nobody is looking at ME for some reason..."

– VAShumpmaker

"Ummm...ex-CUSE me! I'M the ALIVE one here!"

– PicaDiet

Family Comes First

"Gave me sh*t for skipping a minor league ballgame with her family so I could go visit my grandfather in the hospital."

"It was the last time i saw him alive."

"Edit - ok i get it, the last sentence is confusing. I’m referring to gramps."

– chickentimesfive

You never know about a person's true colors.

Dodging A Bullet

"Physically barricaded me in the bedroom and forced me to change into the exact outfit he wanted me to wear before we could go out to meet his friends. I put it on just so he would let me leave and then ran a couple blocks away while he was locking up and called an Uber to my friend's house."

– Particular-Natural12

The Freeloader

"My ex drove my truck and returned it with a drop of gas in the tank. Then she took my bank card from my wallet and filled up her SUV and went to work. I started my truck and got to the gas station, opened my wallet and my card was missing. This was back when I was kind of poor and didn't have any credit cards, just a debit card. I had no cash in my wallet, so no gas. I tried to make it back home but I ran out of gas. I called her asking for help, she refused."

"My buddy picked me up on the side of the road. I went home and packed up my stuff and immediately moved out. I stayed on my friends sofa for a couple weeks while I worked out new living arrangements."

– macmac360

The kids will always be priority number one.

Scared Child

"My 12 year old son was struggling emotionally and it was causing issues with his grades. Boyfriend told him he could go live with his dad if he was going to be a loser. My son called me scared because he thought he was going to have to move to his dad’s. I was out of town at the time. I broke up with him the moment I got back and my son and I moved out."

"F'k you Chris."

– Fickle_Freckle

You Don't Go After The Children

"Called my daughter (not hers) a 'f'king b*tch that ruined our relationship'. Hard no from me."

– javawong

"Thank you for prioritizing your daughter. So many single parents don’t."

– CowboyLaw

Those who abuse animals are not relationship material.

The Last Straw

"Kicked my (our) cat."

"He pushed and pushed to get a cat. I wanted one but didn't really want to spend the next 10 years cleaning litter boxes every day. I eventually gave in because he was so persistent."

"After a few months, he came home from work in a mood one day and the cat got under his feet - as cats tend to do. He kicked her and screamed at her, and she ran and hid under the bed for hours."

"Things had been pretty sh*t between us anyway, but this was the last straw. I told him that if he can't watch where he's f'king going, he shouldn't live with a cat. He responded with something along the lines of 'well f'king get rid of her then!', and I told him I'd rather get rid of him."

"I told him to pack a bag and find somewhere else to stay. He went to stay with his mum, and I only saw him once after that day when he had to sign some paperwork to confirm that he'd moved out of our flat."

"P.S. Still got the cat. She's perfect and I love her so much. She still trips me up almost every day."

"Edit: I do feel like I should clarify (even though ex doesn't deserve it) - he didn't like, kick the cat across the room or something, but he did kick her a lot more aggressively than just tapping her out of the way with his foot. She wasn't hurt at all, but was scared. Had it been any worse, I probably would have flipped out on him even more."

– aerialpoler

Always listen to your gut when it comes to being in a bad situation.

Vulnerable individuals who are deep in love have the tendency of ignoring warning signs and realize until too late that they are with someone they never should've been with in the first place.

That's the tricky thing about pursuing love.

You don't really know a person until you spend more time with them, which is all the more reason to not rush into things.

relationships

Wait, What?: Foreigners Explain Which American Customs Make No Sense To Them

Man on bke wearing an American flag with a woman running behind him holding an American flag.
Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

When studying or learning about different countries and cultures, many Americans find themselves fascinated and/or perplexed by some of their customs and traditions.

Up to and including Canada having their Thanksgiving celebrations in October, Guy Fawkes night in England, or spitting on the bride for good luck at Greek weddings.

Many of these same Americans who scoff at the very idea of these customs might not stop to think that the tables can be easily turned, and visitors from abroad often find themselves in an equal state of confusion at some of our customs and traditions.

Redditor thunderpower1999 was eager to hear which American customs foreigners found to be the most baffling, leading them to ask:

"Non- Americans, what is an American custom that you find unusual or odd?"

The Only Thing More Ridiculous, Are Most Of The Candidats

"I find the length of your election campaigns so crazy."- Olivia123321

Presidential elections seem to be some sort of two year affair. It's out of control.

