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People Who Voted for Trump in 2016 Explain Why They Won't Be Voting For Him Again In 2020

People Who Voted for Trump in 2016 Explain Why They Won't Be Voting For Him Again In 2020
JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The presidency of Donald Trump has been rife with scandal from the moment it started. Even as the nation grapples with the Covid-19 epidemic, it's safe to say that the election is still very much a tossup. Between continued interference from adversaries abroad, allegations that the president colluded with foreign powers to undermine his political opponents, and a highly criticized response to a public health crisis that, as of this writing, has left more than 160,000 Americans dead, 2020 has been a hell of a year.

It's intriguing to note that polls indicate the president's approval rating among his once rock-solid base has been slipping in recent months amid his pandemic response. Though opinions of Trump remain largely split along party lines, it's important to hear from people who say they don't intend to vote for him after going to bat for him the first time.

After Redditor PIG3 asked the online community, "If you voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but won't in 2020, what changed your mind?" people gave rather candid and enlightening responses.


"At the time of the 2016 election..."

I was a Republican by upbringing. I watched no other news but Fox News via my parents until I left for college. Once I gained my independence living across the country for college, I started to develop my own views. I started to get my news from more reputable sources like the AP. I started to realize that many of the views I picked up from watching Fox all the time were very one-sided and often didn't result from an understanding of the full picture, and it definitely took a while but once I started looking at multiple sources, the biased wording common in Fox articles is easy to spot and easy to avoid no matter the source (both right- and left-wing bias, I should add).

At the time of the 2016 election, I was on the fence. Unfortunately I still held on to the last shred of "the Republicans are the good guys, therefore I must vote for them and also the Clintons are power hungry tyrants" that I had left over from my childhood. I regret that vote, but that election night marked the last time for at least the foreseeable future that I vote Republican. I'm currently a registered Democrat though I consider myself a fairly moderate liberal, and I find this position much better suits what I actually believe (not just what I'm told I believe like when I was a kid) and what I find important in how society is governed.

Dragoncaker

"I feel like I was flippant..."

I feel like I was flippant in 2016 - I'm in a blue state that doesn't split electoral votes so I felt like I could do it and it didn't matter.

Since then, I've just grown as a person. I've gotten married, watched my husband get diagnosed with a disease that would bankrupt us if I didn't have a government job and it changed how I saw people. No one should have to decide to go bankrupt to get treatment they need to survive. I'm now willing to pay a little more so no one has to suffer like we were so fortunate not to. I've also taken multiple diversity and equity trainings since 2016 that have helped me understand concepts like how saying all lives matter dismisses the point that some lives aren't being treated like they matter.

Just personal growth and this sense of not wanting anyone to suffer.

Bibbitybobbityboop

"I never did my own research..."

Grew up in middle of nowhere conservative town. Took what my parents and others said as fact and adopted their political views. I never did my own research on politics. Since then I've met amazing people who've helped me see things from a different perspective. Now I see the issues with what I believed before. Happy to say that I do much more research and don't just go in the voting booth blind. I'm now pretty far from conservative

Beanstastic

"I was wrong."

I was disappointed with a few things that he did here and there but I wasn't that aware of the scope of some things so it didn't seem so bad. Then Covid happened. He didn't wear a mask until recently and suddenly many of his supporters became anti maskers. Instead of leading by wearing a mask and encouraging people to wear a mask, he continued to not want anyone to wear a mask at events. Then he started encouraging bad treatment of protesters. I literally went from a lifelong republican to a Democrat within months. It kinda freaks me out that I changed so quickly but I realized that they've been using brute force to do what you think is right despite what's morally right or what the country wants is just plain wrong. I am less worried about my taxes going up a little if it means preventing a child dying from malnutrition. I am less concerned about making sure there's no welfare fraud if it helps people that truly need it.

Btw I was always socially liberal, I just felt like most social issues didn't belong in politics. I've always wanted prison reform, equal rights for everyone but I'm realizing most Republican politicians do not want those things.

I feel like my eyes have been opened and I literally used to think liberals were oblivious to taxes going up. I was wrong.

junglegymion

"I was so excited..."

