Even the most goodhearted people have something dark lurking inside of them. We're only a hairs trigger away from completely losing it most of the time, based on the kind of day or week or year we've had. While it's possible to keep it under control most of the time, it's only a matter of what sets us off, pulling the trigger, and causing the worst of us to arise.
Reddit user, u/666F-CkThEwOrLd666, wanted to shine a light on humanity's darkest traits when they asked:
What brings the worst out in people?
Nice To Keep In Mind
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I always liked the HALT rule.
If you're feeling Hungry, Angry, Late or Tired then it's likely things you say or do will come off worse than you intend.
Splitting Up Is Hard To Do
Divorce proceedings. Especially with kids involved.
It can turn a couple of average people into monsters.
ye but two christmases
Coming from someone who had their parents divorce at 10 I beg to differ on this. Spend the bulk of the day on the road with various people upset that you're not where they think you should be.
Seconds Of Your Life You'll Never Get Back
When you were told to wait 20 minutes and it's now been 21 minutes and you are still waiting
When You Feel Like You Have No Other Options
Desperation
Absolutely this. Especially these days when people are stressed to f-ck and losing their income. Causes people to take drastic measures they wouldn't normally even consider.
The Power Of The Wheel
Traffic
A person who is cut off while driving: "F u!!!"
That same person who is cut off while walking: "Oop! Sorry! After you!"
The Day Needs To Be Perfect
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Weddings.
My father is a minister. He says he would rather help with a funeral over a wedding any day. Weddings leave people with a sense of extreme desperation to achieve perfection.
The worst is when the expectation for perfection is from the mother of the bride and not the engaged couple. Nothing worse than two kids trying to have a nice day and momzilla just f-cking decimates it because she can't stand not being the center of attention for one moment.
Take A Breath, Relax Your Shoulders, Calm Down
Stress.
Most of us are capable of being decent human beings who make a positive contribution to society. You add stress into the mix and people start to crack.
Financial stress, relationship stress, work stress, it doesn't matter. When our focus is pulled into simply surviving and staying afloat, our ability to empathize or provide support to others greatly diminishes.
I think this is tied in with the low morale we are all experiencing right now...we're all unbelievably stressed. I've seen some of the nicest people completely snap and act shockingly because they just can't take the pressure anymore.
Hell, they don't even have to be dead. When my great grandmother moved from her apartment to a nursing home some of her children and grandkids "helped" her pack up her apartment, by which I mean it was a full on feeding frenzy of theft. She was a 87 year old woman who had been widowed for about 50 years at that point so she certainly wasn't wealthy, but some of those people would have ripped down the wallpaper if they thought they could have sold it.
Passing On To Our Bank Account
When a loved one dies. People get really, really weird in a bad way about money and stuff. I know a bunch of people who had relatives who flat out stole money and valuables after the death of a family member. It's crazy. My own family has a permanent rift because when my grandmother died, two of the five siblings cleaned out her accounts.
Leftovers From Pain
Unprocessed trauma from childhood. As someone that is struggling with mental health, I'm only now beginning to understand why I do a lot of what I do. When our needs for love and acceptance aren't met, we seek out soothing behaviors that numb the pain.
It's really easy to end up in midlife with no real idea what it means to be happy and feeling no connection to others. As you begin to work on your issues, you find that the soothing behaviors are no longer as soothing because you know why you're doing it. So, you're stuck with the emptiness that you've always felt and no way to get out of the feeling.
The True Heart Of Darkness
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The word "free" in a retail or restaurant type of setting. People will trample one another, take ALL of the items so there aren't any for others, gorge themselves, try to sneak food out with them. It's disgusting.
I was going to say that.
The first manager who comped product due to poor service really screwed it up for everyone. Now I have to listen to someone who wants something for free because the box has a dent in it.
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Sometimes the things that come out of peoples' mouths are truly astounding. It makes you wonder, where did things go wrong? Why are they like this? As Forrest Gump once said, “stupid is as stupid does".
Here are a few of the most jaw-dropping lay stupid things that have been said by actual human beings. Not aliens trying to figure out how humans communicate--ACTUAL human beings. Thanks, Reddit.