Most Meteorologists Would Agree

"My friend from India once asked me (an American) to explain Groundhog Day to her."

"I had no explanation- it’s just weird."- marmosetohmarmoset

Groundhog Day Winter GIFGiphy

Slowly Becoming Extinct Though...

"The waiter taking your card away to pay."- Vlakob

Trick Or Treat!

"I’ll never forget when a college schoolmate from China asked me 'is it true that you have a holiday where children dress up and go around asking for candy?'"

"I had never thought about it before but all I could say was 'yes, I guess we do…'"- EverLong0

They Think That's Strange, Ask Them What They Think About Our Health Care System...

"The Canadians I worked with in the oilfield were blown away by all of the television commercials for medicines."- rufneck-420

Happy Mental Health GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphy

Gobble Gobble!

"Pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving."

"Cracks me up every time, and I've lived here 20 years now!"- sandithepirate

Strange Isn't Always Bad

"Let me pull the Uno reverse card on this."

"I am an immigrant, living in the US for a very long time."

"Getting your leftovers to go at the restaurants was a surprise to me."

"But my reaction was, 'yeah, why is that not the norm?'"

"Rather than “Americans are strange'."- BobTheInept

When You Think You Have Exact Change...

"Not including tax in the price tag."- klc81

The Simpsons Animation GIF by FOX TVGiphy

So Much For Camaraderie...

"The obsession with college sports…and in some places even high school or middle school!"

"I just came back from a work trip to Texas and one of my colleagues told me the football stadium for his daughter’s middle school held 20,000 people!"- Speedbird223

Valuing Children? The Very Thought!

"That new parents, especially fathers, are expected to show up to work within days of having a newborn."- kellygrrrl328

How Long Have You Got?

"Some things I found strange in America:"

"Lack of recycling bins everywhere."

"That homeless people have tents everywhere like streets (Washington really surprised me)."

"Ice filled to the brim of the cup."

"Anything and everything having a tipping option."

"Tipping in general."

"Tax not included in the price."

"Massive lawyer billboards on every highway."- effypom

The Office Yes GIFGiphy

Civic Duty, But No Civic Holiday.

You have holidays for everything but a day off for election is too much

Just Plain Gross

"Child beauty pageants."

"Just stop it."- LoadedGull

It should be said that most Americans are equally confused, if not downright horrified, by many of the abovementioned customs.

Which begs the question, what keeps us living here?

Perhaps Americans desire to stay put, in spite of a heavily flawed electoral process, a convoluted healthcare system, and winter being dictated by a groundhog's shadow is the strangest American custom of them all...

america

People Break Down What The Wealthiest Person They Know Does For A Living

A young man with orange tinted sunglasses fans out a large amount of one hundred dollar bills
Photo by Shane

Who among us hasn't wondered about how our rich buddies have made their fortunes?

Some people work really hard actually.

They're in an office or in the field all day and night.

They have their noses to the grind.

And yes some people just collect an inheritance.

That's ok too, but how do you make it bigger?

Redditor h3llofaRide wanted to hear about how the rich make a living, so they asked:

"What does the wealthiest person you know do for work?"

My rich friends are all investment people.

They know when to buy and sell.

It's a gift.

Fancy Services

Coding Looney Tunes GIF by Looney Tunes World of MayhemGiphy

"The wealthiest person I know (and hang out with regularly) built a company (IT services) and then sold it for several hundred million dollars."

"He now runs a company that does the same kind of IT services in a different field. (He figured out a winning business formula and is just repeating it in a different market)."

omniumoptimus

Name It

"A family friend retired after being a COBOL programmer for 30 years. About 2 years after his retirement, a company came to him and said 'Name your salary' and he requested around $1.5 million/year. He was hired on the spot and still works there."

bbbbbthatsfivebees

"A family member worked at various companies, he told me this is very common. It's not obscure programming languages, just that they know what's going on. And don't let anyone else near it or something."

chabybaloo

Oink Oink

"Pig farmer. I kid you not. He's my father's old friend. I visited him once when my father and I were passing through the state. He lives in a modest classic farmhouse with his wife, both in their seventies. I mentioned I was starting a school in West Africa as we were catching up."

"A few weeks later I got a text asking how much it would cost. I told him 40k, thinking it was really nice of him if he wanted to send a few dollars."

