
Teachers Reveal What It's Like Working With a Professor All Students Detest
[rebelmouse-image 18360848 is_animated_gif=It's rare that we get a true look inside the inner workings of how teachers relate to each other during school hours. Don't you ever wonder how other teachers related to that teacher who made your sophomore year miserable?
Well, Redditor Reignbringer asked:
Here's a rare look inside.
Pre-Reqs
[rebelmouse-image 18346110 is_animated_gif=I'm no longer a teacher, but my students were very open about which teachers they hated. The hated teachers could be broken into two groups - (1) the excellent teachers with high standards who didn't tolerate any BS and (2) the clueless, narcissistic teachers with no standard or completely arbitrary standards. After a few years, the kids realized that the teachers in group 1 were the heroes all along. At absolute best, group 2 were good for laughs.
Retirement Life
[rebelmouse-image 18360849 is_animated_gif=One of my teachers in high school happened to be retiring the same year that we were graduating, the last class ever he closed the door and we reminisced. One kid asked him which teachers he hated, he went to lock the door and just went off like he had some list in his head of folks he hated. It was glorious.
Toxic Teachers' Lounge
[rebelmouse-image 18350998 is_animated_gif=About 85% of the time I find that I do not get along with the teachers that the students can't stand. Usually this is because they are quick to blame the kids for everything going wrong and they are unwilling to work/communicate with them. It stems from the old mentality "Teaching would be great if it weren't for the students!". Sorry, but if you got into this profession and you absolutely hate kids, I have zero sympathy for you. I've also found that those teachers will complain the most to any other colleagues who will listen about how terrible the students are. This is the main reason that I only go into the teacher's lounge once a week MAX.
Strict Vs. Awful
[rebelmouse-image 18359546 is_animated_gif=Some of my coworkers they hate because they're strict and don't put up with any BS. These teachers I like, and since I'm still a beginner, I often come to them for advice.
I have one coworker that is mutually hated by almost everyone. She's condescending. She power trips. She's nosy. She butts in to conversations. She tells obvious and meaningless lies. I don't let the kids know I can't stand her, but when they talk about her, I go mysteriously deaf.
A different coworker gave a writing assignment. No prompt, just required that they had to demonstrate all the techniques they covered that semester. One of the sweetest kids I've ever taught gave him a three page paper about how the hated teacher was an awful person. He got an A and became a legend in the teacher's lounge.
Closed Doors
[rebelmouse-image 18346427 is_animated_gif=There are a handful of teachers my students couldn't stand. When it was for no real reason I'd let them state their case then try to help them see the value in my co-workers approach. When it was for a very good reason I just made sure the door was closed then let them vent. I wasn't going to waste my credibility with my students sticking up for my racist, sexist, kid hating peers.
Good Apples
[rebelmouse-image 18360842 is_animated_gif=I think one of the unfair realizations you have AFTER being a kid is that it's not true that authority figures care and are even handed and fair. They are just people. Looking back on it, I have been blessed so many of my teachers were good, with only a few bad apples. A few of them have connected with us former students over Facebook and some of the gossip has been funny.
"Do I remember Mrs. Green? Oh, Peggy was the worst. We thought she'd die at any moment with all the cigarettes she smoked in the lounge, but she was too stubborn and mean to die. We felt bad for you kids but she had tenure and we just had to wait for her to retire. When she finally did, I only went to the party for the cake. Carol (Mrs. Walker) brought a hip flask with brandy and we all had our private toast to her finally leaving."
Amazon Life
[rebelmouse-image 18353507 is_animated_gif=I taught at an elementary school with another teacher who I thought was just absolute crap. Even her teaching partner said she spent whole days shopping online while the kids basically did very little. When students complained about her, I didn't say anything, but if parents complained about her, I subtly tried to validate their concerns.
Don't Abuse Your Kids
[rebelmouse-image 18351481 is_animated_gif=In high school my AP US History teacher told us all the time how much she hated us and her job. She would literally stand in front of the class, and whenever someone asked a question that she didnt know the answer to, she would say something along the lines of "All these smartass kids thinking they know more than their teacher is why I hate my job."
One day, there was a fight on the football field during her class (the classroom overlooked the field) and we all got out of our seats to look out the windows, because that type of stuff almost never happened. She started screaming at us to get back in our seats, and when noone moved, she quite literally walked out. She quit during the middle of a class. After she left, a lot of the teachers told us how much she sucked and how much they hated her. That was a weird schoolyear for sure.
