People Break Down The Dumbest Things They've Ever Been Called 'Gay' For Doing
Reddit user Spagoobli0 asked: 'What is the dumbest thing people called you gay for?'
One of the lamest ways to insult someone is by describing their behavior as being gay.
The attempt at emasculating a perceived straight heterosexual male by comparing his actions to something that a homosexual male might do is a common form of mockery by alpha males.
Examples include mocking a guy who gets manicures, wears pink, or sits with his legs crossed. "Gay, gay gay," says the immature antagonizer.
Typically, the ribbing occurs between friends and is not prompted by verbal attacks.
Still, this casual form of bullying can be tiresome and only perpetuates misconceptions and stereotypes that can be harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.
Strangers online shared their experiences being targeted when Redditor Spagoobli0 asked:
"What is the dumbest thing people called you gay for?"
Apparently, maintaining good hygiene is so gay.
Being Clean
"i was called gay for showering daily."
– ilive4manass
"with other men?"
– intheken
Scrubbing The Backside
"I was told it was gay to wash my a**. The guy was recently evicted for defecating on his own floor for 6 months and not paying taxes."
– my-recent-throwaway
Pro-Tip
"In boot camp we shower with other dudes. I had someone call me gay in the shower for washing my a**. As if the only reason for washing my a** is to make it presentable for someone else. Nah, dude, I just don’t want skid marks in the tighty whities they make us wear."
"It’s not even like I was doing it weird. Like if I was bent over spreading my cheeks so everyone could see my brown eye, that would be one thing. But I literally just took a handful of suds and ran it down the crack a couple times because, pro tip to my fellow dudes; the water running down your back is not enough to clean the part of you that poop comes out of."
– Morningxafter
Lotion Up
"I once had a friend of mine stop by before we were going to meet some people for brunch. I had just taken a shower and gotten dressed when he walked in the front door (I always had a just walk in policy, suburban life). I have pretty dry skin so I was putting on a bit of moisturizing lotion. First words out of his mouth were 'moisturizing? That’s pretty gay isn’t it?' I said 'If feeling like I don’t want to scrape my skin off is gay, whip out the d*cks!'”
– bg-j38
Keeping up with appearances is hard enough.
The Damaging Effects
"'Gay' was the first 'dis' I ever heard, I had no idea what it meant for like a year. I just knew it was the worst thing to be. My whole generation struggled with that and I really feel for the people who had to come out to friends and family when I was young, it must have been really tough. I came out as bi about 6 or 7 years ago and that was pretty brutal, and the only reason I came out was because something happened that made it clear I was. Tbh it was f'king humiliating and awful at the time, it really f'ked with my head and my self worth. I am totally, 100% ok with it now, in fact I'm kind of proud I have the balls to tell people I'm bi now. It's become who I am and I'm ok with it.
"Just to be clear I've never had an issue with anybody being gay, at all. It's just for me it was a really difficult thing to deal with. Extremely personal. A lifetime of unconsciously being told gay was 'bad' has an effect on me, I wish it didn't but the truth is it did. I have mad respect for all openly gay and trans people."
– NitroD*ckclapp
Revealing Color Choice
"Had a guy genuinely ask if I was gay because I was wearing a red pair of Vans."
– LemonMan589
"Maybe he was cruising."
– InverseRatio
List Of Indicators
"I was a child in the 80s. Calling people gay was standard derogatory talk for checks notes literally everything. Bad play in sport, choice of clothes, hobby, etc."
– f_ranz1224
The Hopscotcher
"I was called gay for about 6 months in middle school for jumping down a hopscotch thing as I walked past it after lunch."
– Sado_Hedonist
What happens in the bedroom...
Going Down
"Like giving oral sex to my wife. Will never understand that."
– Beenthere-doneit55
"Fellas, is it gay to go down on a woman?"
– raveturned
"I view it selfishly. It combines the two two things I love the most, eating and having sex. If that makes me gay, so be it."