"I got a check for 40k. I thought it would take me years to raise that. I'm typing this from Sierra Leone because he also paid for the house I thought would take years to raise funds for."

LadyCordeliaStuart

That Dude

"It's a guy I work with. He started with one Jimmy John's franchise and turned it into 10 franchises. Ran them for 10 years then sold them all and dumped the money into the stock market and real estate. He did this all while working as an airline pilot, currently still working at the airline. This dude owns and flies his own private jet on top of all that."

OT-35

Every day...

Proliferate Charlie Chaplin GIF by nounish ⌐◨-◨Giphy

"Inherited a small factory from his father. Developed it into a huge nationwide company. Still goes to work there everyday despite being worth hundreds of millions."

ShipJust

Factory work. That is where so much greatness begins.

On the Road

Happy Go Crazy GIF by DAF Trucks NVGiphy

"Truck driver. Starting his own trucking company."

Apprehensive-Crow-96

"Tons of money in the trucking business. An owner of one in my city drives a Porsche 918."

ForgottenPercentage

In the End

"Own their own conveyor belt business. Makes almost 2 mil a year after it’s all said and done."

TakeMe_To_Eisengard

"I was a control systems engineer who started contracting on the side. Now I build out crazy manufacturing systems like this. All it takes is getting one project to build a conveyor system and if you end up good at it then boom, you build conveyor systems for the rest of your life. Conveyor systems are actually really expensive and complex in the manufacturing world."

PleasantProgram7572

Life-Changing

"Both in tech. A friend is in a company about to IPO and is VP level so will do well there. Her husband just sold his company (gaming company) to the biggest gaming company in China for, as she put it 'life-changing money.' Both are very intelligent, super nice, and crazy hard-working. They worked for it, and it couldn't happen to nicer people."

​BonePGH

The Little Things

"I was a fly fishing guide for many years, and one of my regular clients year after year owned a factory on the East Coast that is one of the top suppliers of O-rings and small plastic machine parts in the world. I never asked how much they made obviously out of respect. But they always tipped absurd amounts ($1500 was my biggest tip for 3 days) they flew private and drank and shared $600 bottles of wine like they were nothing."

​The_Kinetic_Esthetic

Let's Play

gamer GIF by TotorialGiphy

"He's the founder and CEO of a very successful games company. I met him over a decade ago when the company was successful but nowhere near what it is now. He's also one of the most approachable and friendly people I've ever met, to the extent that it sometimes feels like an act."

Lauantaina

Games and gaming.

Who knew?

Can I count all of my hours of Nintendo for tax exemptions?

making money

Once Popular TV Tropes That Are No Longer Acceptable Today

Person scrolling through streaming options
Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Content Warning: alcoholism, sexual assault, harassment, and violence against women in entertainment

The entertainment industry is constantly changing and generally reflects what the public finds interesting and believes in.

Fortunately, this means that some problematic tropes, storylines, and messages are being retired from the writers' room, and viewers are embracing the more inclusive characters and stories they're seeing on screen.

Redditor midnightsonofab***h asked:

"What TV trope was common in the not-so-distant past but is completely unacceptable today?"

Connected At All Times

"Misunderstandings that can now be cleared up by a text or cell phone call. Entire episodes used to be built around people not being able to find or communicate with each other and just having to figure stuff out."

- OccasionallyWright

"I read a story from a horror writer and he said cell phones changed how they have to write because 99% of the stuck-in-a-murder town or house situations would be solved by phones now."

- Cleets11

"Oh yeah, for sure! I write thrillers for a living, and the idea of a 'MacGuffin' that is hidden is a lot harder to pull off when the now-dead character hiding it could've just called the right people and told them, or sent them the data in an email, etc."

"I have a very good editor (he's BAFTA nominated) and had this exact one in my latest story outline, with them 'finding' a report he's hidden. But... he could've just sent it to his daughter by email."

"As I'm older, I have to adjust my mindset constantly to deal with stuff like that."

- jloome

Security Before Love

"Running through the airport to confess one's love for the protagonist. Or the 'Home Alone' premises. These wouldn't happen today with current security measures."

- flawedmentalist69_

Women's Panic Attacks

"Not really TV trope but slapping women that were supposedly having a panic attack was almost a trope in westerns and noire movies."

- Sufficient-Eye-8883

Unresolved Amnesia

"People walking around with amnesia."

