One sign of a truly intelligent person is having the ability to change your opinions in the face of contrary evidence. Note, we did not say anything about enjoying the process.
One Reddit user asked:
What is an opinion you once held that was proven completely wrong?
And what ended up happening was kind of a fascinating walk through the human learning process. Some lessons needed to be taught more than once, and sometimes with tragic results.
Other opinions were an absolute joy to have changed - like the person who had only ever eaten boiled unseasoned vegetables. The first taste of a roasted potato must have been the kind of thing that moved them to tears!
Or maybe we just really love carbs?
Respect
GiphyIf you respect someone, you'll get respect.
People have different ideas about what respect means. There's one crowd that believes everyone is deserving of respect until they show themselves not to be. And there's another crowd that just repeats the mantra "Respect must be earned."
Most of the people I've met in the latter crowd seem to use that mantra as an excuse to treat people like shit by default. Like you're required to impress them somehow before they deem you worthy of basic human dignity.
Someone on Reddit pointed out the issue that often arises is not necessarily the lack of respect, but in differing definitions of respect. Respect can mean "treat me as an adult/responsible individual" versus "treat me as an authority figure."
Too often we equate "respect me and I'll respect you" as both wanting to treat each other as adults/responsible individuals, when in reality most often it's someone saying "treat me as an authority figure and I'll treat you as an adult in return."
Hard Work
People I work with will notice hard work and reward me for it. Turns out, you have to be social and have to advocate for your own career.
What I'm finding out is if you work hard they do notice it...and take advantage of it by overloading you with an overwhelming amount with no accompanying advancement in your pay or career.
- Rivka333
Turn out you have to kiss @ss, a LOT of it. Hard work means you get kept where you are bc the next guy might not be as willing.
Wrong Twice
I had a lot of misinformed opinions about drug use. I volunteered with the DARE (drug abuse resistance education) program in my small town through the local PD for a few years in middle school/ early high school. I remember going to a party and seeing people smoke weed and being shocked there weren't overdoses or wild attacks or something.
I did my own actual research on marijuana and realized how much of what DARE taught was either false or misinformation. My opinions shattered and I figured drug use wasn't that bad.
I had to learn that drugs really can be dangerous later through the loss of a friend. Luckily I never really wanted to do anything more than weed anyway, but I had to learn my opinions were wrong twice before I had a healthy understanding.
I think it would've been a lot easier if things were presented honestly from the beginning.
There have been multiple studies showing that kids who had D.A.R.E. at their school are more likely to use drugs. The primary reason for this is when they realize how absurd some of the program's claims are, they distrust everything else the program taught them.
- punjar3
Not A Choice
That being gay is a choice.
And then I realized I was gay and also realized that it was not a choice.
My grandfather was gay and during a conversation with him I referred to the time in his life when he married my grandmother as "when he was confused."
He stopped me right there. "I was never confused. I knew I was gay, but I didn't want to accept it. I was convinced that I could change it; that I was supposed to get married and have kids, because that's what was normal."
The older I get, the more I suspect that most people who say homosexuality is a choice are closeted or bisexual, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
The reason they think it's a choice is because it is a choice... for them. They choose to not follow their urges, and assume everyone else does the same, whereas fully/mainly straight people don't really ever consider it.
When I came out to my grandma as wanting to date girls she was very confused because "everyone likes girls more but you just have to marry men, it's what you do."
She absolutely didn't realize.
Boiled
GiphyUntil I was 18, I genuinely thought that the way to cook vegetables was to boil the hell out of them to the point where they tasted lifeless. Turns out broccoli, carrots and cauliflower taste so much nicer when you roast them and add seasoning! Plus roast potatoes taste so much nicer than boiled potatoes.
Not A Flu
I thought covid-19 was a normal flu, until more peeps died very quickly and now we have less death than normal. It really ain't a normal flu.
I have to admit, I thought the same thing (kinda). I mean, I knew it was more dangerous and infectious than the flu but I thought everyone was overreacting until schools starting shutting down because that's when I first actually got affected by the virus.
Yeah, I kept telling everyone not to worry about it, they are just blowing things out of proportion. Then the world went to hell.
I was SO sure!
I changed my mind about Covid-19 the day companies started to drop out of MWC (mobile world congress). There was A LOT of money to be made around that sht, and companies NEVER lose the chance to swag a penny out of someone else's pocket, so when they decided that covid 19 might be a threat for them, I started taking it way more seriously.
Lets be honest: you'll have a clearer view of how the world really works once you starts looking at how big money behaves.
Judge Not
That all religious people are good, and the non-religious ones are most likely worse. Went to Catholic school for most of my life, raised in a very liberal Catholic household.
It all came crashing down when my city's cathedral caught a highly respected member pocketing a stack of money from collection boxes. Red-handed on CCTV. It was a long time ago and I'm glad I no longer judge non-religious people.
Baby Leashes
Parents who use leashes on their toddlers just don't want to put the effort into teaching them to listen.
Am a parent now and have been paid back 10-fold for those judgmental thoughts with a very rambunctious little boy who looks right at you with the sweetest little smile while he ignores you before running away like a squirrel on crack. We have a harness for him now.