– Beenthere–doneit55
Flawed Logic
"They think if you'll do down on your wife you'll go down on a guy?"
"How would the two even translate??"
– WillieOverall
Even before I came out to my friends as gay, being called anti-gay slurs–even in jest–only suppressed my inclination to want to share my truth.
One of the things I've been mocked for during high school pre-coming out was my love for Disney.
The girls had no problem sharing my passion, but the jocks made fun of me for wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt to school, saying I was a "sissy boy" for liking Disney and that only "f*ggots" liked Disney.
Now, I know plenty of demographics–gay and straight, all ethnicities–that universally appreciate Disney. But I have to say, good on them for being accurate in knowing who I was before I did: a proud f*ggot who loves Disney.
Why are we still putting up with societal and cultural BS?
Seems like society has backslid into allowing behavior we proved was unacceptable.
I guess the learning was only temporary due to the pandemic.
We make excuses for the worst people.
Call out bad behavior.
It's the only way we'll grow.
A deleted Redditor wanted to have a discussion about what we as a society need to eradicate, so they asked:
"What toxic behavior does society still make excuses for?"
Being rude to waiters, because I'm 'just demanding.'"
If you are... you're evil.
Doctor's Note
Sick Season 4 GIF by FriendsGiphy"Looks like we are quickly returning to the 'go to work even when you’re sick' way of thinking."
tickingkitty
Gimme Space
"That Family is allowed to not respect boundaries. It's something I see a lot and often trying to set healthy boundaries with them makes them treat you like the bad guy. And media and society tends to promote this behavior as love, when it's often actually dysfunction."
"There's a difference between being close and taking care of your loved ones and being expected to give up reasonable rights to personal space or to self sacrifice for them."
thrashmetaldinosaur
Not so Bad
"White collar crime. And it often appears that the more money involved in the crime and/or fraud, the less likely commensurate repercussions will be brought. The consequences of big money financial fraud are widespread and significant. It ruins many lives and often leads to the death of innocents."
NoHedgehog1650
To the Bone
Working Out Of Office GIF by This GIF Is HauntedGiphy"Overworking and lack of sleep."
sesameball
"Plus missing meals to work more."
The_Hot_Stepper
Work. Work. Work. All the way to death. Welcome back to the office kids.
Hot/Crazy
Christian Bale Oooo GIFGiphy"The 'cute but psycho'; mentality. It’s not cute to be toxic or treat people like crap because you think it’s 'cute' or acceptable because of your attractiveness."
lemonlady7
Bandwagon fallacy
"That if you agree with a majority of people, you are correct."
saltysaltedsal
"Not even the majority of people. If you can find people who share the same belief as you, it makes that belief even stronger. The internet has exasperated this problem."
"It use to be if you were into a niche taboo or out there conspiracy theory, you were pretty isolated. Now there are thousands of others who share the same thing connected from all over the world, so it’s no longer weird. In fact, it’s normal and everyone else is wrong. And they now have a thousand other people who will back them up on that!"
tie-dyed_dolphin
Calm Down
"Hustle Culture. You don’t need/have to monetise every moment of your private life to make more money - you don’t need a side gig or to start your own business or to turn your hobby into a job to be happy."
"It’s actually really scary that so many people get drawn into this way of living and don’t realise they’re literally missing the living part of their lives."
Action-a-go-go-baby
"Not to mention, turning it into a job can destroy it as a passion. I’ve talked to so many artists who, once they turned that hobby into a job, couldn’t even enjoy it anymore cause it felt like they were always working, even if they were just at home late at night doodling for fun."
Propain98
No Susan...
"Mistaking partner's possessiveness for love/caring."
SailorLuna41518181
"Sooo true many girls of my age think that he is possessive of me because he cares about me. No Susan he isn't possessive because he loves you he is possessive because he sees you as an object solely accessible/unique to him."
No-Possible4124
Misdemeanors
Check This Out Saturday Night Live GIFGiphy"Filming someone making a mistake (not crimes) and posting them on the Internet, without censoring their names and/or faces, for them to be judged and humiliated."