Boy, Was My Face Red
[rebelmouse-image 18350104 is_animated_gif=We had a history teacher who was finishing out his last year teaching high school as he'd just been offered a position at a university and one day we were talking about teachers we didn't like- he goes on a rant about an English teacher and how she's such a c u next Tuesday (the only appropriate word to describe this woman). I raised my hand and explained my final with her the previous year was a 10 page report on the tomato... Being me, I talked about cultural uses of the tomato and then focused on ketchup in America and the Heinz- Kerry family and then politics. She failed me saying anything with ketchup and Heinz was unrelated. This dope teacher goes with me to the principal and explains what I'd told him and got my F final (bringing me from an A down to a C) revoked and I got an A in the class along with a promise of never having her again. My brothers had previously had her and she hated both of them.
Different Skill Set
[rebelmouse-image 18360850 is_animated_gif=Not exactly a teacher, but I generally dislike the ones that the kids dislike. You don't get kids to hate you for no good reason, generally. Everyone knows who that person is, and they're absolutely awful with other faculty as well.
They're out of touch with the kids, and think that since they home-schooled their middle-class children, they know how to teach underprivileged at-risk children. Dumb-ss.
Etude Of Hate
[rebelmouse-image 18360851 is_animated_gif=My students hated the music teacher. She was always nice to me, but I understand why they hated her. She was rude to them, yelled at them a lot, and was pretty disrespectful. It probably wasn't the most professional thing I have done, but I told my students that they don't have to like her, but they need to be respectful of her. That was the sad -ss pep talk we had once a week.
Teach
[rebelmouse-image 18346795 is_animated_gif=One thing I've noticed about teachers that students don't like (hate is a strong word) is that they're the teachers who always have to be right and can't admit when they've made a mistake or when a student has a different (and often better) idea than them.
Always A Reason
[rebelmouse-image 18360852 is_animated_gif=Most of the not-so-popular teachers at the school I teach at are not liked because they are impatient, rude, and not in touch with current educational trends/technology. These traits usually make them a poor teacher, and a horrible co-worker to deal with. It's impossible to be an effective teacher if you use the same information and technology you graduated with 10+ years ago. Educators have to be lifelong learners.
Teaching is tough. There is a middle ground that you have to assume that is between trying to be friends with the students, and being a complete hard-ass. It is extremely difficult to balance that for 180 days at a time.
I like to think that I am a more popular teacher, not because I am buddy-buddy with my students, but because I am extremely passionate about the content I teach, as well as education in general.
All that being said, there is usually a legitimate reason that students dislike a teacher. The same issues that make them a bad teacher usually permeate throughout everything they do, making them disliked by just about everyone.
They're Scary
[rebelmouse-image 18360853 is_animated_gif=It's not really "hate," but there's one teacher at my school who is feared by all the students. They always ask if they can leave my class a little early because "I have Mr. X next, and if you're late, he yells at you."
I find this guy a little brusque & bristly myself ... but honestly, I'm jealous of the power he has over the students, and sometimes I dream about being just as rough on them so they'll toe the line better in my class.
Adios Muchacho
[rebelmouse-image 18360856 is_animated_gif=I had this one teacher that always found it irritating and wrong when a kid did something independent. He seemed to have this mentality that he was the teacher, and that he should guide us through the school year. Problem was that he was a terrible teacher, and blamed everything on the students, including our worksheets that he lost. Thankfully, he's retiring, so no one will ever have to deal with his BS ever again.
Tutors Know It
[rebelmouse-image 18360858 is_animated_gif=I've worked at a tutoring center for 8 years, currently employed at a university as a graduate teaching assistant. I've worked with some really amazing individuals, some of which were loved by the students, hated by fellow teachers, and vice versa.
At the tutoring center, we had one employee who was an absolute monster towards the students. And us. It didn't help that she was bipolar, and would suddenly go from a sweet pea to a rotten carrot in a matter of moments. A student coughed too loudly? Student is asked to leave the room and parents called immediately. Student didn't do the homework correctly, 100% the way she wanted (ie. ONE cursive letter is wrong)? Student is verbally chastised in front of the room as well as in the front of the entire tutoring center. Talk about layers of mental and psychological abuse. Children and employees were driven to tears by her. Multiple times. Multiple. This individual was a monster, and she abused everyone. Even her son. And her husband.