- cornland
Yep, I see many kids that SHOULD be on a leash. And of course some parents that need to put effort in. Or both.
Our first was a handful. I was trying to keep one hand on him in the pharmacy while getting to the counter. The lady behind the checkout laughed and said "you need a leash for that one!"
I put a harness on the counter, gave a deadpan stare and said "that's what I'm here for."
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
A Redditor asked:
"What tattoo is a red flag?"
Names Are For Relatives Only!
"Your girlfriend’s name tattooed after only 4 weeks of the relationship."
~ ClickWorthy69420
"My younger sister got 'Mrs *boyfriend’s name*' tattooed on her wrist when she was 16 or 17. I think she made a fake birth certificate to get it."
"The boyfriend later broke up with her when she was in rehab."
~ ElderCunningham
"Hooked up with a guy who had his own name tattooed on his ribs.
"His own full name. He ended up being a psychopath."
~ not_a_milk_drinker
"I've met 3 dudes so far that have their last names tatted on them."
"Two were in the exact same Gothic font (I met them years and thousands of miles apart). One had est.[birth year] underneath it..."
"Both were huge too, one across the chest, the other across his back. Both dudes were massive tools."
"The 3rd guy had it small on his bicep and doesn't like it anymore."
~ SceretAznMan
Red Flag, Literally
"My ex husband literally got a red flag tattooed on his wrist."
"I had no idea he did it until I saw it one day. I asked why he got it and he said it was a 'reminder' to himself to not make impulsive, rash decisions."
"He filed for divorce and moved in with his mistress two months later."
"The red flag tattoo was apt as f'k, apparently."
~ allworkandnoYahtzee
GiphySuperiority Complex?
"My daughter's ex had:"
"A ring of thorns on his forehead, like he was trying to look like Jesus"
"A 'not Nazi eagle' that looked exactly like a Nazi eagle on his abdomen"
~ gareewong
Sealed With A 💋
"lipstick kiss on the neck"
~ FunklerLing
"My old neighbor had this. One night SWAT showed up..."
~ AverageSoggaEnjoyer
"My buddy had this too, he went to prison for [drug] related crimes."
~ novicemma2
"My old coworker had this too, he got fired for getting high in the freezer."
~ Eggsor
"Also had a coworker of this ilk, proudly showed videos of him shooting a teddy bear on his couch. In his apartment. Just a grade A bozo."
~ theAlphabetZebra
"I’m sensing a theme here."
~ AzathothBlindgod
GiphyCell Block Special
"I saw a woman at a water park with her toddler."
"She had a tattoo that said 'Trust no b*tches, love no hoes'."
"In my bones, I feel there is no way you could have that tattoo if you haven’t been to prison at least once."
~ MissElphie
Rule 34
"Chester Cheetah having sex with a Smurf."
~ Goldeneel77
"But which Smurf?"
~ Grouchy-Change-1219
GiphyProbably Not a Tribute to Her Father
"I met a lady with a 'Daddy' tattoo on her forehead. My gut told me right away that she was trouble."
"She went on a camping trip with us and mixed alcohol and drugs and went into an abusive rage."
"We ended up having to have the sheriff escort her out of our camp. Total sh*tshow."
~ margos2cents
It's All About Location, Location, Location
"I mean, come on, if the first warning sign about a forehead tattoo isn't that it's a FOREHEAD TATTOO, there's bigger issues at play here."
~ Buckus93
"Especially if it literally says 'POOR IMPULSE CONTROL'."
~ foxbones
Take a Bow 🎀
"I’ve never met a girl I liked with bows tattooed on the back of her thighs."
~ hatsnatcher23
Anti-Heroes, We Hope
"Tattoos of very questionable people….like Eichmann or Jeffrey Dahmer."
~ GamerGirl-07
"Or a giant back tattoo of Richard Nixon."
~ CataclysmicConverter
"That's oddly specific."
~ Even_Dark7612
"They're referring to Roger Stone, who, in fact, has a giant back tattoo of Richard Nixon."
~ The-Beer-Baron
Richard Nixon GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphyWhy Not a Brand?
"When a girl has a 'Property of (guy's name)'."
~ Redditor
Adult Swim
"I know a dude that has an odd assortment of Adult Swim characters tattooed on their back, mostly from Aqua Teen."
"They're bad in general, but the worst part is that they're just kinda placed randomly, not in a cohesive group or anything."
"Similar to how you might expect a kid to place stickers on their bedroom door because they weren't sure where else to put them."
~ LolYouFkingLoser
aqua teen hunger force GIFGiphyDad Jokes
"No ragrets."
~ NostradaMart
"That joke is so old, Jesus told it at the Last Supper."
~ Redditor
Red Flag, Literally—Part 2
"A Chinese flag tattoo is definitely a red flag."
~ Shiny_Whisper_321
"A Swiss flag is also a big plus."
~ Bragior
"An Austrian flag is a minus though."
~ Alarming_Basil6205
"A German flag is a big… um… three colored stripes?"
"This is hard...."
~ Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Flowing China GIFGiphyArt—including body art—is subjective.
But before you get that ink, you might want to make sure it sends the message you want.