NoUsername817226
Snoops
"This weird culture where couples go behind each others backs and snoop through their phones is really weird to me. Especially when they get mad for not finding anything. Or when asked to see their phone they get defensive. Its very childish imo, especially when it's 30+ year olds doing it."
woahts
Production Abuse
"How corporate America looks down on pregnant workers and having kids. All they see is decreased productivity instead of treating new parents or parents-to-be as humans. I know we’ve gotten better, but it’s still bad out there for a lot of people."
ryoon21
As usual, society falls backwards.
Even in our progressive society, there are still far too many people with antiquated, mostly ludicrous, opinions of what it is to be a woman.
These are primarily from men in powerful positions.
However, some women also tend to look down on those who believe they are giving their gender a bad name.
This ignorant behavior is most commonly known as "toxic femininity".
"What are examples of toxic femininity?"
Caring About Your Image More Than Other People
"Girls who only support other girls when it’s convenient for their image."- flowerchild_3
Worry About Your Own Children, Not Other Moms
"Moms bullying other moms."- LollipopDreamscape
Men Are Parents Too...
"Dad of a 5 year old girl here."
"When my daughter was a couple of months old my wife discovered a nearby play group and was planning on taking her there for a session."
"I decided to take her myself as it landed on one of my days off and I wanted to spend some real time with my little girl and my wife deserved a break."
"The play group is taking place in a large community hall and there's quite a few people there with kids ranging from newborns to around 4 or 5."
"However I quickly noticed that out of about 30ish parents I'm the only man there and everyone stares at me."
"I think nothing of it and proceed to the soft play section for the babies to play with my daughter."
"Not 10 minutes pass however and I notice mums and even nans pretending not to stare at me and talk under their breath."
"At first I thought I was being paranoid because I was nervous being the only dude there but then I noticed it was several groups doing it.'
'I then overheard one of the mums in the baby section with us say to her friend/sister/who cares that I must be dodgy or on the offenders register."
'Yes."
"THAT register.'
"All because I happened to be the only dad there.'
"I picked my daughter up, told the women where she could stuff her opinions and promptly left."
'I told my wife what had happened and then she went back by herself and had a somewhat heated exchange with the organisers."
"Sometimes I think I married a dragon because she returned with a face so red with rage you'd think she just breathed fire."
"Play group mums can be sexist as hell."- LostMercenary99
Never Pass Judgement Without Knowing The Details
"Mothers shaming C-Section moms saying they didn’t give birth because the child was surgically removed."- Sufficient-Voice-210
"My wife could not produce enough milk for our children."
"When our first was born she tried and tried."
"I woke up in the middle of the night to her crying."
"She felt like she was a horrible mom to even bring up formula."
"There is so much pressure on moms, and it is incredibly stupid."
"Our kids are very well adjusted and were on formula the entire time.'
"I tell anyone who is expecting their first that the only 'right' way is the 'right way for that child'.”
"Damn everyone else’s opinions; do what is best for your family; not the mommy bloggers."
"My oldest is 10 years old and my wife is at peace with it; she worked through her guilt, which I totally agree she should not have any guilt: she is an excellent mother."
"The statistics on breastfed vs. bottle fed have other correlations which I don’t want to take the time to defend, anyone can read the studies, but adding other factors like home life and atomic households, the delta between the two are not as big as the breastfeeding fanatics point out."
"Lastly, anecdotally and take this as a a claim from a dad.'
"My kids are healthy and hyper-intelligent."
"My oldest has been consistently tested through school as top 2% composite intelligence, and she is thriving in advanced classes."
"I say this because there are people who say that IQ is impacted by breastfeeding."
"It just isn’t true, my children thrive, they are healthy and they know they are loved."- Lokitusaborg
If You Can't Take The Heat...
"Being verbally abusive and then playing victim the second the other person argues back or raises their voice."- No-Bumblebee4615
A "Real Woman" Would Probably Never Say This...