All the tutors knew it. We told our boss. The boss did nothing. Employees quit. Boss did nothing. Families left the center. Boss made excuses. Employees banded together, nearly protesting. No avail.
This went on for years until this individual was asked to leave after a verbal altercation while we were open and assisting with kids.
Don't Cross A Line
[rebelmouse-image 18360859 is_animated_gif=My friend is a teacher, and she is fairly liked by her students. There is always the student that thinks she hates them because she won't give them an A on a paper that was not only copied and pasted from the internet, but five other kids used the exact same paper! Seriously, that kind of sh-t.
However, there are always a couple -ssholes. She has one teacher friend that is very religious and cannot help but judge kids by their race, how they dress, how they look, etc. He thinks he's Mr. Wonderful, but he is really very sad and lonely with a horrible life that I won't get into, so he seems to take it out on the students. He will demand a popular class that my wife or another teacher are teaching. The next year he will get it and everyone immediately drops the class, yet he says it is because the counsolor tells the kids not to take it. They just know better.
Also, there is the group of teachers that think they are one of the kids and try to get into the lives of the students. That is dangerous. One teacher thought it was fun to see kids at the bar he went to and rather than leave or report it to the bar, he partied with them. He thought the kids loved him. They did not respect him though.
He would miss weeks of work at a time due to drug use. When he finally burned his last bridge, he messaged all his students to back him up at the board meeting that decided his fate.
Not one kid showed up. Students are not your friends.
Silence In The Library
[rebelmouse-image 18360860 is_animated_gif=We all know who those teachers are, and we hate them too. When I was teaching our librarian was a grumpy dinosaur who loved yelling at kids. My students were all on the autism spectrum, and she yelled at a few of my shyer kids to the point that they were in tears. It was so awkward trying to comfort them without telling them what a b**** she was to yell at them in the first place. Sometimes I would let my students skip library altogether so they didn't have to put up with her verbal abuse.
Luckily, I had a few students with severe behavioral issues who had some epic meltdowns in her library. I like to hope they helped encourage her towards retirement.
Unprofessional
[rebelmouse-image 18357424 is_animated_gif=There's a teacher who's looking at retirement in the next few years - students regularly complain about this teacher. Apparently, the teacher does the following: 1. Sends students to get soda from the teacher lounge (no students are allowed there) 2. Gives zeroes for the day if the student has a prior appointment during the class - these appointments are often made by the school for the students 3. Blathers on about life, children, complaints (think grocery-store line stuff you don't really care about) 4. We are a deaf school. This teacher also will stop signing and continues to verbally speak - then get angry when the hard of hearing students manage to "fill in the blanks" for the more deaf ones.
I know that several students have gone and filed complaints, but thus far nothing seems to have been done. But like I said, this teacher is looking at retirement soon. I'm angry for my students. I always encourage them to file formal complaints against the teacher.
As for how the teacher is with other faculty: In a word, unprofessional. Gets angry at the drop of a hat, verbally abusive, rants about random stuff. Shows up late.
There's two teachers like this - one is (mostly) on time, but is newer. We're all just hoping these two go but I don't know what will happen. The second one is in the third year, and the last "probation" year with the school. Will that one be quietly refused a contract renewal? Don't know.
Prediction
[rebelmouse-image 18360861 is_animated_gif=As a former teacher and admin, I dealt with all sides of this. I would say you can see the kids POV. But depending on the kids complaining you can understand why they dislike that teacher. If you have a teacher all the kids dislike, chances are the other teachers and admin dislike them. If you have a teacher that only the s***head dislike, chances are they are a good teacher. And chances are other teachers like them because they know they are good. However if you get a teacher that the good kids dislike and the s***heads like, it is likely the other teachers dislike them and the admin dislikes them. The thing about teaching or working is that kids are very good judges of character. If there is no discipline involved kids like good teachers and dislike bad teachers. But kids can turn and hold a grudge like no other.
There are just some things in life that are not necessary knowledge.
Maybe we always hold out that tiny bit of hope we will one day be on Jeopardy... because you never know.
It's the creepy facts about life that leave me wondering and reeling.
RedditorsPanzer_ace_8wanted to compare notes on the things we're aware of that maybe we wish we could forget. They asked:
"What’s a disturbing fact you know?"
I mostly know disturbing facts about serial killers. As if that isn't enough. This should be fun.
Rest Well
"The skin mites that live on your cheeks come to the surface at night to find mates and do the deed. Sleep well."