"Every freaking show, someone hit their head and had amnesia and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Like, hello, brain injury?"

- darkmatternot

Stalking Love

"Stalking a woman long enough and constantly will eventually make her fall for you."

- SuvenPan

"This was probably the most confusing thing growing up in the late 80s and early 90s."

"This odd thing was sold to both genders: the guy was supposed to keep on going after being told to be uninteresting. This led to guys thinking 'no means ask again' and girls saying 'no' to guys that they were interested in, but thought this is how the game was played in real life."

"Even in my early 20s, I saw girls in my party crew doing this, quite often harshly rejecting a drop-dead handsome guy, then being all p**sy about it when the guy just f**ked off as being told to and didn't instead start the rom-com mating ritual."

- aamurusko79

Voyeurism Was Not Okay

​"Spying on naked women or women changing clothes as an innocent boy or teen rite of passage."

- coagulatedfat

"'It’s Always Sunny' does a great episode called 'The Gang Hits the Slopes' or something. They go to a ski resort and live out 80s tropes from their childhood before realizing how f**ked up it all was, including spying on women and skiing without helmets."

- tman291

Homophobia "Humor"

​"Gay panic. I love 'Friends,' but how often the joke was AT any of the guys doing anything feminine?"

- HazeAbove

"The flamboyant gay character whose sexuality is either intended for the audience to laugh and make fun of or becomes a joke with other characters."

- DimesyEvans92

"Or in the case of 'Friends,' the straight character who everybody thinks is gay and is the butt (pun intended) of the joke."

- Friesenplatz

The Dark Side of the Town Drunk

"Comedic town drunk. Think Otis from 'The Andy Griffith Show.'"

- dominationnation

"I think part of the problem is the 'comedic town drunk' is something so many people can relate to because every small town seems to have one."

"My town growing up certainly did. His name was Silas. He drove a lawnmower everywhere because he lost his license, and would shout, 'Yee-Haw!' when it reached max speed. The man could consume an impossible quantity of alcohol and just as quickly piss it all out."

"He was homeless and on a first-name basis with every police officer in the county. He could tell the funniest, dirtiest jokes, and in late autumn would commit some minor harmless crime to spend the winter in jail (where he'd put on a lot of weight) instead of spending it in his tent."

"He was also a very reliable handyman, our family hired him a few times to remove massive trees, and he'd drop them right where he said he would."

"But that's where the comedy and trope end. I've referred to him in the past tense because he died of liver failure."

"He was ill with an addiction and desperately needed help to get past it, and that's what the TV tropes fail to discuss. Consequently, it's funny to the audience because it conveniently ignores the harsh reality of the situation."

- Kent_Knifen

Smoking Bans

"'Mind if I smoke?' in places where people would instantly object today, like cars, airplanes, spaceships, the baby's nursery, etc."

- crooked-v

​Anti-Tomboy and Androgyny 

"'Fixing' the 'tomboy' who likes to wear boys' clothes, no makeup, and do boy things."

"There's an 'Andy Griffith Show' episode that would be considered an over-the-top parody if it came out now."

- Visible_Scallion_489

No Locked Doors

"People living in NYC and L.A. who never lock the front door."

- KAG25

"Pretty sure 'Friends' lampshade this with an episode where they all get locked out and Monica even asks, 'Who locked the door? That door is never locked!'"

- rhapsody98

Questionable Family Dynamics

"An overweight, lazy husband with a smoking hot, nagging wife. Add in one rebellious teen and one nerdy kid and boom. The family sitcom recipe."

- chewedupshoes

The Hate for Wives

"The running joke in sitcoms is that every average American man hates their wife and is always complaining about her 'nagging' and just wants to hang with the boys and dreams about the single life or having more freedom but he’s a dad now."

"I think too many are sick of seeing that. It wasn’t really funny in the first place. And now society is trying to push many to see marriage as the ultimate goal anyway and vilifies people for wanting to be single."

- BellaBlue06

Minorities As Targets

"Black dude dies first. It's basically never done nowadays and the trope is almost always pointed out if there's even the possibility of it happening."

- CoolGuy69MLG

When we look through this thread, we can all think of examples of these old tropes, from smoking to consent, and fortunately, most of these shows are older.

As terrible as it might be that these tropes were once popular, it's at least refreshing to see that we are learning, that the entertainment industry is reflecting that, and some of these tropes are fading away.

tv shows