"Pulling the 'if you're a real man' card whenever they need something."- Reddit
Not Everyone Is Meant To Be A Parent
"Mothers telling women without kids that their life is meaningless and they can’t understand true love."- DontShowMomMemes
No Man Is Worth The Trouble
"Women who throw other women under the bus for a man, or the attention of a man etc."- KekeSmall
Happily Ever After Has Many Different Meanings
"That single women should be sad."- hallelujasuzanne
Being Self-Serving Ultimately Serves No One
"Women that only want traditional values when it benefits them."- SnooCakes653
Just because someone, no matter their gender, lives their life differently than you do doesn't mean they are deserving of your judgment.
Especially if they are happy with the life they are living, and aren't bringing harm to anyone else.
Anyone believing others aren't fitting their expectations of what it is to be a "real woman" or a "real man" might want to stop and re-examine their standards.
Bullying seems to be a concept that has always been around. It comes in all forms, and in varying degrees.
Sometimes, the bullying can be mild and temporary. That doesn't make it okay, but it does make the bullying easier to deal with.
Other times, the bullying is harsh, and can even go too far. Sometimes, that can mean relentless teasing. Othertimes, it can mean that a bully took their torment to a new level, even proceeding into physical violence.
Whatever the case, when bullying goes too far, it sticks with you. Sometimes, you get revenge. Other times, you just deal with it until you can find a solution. Whichever method you choose, you will never forget it.
Curious about how far is too far, Redditor tylerboyzzz asked:
"People of Reddit, when did the bully go to far?"
Deserved Retaliation
"One of my friends had been getting bullied for crying after her mother's death. One day I got sick of it and shoved his head into a door. I know violence shouldn't be used in some situations but I felt like this needed it. He never bullied my friend again and I only got 1 detention."
– NonuMac
"Kids are so dumb, making fun of someone for losing their mom is the stupidest thing ever, good on you."
–TundraTrees0
Possession
"This guy bullied me for years, relentlessly. He saw another guy bullying me one day and lost his mind and beat the guy half to death. It was f**ked up. Not even that he beat the guy, whatever there, but in this ultra weird like "staking his claim" kinda way. Like I was his to bully and no one else. It literally made me fear for my life a bit. I got a restraining order."
– KingGuy420
Protective Brother
"7th grade."
"He took a thick piece of metal wrapped it with electrical tape and hit my friend in the head. He had to get stitches but wouldn’t say out of fear who did it."
"I ratted him out. A day later he jumped me as two of his friends held my arms. Then he stole my bike."
"My mom went to talk to his dad who was drunk and hit on her so she left frustrated."
"A few days later he tried to jump me again while on my bike when I was at the ice cream truck but my older (in high school) brother saw it."
"He literally jumped down three flights of stairs from the 3rd fl of our apartment complex and literally grabbed the back seat of the bike and picked it up as he tried to pedal away. He was freaking out screaming."
– catheterhero
Bullying The Teachers
"My class was terrible. On multiple occasions they had managed to make teachers leave the classroom in tears. For the record; I never participated, I was bullied too in this class."
"One of the worst days; they were really taking it out on this nerdy teacher. Like, this was definitely the worst and the most direct insults they had ever given to a person and he broke surprisingly quick. It turned out that the day before he was diagnosed with testicular cancer..."
– Th3_Accountant
Bullied BY The Teacher
"Bullied by a teacher. I grew up in the 1980's and there was something wrong with my digestive system that doctors here didn't understand at the time. Parents and friends were aware that sometimes I needed a toilet without much warning for either vomit or poo. I could easily dose off sometimes and always had a crampy tummy."
"First week of high school, I needed to go, now. I asked the teacher if I could be excused. She said I was old enough to be able to hold it in. I tried to explain that I needed to go. She was all boo-hoo, the baby needs a nappy, the baby needs burping. Some friends tried to explain to the teacher that if I had to go, I had to go. Teacher said no. I couldn't hold anything in any more and made for the door, the teacher shouted something and I passed out, vomited and sh*t myself."