Hullaba-Loo
Cannibals
"If you were to eat another adult human being, it would be approximately 125,822 calories. I went down a rabbit hole on Google and yeah."
ItsmeTrev
"How come it's almost 126K?"
Blablabblue
"Math. Average human is say 70 kg, has 20% bodyfat, so 14kg of fat. Fat has 9kcal per gram, which makes it. 126,000kcal. Math never lies! But I do make plenty of mistakes. Probably it's more complicated - but directionally seems legit."
NekkidApe
Decay
"Within three days of death, the enzymes from your digestive system begin to digest your body."
floopowdertravels
"I guess it’s reassuring to know your body decays before bugs can even get a shot to help your body decay, sort of like a medical death except your body willingly does it for you instead of doctors."
Standard_Zero_3152
People on Earth
"If you are 25 years old, approximately 1/3 of the entire world's population that existed at your birth, have since died."
ColSurge
How do people just stumble upon this sort of info? Y'all must read.
Gotcha
"Some species of shark will 'waddle' onto land in order to catch more prey."
CARMBLOVER
War
"During World War 2, Japan bombed China with fleas infected with the bubonic plague."
XoGossipgoat94
"Man they were just straight attempting to kill as many civilians of possible with that one."
JesseAster
"This is why a large portion of Chinese loathe the Japanese."
dicker_machs
Crush
"It's believed the USS Thresher or USS Scorpion (don't remember which one) took around 20 minutes to go to crush depth in it's free fall."
Jigsaw_isnt_a_puppet
"My Uni mate is a navy submariner and he said that if a problem isn’t your department you just ignore it, because ultimately it either gets fixed or you die, neither of which are scenarios you can do anything about. Him and a friend were playing Fifa in their bunk when the whole sub tipped to 45 degrees. They just kept playing at 45 degrees… it got fixed eventually but they’re reactor crew so nothing they could do to help either way."
FreegardeAndHisSwans
"body farms"
"There are places called 'body farms' were scientists and researchers look at the decomposition process of human remains in different circumstances. Basically a big area somewhere outside were human, sometimes pig corpses are laid out to be exposed to the natural elements or they're even enclosed somewhere (like the trunk of a car). They're actually important e.g. for forensic anthropology to help solve crimes. And you can donate your body for research after you die!"
ThisMessOfMe
Miles Long
"Your body makes blood vessels of about 7 miles in length for every pound of fat you gain. This in turn strains your heart as it has to work harder to pump blood through the new network of blood vessels."
macaronsforeveryone
Well there are things I never needed to know. But now we do.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Hitchhiking. It has to be one of the most dangerous things a person can do.
There are too many movies where a hitchhiker falls victim to some psycho, and they're shocked it's happening.
Like... Hello?!?! You got into some stranger's car. How could you not get killed?
Also, all throughout childhood years we tell kids to NEVER get into a stranger's car.
But once we're 18 that rule seems to no longer apply.
I feel like it should be MORE prescient in adulthood.
But I'm sure all the survivors have quite the tale to share.
RedditorWestTexasOilmanwanted all of the road travelers to share some memories about past rides. They asked:
"Current or Former Hitchhikers of Reddit; What person that stopped or gave you a ride was the most memorable? Why?"
I just don't have the trust in humans that some of y'all do. How do you get into a stranger's car? Oh no...
Among the Horses
"So a few years ago I was working in a small resort in the French Alps for the ski season."
"About 15-20 of us all worked in a hotel in one valley, the only bar that stayed open past 11 was in a different valley, it was a pretty flat and straight road to it but a good 15 minute drive or hour walk. We would regularly split up into smaller groups to try and hitchhike cause ain't no one stopping for 15 people with their thumbs out."
"Well one time we couldn't be bothered to split up and we just decided to do the walk and not worry. We decided to chance it anyways and stuck our thumbs at to every car that went by, got a lot of honks, shouts etc, all fun and games until one guy stops with a horse trailer."
"He asks where we're going and we say where and he says hop in. Que 4 of us in his truck, 4 in the bed of the truck and the rest in the horse trailer next to this guys horse."
HAZZ3R1
I'm Innocent
"Got picked up in Queensland Australia and after a few quite pleasant hours the driver started freaking out as we came to a police checkpoint. Turns out my new friend had broken out of jail and had stolen the car. I got stuck at Bowen cop shop until I could prove my innocence."
--bedevil--
"not far!"