U/cperr310 asked: What's the dumbest thing you or someone you know has said?
First up, what better people to hear ridiculous claims from than children? Here are some people that even teachers couldn’t help.
Well, that’s awkward.
I was in 5th grade like 20 years ago, and I am a male which is important later. My school changed an extra girls locker room into a computer lab. When my class got to go check it out, I say "wow, it looks so different!".
Everyone looks at me like I'm a creep. What I meant to say was "wow it looks so different that the boys locker room!" I still think about this when trying to fall asleep more often than I'm comfortable with.
....no. No it’s not.
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In my Spanish class where they were talking about Spanish countries
"What about Syria...isn't Syria Spanish?"
Worst part... NOBODY called her out on it to the point I was questioning myself. The professor had good English but it wasn't her first language and she dodged her question saying she's only going over countries in south america. I had to literally write myself a note that she literally asked that question. Then I got paired up with her like 10 minutes later for a group activity and I still wasn't over this question lol
Fake but also real but also demonic?
A kid in high school tried to convince me that men had an extra rib and that the earth is only a few thousand years old. Same kid said that ouija boards were full of magnets and gears which made them fake, yet they were simultaneously completely real and needed to be burned on sight to prevent demonic possession.
But sometimes it’s the parents of children who say the dumb stuff.
Back in 2014 I still vividly remember we were eating dinner, and my brother is chewing with his mouth open while my sister is talking. My dad, still thinking about her talking but talking to my brother said "Talk with your mouth closed." and my sister just went silent immediately.
Stupid can turn into ignorant really quickly. Here are a few examples of the not-so-harmless kind of dumb statements.
Fun fact: they don’t use the US Constitution in New Zealand. Who knew?
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After the church shooting in New Zealand, they banned guns. My coworker said that they can't do that since it violates the second amendment. We live in California.
Everyone knows New Zealand is the state below New Canada.
Uhhhhh that’s racist af.
Not to me but my husband.
He had to take an uber home from the Naval Base in San Diego (car was getting fixed) and the guy who picked my husband up was from Pakistan and they had small talk, telling him how he moved over here etc, dude was pretty cool.
My dumbass half sister whom we were staying with for a bit told him straight to his face, "Oh since you're military he probably wanted to like... murder you."
...What a f*cking ignorant, racist thing to say.
Just gonna leave this one here....
"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside, because you see it gets in the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that out."
Well that’s a new one.
A trans friend got "You're registered as a man here, so I need to hear a male voice to complete the verification of your acount."
Not the first time the cable company pulled this 'female' account 'female' voice / 'male' account 'male' voice crap. But that one time was on a whole other level.
But most of the time, dumb statements are harmless, and make for a good story down the line.
I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face either.
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A few questions I've heard come to mind, I'm not sure which is the best/worst.
A few years ago my mom, in her 60s at the time, asked me if chipmunks grow up to be squirrels. Have you ever tried to keep a straight face while explaining to the grown-ass woman who was responsible for keeping you alive for ~18 years that chipmunks and squirrels are different animals?
In high school during a Spanish class as student asked "Do Spanish-speaking people think in Spanish?" After being told yes, her follow-up question was "Are they born speaking Spanish?" The teacher kept a straight face explaining that foreign language speakers learn their language the same as the student learned English, but there were a lot of other students laughing and brutally mocking her.
Ah yes, the two types of guitars.
Dumbest thing I ever asked was, "do you prefer playing electric or air guitar?" I really meant to say acoustic, like my dad's.
Air guitar. I don't know how to play the acoustic or electric guitars, but I never get a wrong note on the air guitar.
Did you change your birthday?
At the bank.
Teller: Is your phone number still 123-4567?
Me: Yes
T: Is your address still 123 Easy st?
M: Yes
T: Is your birthday still 01/01/2000?
M: laughing I sure as hell hope so
I can't even make fun of these. One time I asked my husband where the Newport Ferry sailed to.
Newport, obviously.
I think we all have slip-ups in our brains sometimes. It's part of being human, and hey, they stay alive as inside jokes for generations to come