"From what I remember, dad had the teacher fired. School policy was changed so that if a kid needed a loo break, they got it. Ironically there was an increase of tp related thefts and bathroom vandalism."
"I spent a week in hospital being prodded and poked, and we found out what was wrong."
"I went back to school, some kids pointed and laughed at the kid who sh*t herself in maths but they were quickly silenced by my friends and some kids who I didn't even know."
– ThePhoenixBird2022
Heartbreak
"I had a huge crush on one of the "cool" kids, who was actually a really nice, down to earth guy who was always nice to me. We even played Magic: The Gathering together a few times."
"I overheard my bully tell my crush he was planning to wait until the last day of school and "f- me up real good." Crush grabbed him by the throat and said "Don't you dare touch her!" so of course, the bully had to do something."
"He stole part of my crush's cherished favorite deck and left it in my backpack with a really sweet (fake) note. Then he told my crush he'd seen me steal the cards. His plan worked perfectly, I was looking through the cards when crush walked over. The look of hurt and then anger on his face is still burned into my memory. I gave the cards back, apologized, and tried to defend myself, but he never forgave me and we never spoke again."
– z0mbiegrl
You Showed Her!
"She bullied me for how I looked, would underhandedly called me ugly, and was the root of all my insecurities...A year later I won a major beauty pageant and she blocked me on IG"
"still kinda insecure cuz of her though"
– Careful_Pickle555
That's Catnapping!
"I befriended the problem girl in high school. Thought she just needed a friend. Anyway, she turned on me for whatever reason. Broke into my house while I was away on vacation and stole my cat and every item of clothing I owned. She ended up donating most of my clothes to goodwill, but the stuff she liked she wore to school. I called her out on it. That same day the principal pulled me out of class and said I “need to stop bullying X.” Anyway, she never did get in trouble but I did get my cat back after a few weeks."
– operasinger22
Yes, He Did Fall
"6th grade. He sat behind me in study hall. He, an 8th grader, had been picking on me since the beginning of the year. I told my parents and my dad said next time he messes with me just stand up for myself."
"Next day he flips my ear really hard. I turn around and tell him don’t ever touch me again. I turn back around and then I feel something getting put into my ear. It was a pencil. I jumped up, grabbed my thick as hell math book, and hit him directly in the face. It ended up knocking four of his teeth out and broke his nose."
"The teacher was the gym teacher, who was also an assistant coach on my baseball team. He came over and said with great surprise…..what happened did he fall out of his desk? Needless to say he never messed with me again."
– Kilroy27
Bigger Doesn't Meant Better
"TLDR: Jumping me with two of his friends. I ended up punching the ring leader in the throat."
"I was bullied all throughout school. Inherently easy target, quiet kid with temperament issues. It all boiled to a head when three dudes jumped me in the gym locker room. I came to school the next day covered in welts not wanting to be there, but hell I had all AP courses if I missed one day I missed 5 units of material. Bully was still running his mouth. Get to gym class I see him and I do what any slightly deranged battered person running on zero sleep and a pot of coffee would do. I punched the poor bastard in the throat for it. I had a ten minute rant on how much of a cockhead you have to be in order to be twice my size and still need to bring friends in order to jump me. He never bothered me after that."
– AngelsOfWar01
Keep Them Apart
"This was an incident that occurred back in the eighties that actually made the news and caused a major shift in educating disabled people. Some bean-counting asshole thought it was a great idea to save money by putting juvenile offenders and disabled kids under the same roof for education. That was until a repeat violent offender decided to shove a kid in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs for no other reason than shits'n'giggles. This caused an outrage that disabled children should not have to share a facility with violent offenders and they separated the two. But you always have to keep an eye on the latest government because they'll stick them back together in a heartbeat if they could do it without it making the news."