"I accidentally picked up a hitchhiker once. I was at a red light at the transition between a village and town road (no more sidewalk, road gets busier and a bit more dangerous to walk). A man walked up to my window from the sidewalk and waved like he was going to tell me something (I assume tell me I had a flat tire or something about my car)."
"I rolled down my window and he mumbled something with a smile, and when I motioned that I couldn't understand him, he just nodded happily, grabbed my door handle and got in my car. Once he was in, it was clear that he spoke little to no English (he was Asian, about 25-30 years old, and very polite)."
"He motioned that he appreciated the ride and I asked how far. He understood and said 'not far!' I told him I was only going home which was a mile down the road and that's as far as I could take him. He nodded politely but I'm not sure he understood."
"I drove the mile down the road, and right in front of my neighborhood was a Blockbuster. He motioned to the Blockbuster and said, 'Here, here!' I asked if he was sure and he nodded, thanked me profusely with gestures and bowing with his hands together. I waved and drove off. To this day I've never seen him again and it remains a strange encounter for sure."
User deleted
zest for adventure...
"I have only ever hitchhiked twice in my life, and both times, a ruinous hike was involved lol. In this story, I was left behind by the shuttle because it took me longer to complete the mountain traverse. I was in the middle of nowhere, it was getting dark quickly, and my phone wasn't working."
"An old couple in their 60s, whom I had been chatting with on and off on the trail, noticed my agitation and asked if I was okay. I told them the bus had left me behind and I had no way of getting back to my lodge, which was 30 kilometres away. They offered me a ride even though it was out of their way."
"We got to talking during the drive. I told them that the hike was a first for me as I wanted to do something memorable for my birthday; they joked that maybe I should stick to dinner and movies next time. As for my good Samaritans, they had been travelling the world to celebrate their recent retirement."
"Prior to doing the trek, they had just completed a cross-country motorcycle trip with their son. I was awestruck by their kindness and generosity, their obvious zest for adventure, and the fact that they were still so, so smitten with each other after all these years."
gagagamgee
"you like hasish?"
"Hitchhiking in Israel with my partner in the 90s. We were picked up by these Palestinian brothers."
"After a bit of chit chat the one in the passenger seat says 'you like hasish?' Pulls out a big joint which we all smoked. He then says 'my brother, he's a cop,' then pulls out his glock and starts waving it around. 'It's all good' he says. We had a good chat, many laughs and after half an hour they dropped us off. We realized we were only about 100 metres further down the road from where we were picked up."
theotherbruce
How have so many of you survived this long? Luck.
In Scotland
"About six years ago I was hitchhiking in Scotland, heading north to do some wild camping."
"My second ride, I got picked up by a Scottish guy, I could barely understand what he was saying because of the accent. He was heading into Glencoe to climb a hill and camp at the top, so I joined him. Long story short I now live in Scotland, we've been married for 4 years, and I now understand 99% of what he says."
Affectionate-Rub-936
Maine
"My most memorable ride was also my shortest. A guy pulled over in the middle of nowhere Maine. He said our path's would diverge just over the bridge but he'd give us a ride anyway. So we got in for the 100 foot ride. After we got out, he leaned over to the open passenger side window and said in a gravelly voice, 'Life does not give a rat's @ss who lives it.' And he drove off."
valleymountain
The Racoon
"I once picked up a guy wearing a black leather trench coat in 100 degree weather. He was young and friendly, made good conversation, but he absolutely reeked. Finally I couldn't really stand it and was like, 'Man, I'm sorry, but I gotta tell you that you f**king stink.' And he goes, 'Oh haha yeah, it's probably my racoon,' then he opens his jacket and he has a freaking racoon pelt tacked to a piece of cardboard."
maselsy
The Blizzard
"Memorable more for the reason I was hitchhiking. I had driven a few hours away from where I live and payed my last past penny to get training for my desired career. I barely had enough money to attend, and couldn't afford a hotel, so I packed a sleeping bag, and everything I needed to sleep in the back of my van at the training center."
"It was mid spring and was supposed to be pretty warm in the day, and a tad nippy at night, but we ended up having a freak blizzard. The Van was absolutely freezing so I decided to turn it on to keep warm and hope I didn't use too much gas. As it turned out my battery had died in the cold and I had a 2-hour walk, in a blizzard, to get in to town to try and get help."
"By some miracle I spotted a truck about an hour in. The driver had arrived too early to drop off his load, and decided to park on this empty dirt road to rest for the night. He ended up giving me some food, and jumping my car. I managed to stay warm the rest of the night, and get home after the last of the training."
"Definitely one of the scariest moments of my life, because I don't think I would have made it town with all my toes if I'd had to walk another hour."
Vypernorad
This is nice...
"Not a naughty story, sorry... but I got a lift once while hitching during my army days. Hopped into the car, slightly distracted. Noticed wood panelling, leather seats, etc. That bonnet going on for 2km in front of the car. Turned out to be a vintage Rolls-Royce."
Namibbat2
This is why I fly. Y'all are crazy.
There are many people who are seen as role models, but that doesn't mean those who inspire others can cause mischief.
And while some bad choices warrant reprimanding, there are other instances where yelling is not really necessary.
Curious to hear examples in which people were berated for inconsequential reasons, Redditor Ratzink asked:
"What is the stupidest thing you've ever been yelled at for?"

Students being disciplined at school is expected. However, there are exceptions.
No Phone Zone
"I was in 8th grade waiting to be picked up from school. I didn't see my mother after awhile, so I got my cell phone out (it was a nokia block phone) and was about to call her to see if she parked somewhere."
"This older woman came over and got in my face. She yelled at me to put my phone away or she would confiscate it, and if I had to make a call, I would have to cross the street and do it."
"A really congested street full of cars with no crosswalk nearby; I would have to leave the pickup zone by myself."
– SarahTheJuneBug
"It was WELL past 3 pm (school was out and I was not breaking any rules) and this hag got pissed by just seeing a block phone that barely did anything beyond calls. I just put my phone away and waited for her to leave."
"Thankfully, Mom showed up not long after that. She was angry when I told her what that lady said. She told me she was a b*tch and that I did nothing wrong, and added that if anyone actually ever confiscated my phone for trying to get in contact with her after school was over that she'd deal with it for me. I also asked a teacher about it the following day; she was just as baffled as I was and agreed I wasn't breaking any rules."
– SarahTheJuneBug
Bitter About The Funeral
"I told my Math teacher I was leaving class in 15 mins to go to a funeral, my friend had just died."
"She said no, and I was like 'thats fine, but I'm still going... its my friends funeral.'"
"And then her face went so red and she shouted in front of the class 'I watched my mother and father die right in front of me, what makes you so special.'"
"I was like woah. The whole class was like woah. The teacher must have been having a bad day but she screamed so loud, and her parents dying was not relevant to me going to a funeral. Was super weird."
– [deleted]
Playing With Food
"I once measured a Fruit by the Foot with a ruler when I was in third grade. Lunch lady accused me of playing with my food and I got in trouble. I genuinely really wanted to just measure it to see if it was actually three feet long."
– TheRealOcsiban
Looking For A Place To Sit
"In 5th grade, I got sent to the principal's office for the first time. I asked the secretary where I could sit and I immediately got scolded, telling me I'm wasting her time for even asking her that question. She even brought the principal over and told me to repeat my question just to further lecture me on how stupid of a question it was and how much it wasted her time. Yea."
– MrJerhomie
People got all in a tizzy with these work-related issues.
The Deal Breaker
"I was dating this girl. She had been looking for jobs for a while with no luck, and I was looking too. My friend offered to pass my resume to their boss for a job in my field after they got one that paid better. I ended up interviewing, then getting the job."
"The first thing that happened after I told the ex was her she yelling at me for getting the job. 'Why did I have to accept a job?' 'Why did you have to take the easy route by getting a job through a friend?' 'Why did you have to apply there?' 'You lied because you didn't want to work with friend.'"
"And no the relationship didn't last much longer after that."
– Responsible_Yak832
Mad Customer
"My absolute favorite: I was working at a bakery, helping out a dude who I could tell was about two seconds away from losing his entire sh*t."
"Nothing due to anything I or the bread were doing; he looked to just be having one of those days and was only barely keeping it contained. After handling the entire interaction like a ticking explosive, I finally ring him out, hand him his stuff, and offer the customer service standard, 'Have a nice day!'"
Which was apparently the thing that sent him over, as he spat out, 'I will NOT!"' spun on his heels, and stomped away like a petulant toddler."
– mus_maximus
People need to be clear about who did what before accusations fly.
Who Hit Who?