– CatboyInAMaidOutfit
I'm The Big One Now
"In Elementary School I was always bullied by this one kid, younger me was very naive and passive so I didn't do anything about it. After a while I got sick of it and started working out and taking boxing classes. One day he picked me up by my collar and dropped me in a garbage bin, I got pissed, crawled out of the bin and kicked his ass. His buddies tackled me and then I got suspended, and the bully got away with a slap on the wrist, welcome to the American education system. Anyway, I continued to work out and now I'm in High School, the bully is this scrawny boy who avoids me at all costs, I can't believe I once got bullied by him."
– _xXBeesechurgerXx_
You Reap What You Sow
"Kid wouldn't stop calling me names and spitting on me on the bus when I was 8, so I filled a straw with Tabasco sauce from MRE packs that my dad had got on the bus the next day and he spit on me so i slapped his glasses off, pulled out the straw and spat it all in his eyes. Never saw him again on the bus"
– fqtsplatter
Such Awful Kids
"I've posted this before on similar questions, but I still remember it so vividly. I had a group of about four or five bullies in elementary school who got their kicks by messing with me in the classes we had together. They definitely targeted me because I'm disabled and believed I wouldn't fight back. They'd hide my stuff in the classrooms, take my walker that I had at the time, and throw things at me when teachers weren't looking. I'd know it was them because they'd laugh while or directly after doing it. The final straw came while we were doing a test in English class. I had been pushing back against them in recent days, and I guess they thought I'd give up eventually. They were wrong."
"Anyway, during the test, all of them started throwing chunks of rubber erasers at me, giggling after each volley. I kept telling them to cut it out as best I could, but they'd just start again. Finally, near the time I was almost done with my test, a final volley from the leader of the bullies made me lose it. Now, I also had an unlockable brace on my left leg due to a surgery that I locked when walking and unlocked when sitting so my leg could move. I angrily locked my brace, stood up, and started going around the desks towards the bully leader, yelling that I was going to kill him. Only then did the teacher look up and realize something was happening and got up to stop me before I could throw a punch. It was also the first time I had seen the bully scared. Coincidentally, an SRO (school resource officer) also happened to be walking by the classroom and also stepped into intervene. I told both the teacher and SRO what had been happening while I cried and they warned the bullies against doing it again. Nothing more came of the incident. The bullies started their torment again a few days later, but less often so as to not set me off. Some of the worst years of my life."
– Forestfur147
Want For Nothing
"walking past me"
""you want some soap?""
""nah""
"slaps handful of soap on the back of my head"
– Random_Dragon100
Sounds Torturous
"she dumped my entire desk out in the corner of the class room then had everyone tell me i didn’t deserve anything i earned and i had to pick everything up while they circled around me"
– scyphozoakyphosis
Lucky Hit
"I used to get bullied from when I was 6-8 by this one kid who was much bigger than me."
"When we finished school for the day the teachers would stand us in a line outside of class, we'd then walk in a line to the school gate where our parents would be waiting."
"This was our 2nd day of a new school year and I got in line after class. I didn't even notice that I cut in front of him but he let me know pretty quickly."
"I just tried to ignore him out of fear. He kept pushing me and telling me "You're dead when we get outside""
"The fear and anger bubbled over, I swung around with what felt like the force of a fucking cannon and socked him in the nose. I have no idea how I generated that much force or how I hit him so accurately at 8 years old."
"After a brief silence his nose turned into a tap and he was COVERED in blood. He cried so hard it was insane!"
"My family all knew about it and when I got home my Dad shook my hand and congratulated me for standing up for myself."
"School took no action and he was out for a week with a broken nose. Needless to say the bullying stopped."
"Violence is rarely the answer but that day still makes me warm and fuzzy inside."
– BroAwayAccount91
"Maybe im being simple here, but: every time. Any form of bullying is always too far."
– dragon6layer
Yeah, that's probably true.
Bullying is wrong, but you will never be wrong for standing up for yourself.
People Share Their Craziest 'You've Become The Thing You Swore To Destroy' Experiences
Life's viewpoints can be so different when you're younger and you have your whole life ahead of you. You think you're fighting back against some tyrannical power bent on keeping your rebel heart in check. It's then, in those rage-filled glory years, you might think, "I'll never become like them. I'm going to keep sticking it to the man."
But years pass, and before you know it, you are "the man."
Reddit user, Zealousideal-Golf984, wanted to hear about the time when you became that which you vowed to destroy when they asked:
"What is your "You have become the very thing you swore to destroy" moment?"
Rhetorical Questions Abound
"I told my friend's kids they could have a toy if they didn't fight over it, and if they fought I would take it back, they agreed, then proceeded immediately fight over it when I turned around. Without any conscious input from my brain I span back and heard myself exclaim "What did I just say?!""
"And suddenly I was my mother."
– ttnl35
Coming Round Full Circle
"I teach at my old high school lol literally have coworkers that have sent me to the principal’s office before"
– Watchtwentytwo
It's Going To Rot Your Brain!
"Complaining to my son about him playing to much video games."
– skwolf522
Nothing Better Than Plans Getting Cancelled
"Growing up, my dad hated going out. When we went on church outings, we were always the first family to leave. He just wanted to stay in and read the paper or watch tv. I vowed to never be as boring as him when I got older."
"Now that I'm older, nothing makes me happier than when plans get cancelled and I can just chill at home, and not worry about the commute or how much money I'd have to spend going out. Even if it's something I'm looking forward to like a band I really wanna see, part of me still wants to not go because of how crappy the late night commute will be."
– YounomsayinMawfk
Where Do You Even Sit?
"My couch has no less than 8 decorative pillows on it. I am a monster."
– MargotFenring
"This is the worst one"
– lowtoiletsitter
It's In The Fine-Print Within The Fine-Print
"I make commercials for a living. I f-cking hate commercials to the core of my soul."
– JhymnMusic
"Ugh dude same."
"I got hired as an animator at an agency not too long ago, so I figured I'd be doing lots of fun and flashy animations. I don't mind making commercials so long as they've got interesting visuals, which is something I greatly enjoy doing."
"I've been making glorified powerpoints about Medicare ever since I got hired. I've frequently received feedback to literally "make it less fun". A project I made 2 years ago, a fun and flashy internal use video, is getting a new iteration that I'll be doing soon. The old version made setting up web pages and product descriptions look interesting."
"They said they didn't like it and to "have less fun" with it, so I plan on being spiteful and making it f-cking awful to sit through. The problem with that is that I know that's exactly what they want."
"I'm reminded of the Pixies from Fairly Odd Parents, and how Timmy and the gang are the exciting antithesis of the drab corporate culture the pixies represent. I didn't think I'd become one. Lord help me."
– Tokiw4
Karmic Payback Is Amplified In The Classroom
"I was in a computer class in high school and would drive the teachers nuts. I even had the other kids mocking the teachers by shouting out "on task!" whenever the teacher would start looking around to make sure we were working."
"I now teach a high school computer class. A student the other day stopped me before I could tell them to put their phone away and go back to work by saying "I know, I know, on task, on task".
"I was speechless and just left the student to return to my desk and rethink my life choices."
– majorscud
Stopping People From Having Fun
"When I setup the website blocker on the company network. I spent so much of my childhood trying to get around those blockers at school, and now I'm the one setting it up."
"Edit: Admittedly, I'm not so evil as to block things for being categorized as "tasteless" like my school did, it's really just porn and illegal things, but I still feel slimy for doing it."
"Edit 2: Also, so be clear, I don't work at a school. My company does however employ a lot of Salesmen, and they're basically children, so..."
– Nik_Tesla
Leaving The Grunt Work To Someone Else
"When I was an apprentice electrician it always pissed me off when my journeyman would make me do the hard manual parts of a job while he did the easier, but more technical work. I always swore that when I got my license and my first apprentice that I’d be different."
"That went out the window pretty quick."
– Anakin_Skywanker
We're products of those who raise us. We take in what they do, what they say, and how they act to become the people the outside world gets to interact with.