"When I was 11, my mother started yelling at me for hitting my 5yo brother. That's understandable, if I had hit him. He had hit me. Literally walked up to me, slapped me in the face, and ran away laughing. Turns out he had run to our mom after fake crying and told her that I hit him. She thought I was lying about it until she realised he had started laughing."
– Hot_Interaction7245
Mistaken For A Menace
"On my local summer swim team when I was maybe 8 years old I had the same first name as some other kid who was a total menace. He’d splash water in girls’ faces and pull on their bathing suits thinking it was flirting, etc."
"One day at practice we’re all hanging out on the edge of the pool and I’m talking to my buddy, and there’s a girl on the other side of me. Suddenly her mom, let’s call her Karen, comes rushing over and says 'HEY! WHAT’S YOUR NAME?' I’m confused and look around me to see if she’s talking to someone else and she says 'YEA YOU!' So I say 'uuuuh… {my name}. Why?'”
"She then grabs my arm yanking me halfway out of the pool and starts yelling at me and I don’t really remember what all she said but it was some mix of 'YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER' (the girl who happened to be next to me) and 'WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS??' all while spitting as she yelled."
"And I was just a terrified, confused kid who’d been assaulted for no reason by this crazy lady and was trying to ask what she was talking about, who her daughter was, what I had apparently accidentally done, but she wouldn’t let me get a word in."
"Finally her daughter got her attention yelling 'Mom… MOM… MOM!!'”
“WHAT!?!”
“That’s the wrong boy…”
"She dropped me pretty quickly and looked super embarrassed but was probably still just red from yelling. She gave me a quick 'oh sorry' and just walked away."
"When I got picked up and my mom asked how practice was I just said 'fine… some crazy lady yelled at me but it was a mistake.' My mom looked confused, took me home, and that was it."
– DunderMifflinPaper
Embarrassingly, I was the idiot who yelled at someone for a stupid reason.
Years ago, I felt water sprinkles periodically hit my face while watching Jurassic Park in a packed movie theater.
I may have imagined it but I thought I heard giggling following every splash of water I felt. I was so convinced some kid had a water gun and was targeting me throughout the movie.
During the climactic T-Rex scene–where the tension is amplified without a score to accompany the encounter–I snapped and filled the silence with my wrath.
"Knock it off!" I yelled behind me, generally addressing the audience.
The kid sitting next to me leaned over and whispered in my ear, "It's the ceiling. It's leaking from the bad AC unit."
As soon as the credits started rolling I bee-lined it out of there before anyone could match the face to the temperamental, but very daft, moviegoer.
Let's put this up front: the United States of America is not the greatest country in the world.
It's just a fact. We're not tops in the world in education, our maternity leave for new mothers pales in comparison to most European countries, which is to say nothing of our healthcare as a whole, and our average income per household?
8th. Last we checked, that's not 1st.
It's not all doom and gloom though. There are still a lot of things to love about the good ol' U. S. of A. And if you love something, you fight for it, to make it better, and truly try to achieve the ranking of "best."
Reddit user, kake92, wanted to know what the U.S.A. actually gets right when they asked:
"Americans, what thing do you appreciate the most about America (USA)?"
Not everything that makes the U.S.A. great is honorable or noble.
Sometimes, it's just funny.
Too Much, Then Dial It Back
"Drink refills at restaurants."
MisterMorgan1206
"You get ice! And you get ice! And you get ice!"
PrisonerV
"yes, and most of the time way too much! Europeans complain that we are obsessed with ice. This might appear to be true, but im more comfortable asking for less ice in the US than for ice at all in Europe."
MisterMorgan1206
I May Not Agree With What You're Doing, But...
"we can have all sorts of outlets that mock people in positions of authority and dont get sent to labor camps or prison"
"hell we can burn our own flag"
"pretty gud I think"
King-Grey
"I think people who burn our flag are sh-theads, but I'll defend their right to do so to the death, and that's a fact. I don't always love what I hear from "free speech" but I love that it's free. For now, anyhow.."
LittleArkansas
You know what we have a lot here? Land!
There's a lot of land and a lot of land to see, so why not take a trip this summer and get lost in the wilderness of your imagination.
This is starting to sound like a travel ad.
The Most Gorgeous Vacation You Haven't Taken
"National Parks"
Ezzy17
"Sounds braggy, but I work for the National Park Service and it's the best job I've ever had in my career. I don't think I ever want to leave. Plus, paid trips to all the parks and getting to see things "off the beaten path" that normal visitors just can't get to. I love it and I love our parks."
clyde2003
Not As Crowded As You Might Think
"Wide open spaces can still be found here. I don't like most people, and I frequently need to get away from them."
salthecrawfish
"I grew up in rural Idaho and the wide open spaces are truly amazing. I live in the city now, but still look for any opportunity to get away. My wife is from back east and she thought she knew what the "middle of nowhere" was like until I took her to my grandparent's ranch. The nearest neighbor is five miles away. The nearest "town" is 30 miles away. She didn't realize how much nothing there was in the Western-half of the US."
clyde2003
And We've Got The Disaster Movies To Prove It!
"We've got all the weather. You want hot and humid? We have it! You want frigid? We have it! You want all the weather within 24 hours? We definitely have it!"
"Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes (not weather, I know), lightning? We've got it all!"
CitizenCobalt
Location, Location, Location
"This is going to sound really dark but with all the talk of war recently…especially with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I appreciate how far we are from all the other major powers."
"Yes, they can always send missiles but any land invasion is very difficult to achieve. China and Russia would have to put in major effort if they were going to try to invade America….."
OSUfirebird18
Maybe we're not the "greatest country in the world," but we should all be doing everything we can, every day, to make that come true.
Go Do What You Want
"Answering this as a serial expat that has spent at this point 25% of my life overseas and has lived in multiple countries."
"Few places on Earth embrace the "go do what you want" mentality like America. You want to be a wiccan priestess that lives in a yurt in the Cascade mountains? You want to be a rancher in Utah?"
"You want to live your dream of opening a cupcake store for pets? No matter what you do there is a community of people cheering you on in America and that is a very rare and very cool thing."
RootlessNumbers
Mostly, We're Alright
"I have lived in lots of other countries, but I am from the US. I have a few things to point out."
"The roads are generally nice. Smooth, without huge potholes. I am generally talking about the highways."
"Cleanliness. I have been to places with mountains of trash 6 feet high. Another related thing is that the US has very few stray dogs, and that keeps things overall cleaner."
"The last thing is kind of hard to explain, but I would say the sense of order. Everything is structured, and I kinda like it. The places I have lived, people are just not raised with the mindset that everything should be standardized."
"It really grinds my gears when people talk about how bad the U.S. is. It does have its problems. So does every country. When people go on and on about how bad the US is, I try to put it in to perspective how much worse it can be. My house almost got burned down because the government removed the gas subsidies (which after having them for 2 decades, were bankrupting the government) and people were afraid that the transportation system would shut down. I doubt many people who complain about the US have experienced that."
Mawd14
We're Trying To Get Better, A Little, Every Day
"Having lived outside of the US, I have some perspectives that differ from the norm."
"I’m gonna say some stuff that is gonna make Americans and foreigners alike scratch their heads but I’m hoping some people will know what I’m talking about."
"I truly and wholeheartedly believe that America is the least xenophobic place on the planet."
"I think that xenophobia is so deeply ingrained and normalized the world over that people genuinely do not recognize it in themselves. People will engage in the most hateful xenophobic behavior that I’ve ever seen and then say with a straight face that they are afraid of moving to America because of xenophobia."
"I think that people think America is xenophobic because America’s xenophobia is highlighted, fought, and condemned in ways that no other nation’s is."
"This is because of the second thing that I love about America."
"America is the most diverse nation in the world."
"More than half of our population is people of color, and those people of color are made up of American Black people, North Africans, Sub-Saharan Africans, Native tribes, East Asians, south Asians, central Asians, Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, Indians, Arabs, and more."
"Every single world diaspora has a politically significant population in America, most of whom are also American citizens who participate in our democracy and our national conversation."
"No other nation in the world comes even close. France and England also have diaspora but not like America does."
"This diversity has created an environment in which that xenophobia which does exist is magnified in its relevance because it actively effects people; a xenophobic American has much more opportunity to cause harm because of their xenophobia than a xenophobic Chinese person."
"But also, this means that America is the epicenter of the movements against xenophobia, and we are the only nation in the world who is engaged in a national conversation about it."
"I’d argue that America is not more xenophobic and thus more backwards than the rest of the world, I’d argue that America has advanced to the stage in attacking our xenophobia that the rest of the world isn’t even close to doing yet."
Brandywine5
We many not get everything right, but it doesn't mean it's not worth living here, fighting for here, and always doing our best to make sure the mistakes get corrected.
What's something you like about living in the United States? Tell us about it in the comments!