– It's critical we recognize this, for better or worse.
Seeing, Growing, Learning
"Sh-t, a looooong time ago (when I was 11 or so) I was walking across the school yard. My dad used to beat my butt when he was having a bad day and it really f-cked with me, so I was walking and just fuming, hating on him and how much of a tyrant he was for taking out his anger on me."
"Well, in that moment I bumped into a kid like 1/2 my size and he went to the ground. He hugged my legs (I think reflexively) and I just started pounding his face. I remember him crying, begging me to stop, the hatred, and then just a sudden moment of clarity. I realized I was a sh-tty person, that I was super mean, and that the kid I was hitting had done nothing wrong but was just a helpless target for my anger. I instantly flipped to empathizing for him, and saw myself for who I was. I can't describe the horror."
"I started crying and helping the boy up, we walked to the office together in tears and I ended up telling my principal everything. It was a long time ago, so they just decided to give me an in school suspension and not inform my parents."
"Also, that kid and I ended up exchanging SNES games and playing mtg/warhammer together a bunch in the following years. Andrew, dude, I can't apologize enough, and thank you so much for not leaving me in a hell of my own creation. Decades later and I still think about you, and how kind of a person you were, you changed a life, man."
"EDIT: Okay, just to clear up misconceptions and mass respond. This did not flip a switch and end my relationship with violence and anger. That took, well, up until today and then some. I still have anger that flares up and completely blinds me, but after decades, I'm not losing control or lashing out. Andrew wasn't one of the kids that I went after at school, I picked on kids that I thought were bullies, totally oblivious to the commonalities between me and them."
"I don't really have words for those of you that were bullied, or hurt while at school. Except that those of you that fantasize about beating up bullies now, as adults, need to find a better method for feeling empowered. You are literally just adult versions of playground bullies, we all had the kids that we thought were okay to victimize for some justification or another."
– IonlyusethrowawaysA
The Argument Will Never End
"My mom has always gaslighted me since an early age."
"Now when I'm in an argument with her, I find myself sometimes using the exact same argument tactics."
"So far this has only happened with her, but it's frightening, and it just happens now."
– YanZi101
Cheaters Never Prosper
"When I was im high school, I was not a very clever student and used to copy a lot. Got mad at the smart kids who never allowed me to copy from them. Fast forward a couple of years now ending college and I’ve gotten pretty good with good grades. The other day we were taking a test and I saw someone trying to copy my test, I realized that and I turned my page to the blank space so they couldn’t copy from me. I felt bad and realized that I became those kids I used to hate."
– Sebas-obando678
Nature vs Who You Are
"I used to be homophobic as a kid because of my surroundings and now I’m bisexual"
– tanukithot_
"You know, it's very sad to think about it actually but like many of my fellow queer people, younger me was somewhat transphobic (probably cause of how I grew up, internalised homo/transphobia)."
"Well have a wild guess: I'm pansexual and non-binary."
– professional-kiddo
Don't We All Eventually Become Shut Ins?
"Whenever my family had a get together, my mom would always stay home. I would pester her and say “it’ll only be a few hours, you should come!""
"Fast forward a few years and now I’m living on my own. I got invited to a family reunion with my entire family (40+ relatives) and I am trying to find every excuse possible not to go."
"And I thought she was the hermit…"
– theshartguy
May The Force Be With You
"My husband hates, hates, hates, hates (*hated) Disney adults. And I mean, I get it. I love Disney movies but don’t feel the need to obsess. Seeing him attend a Disney wedding with me and lose his mind at Star Wars galaxy’s edge was priceless. He had to eat his words and Disney themed wedding cake. Did I mention we had matching pride T-shirt’s for the park? -his idea >_<"
– EatTheRich69696969
That's Not A Good Reason!
"I told my sons “bc I said so” the other day, and nearly put myself in a time out for it"
– abdab909
We all have to grow up sometime.
Maybe don't worry so much about picking up that ice cream on the way home.