My political opinions very much lean towards the idea that the government should exist to help, protect, and serve the people, not control them. I felt, and still feel like, that is the opposite of how our government runs. 4 years ago I was a month past 18 and excited to finally have a vote! I can do something affect change! I can help the world be a better place! I was full of cynicism and hatred for the way the world worked, I wanted to do anything to change it. At 18 years old and prepared with a southern public education and the words of my Republican father I was so sure that electing a business man and not a politician would help. I completely bought into the Trump campaign, I believed everything he said. I was young and dumb and blinded by my anger at the world and he was going to fix it. So I went with my dad and voted for my first time with no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice, I got my sticker, I took my selfie, and I was proud.

Then he won! I was so excited, something was finally going to change! So I waited, and I watched, and had things started to happen, and like everyone around me I made excuses, "we can't expect him to fix everything in one day" and "that stuff is all fake, someone made it up to make him look bad." Then bad things kept happening, and more information came to light, and they kept making excuses for all of it.

Then I got busy, I had a kid, I started my career, I was busy, and I didn't have time to pay attention to the news or politics, I have a baby for godsakes that's enough to worry about!

Then life calmed down and I started having time to pay attention to the world around me and suddenly we were years into his presidency and nothing had changed. The world was not a better place, the things everyone was afraid of that I laughed off as garbage or impossible had happened. The things I made excuses for never stopped. Then I kept paying attention, and things kept getting worse and I had to accept the fact that I was wrong, I made a horrible horrible mistake, and it had hurt a lot of people, but those people were still abstract in my mind, no one I knew had been directly affected by these things he had done yet, not in a major way.

Then things kept getting worse, and the pandemic started, and the choices he made started putting millions of people in danger, and a lot of those people were people in my life every day, my mom is extremely high risk, my boyfriend had to get tested, my kids are at risk, and the feeling got worse. I was put in the position to understand just how bad things he's done have hurt people.

I regret voting for him, I regret that it took me having to experience the negative effects first hand to fully understand how badly I messed up. I wish I could take it back every time I am reminded Trump was elected in part because of me. I will not vote for him in 2020, I don't know who I will vote for yet, but I'm going to make sure I'm absolutely as educated on all the candidates as I can be, and I'm going to try again, I'm going to make a choice I am proud of and hope like hell I'm right this time. In the meantime I have spent as much time as I can learning about all the things I thought were garbage in the past, and doing my very best to tell everyone I possibly can that they need to listen.

pastelmetalhead

"I am not proud to live in this country..."

I'll be voting for Biden after voting for Trump in 2016.

His politicalization of a pandemic and poor response to it are the main reason for the change. I also strongly dislike the way he deals with Russia and the cronyism amongst his cabinet.

I didn't agree with everything George Bush or Obama did it stood for, but I believed they were trying to improve the country in the best way they saw how. Trump seems to be only selfishly motivated and has made a mockery of our nations highest elected office.

I am not proud to live in this country as long as he is at its helm. I look forward to November 3rd.

MisterStinkyBug

It took me a while to figure it out, but that's not the swamp he was talking about. When he talks about the swamp he isn't talking about the various government-industrial complexes. The times when you have companies writing the regulations that govern them, or they hire executives from said companies to govern them, that's A-OK with Trump.

What Trump cannot stand is the civil service. The unelected bureaucrat who spends fifty years mastering one tiny arcane element of government regulation and shapes how that regulation is applied is the thing that gets Trump frothing at the mouth. It's a power thing. The folks that enforce building codes and labor regulations have always compelled him to do stuff even when he doesn't want to, and he hates that.


So, the gutting of our diplomatic corps, the systemic attack on the Department of Justice, the systemic defunding of the post office and veterans and affairs are Trump draining the swamp. The "deep state" that frustrates the initiatives of a new government are professional government employees who have far more control over how things go down than the man in charge because they're the ones actually doing the work. A lot of people looked at that and said "yeah, f*** the military-industrial complex" but Trump doesn't care about that. He cares that the EPA and FBI were mean to him by not doing impossible or utterly nonsensical things because he wants that.

The swamp, the deep state, and all that "cleaning up" never had anything to do with bankers of prisons or arms manufacturers. He has always been contemptuous of formal power structures. Trump is the center of his own universe, anything that doesn't immediately bend to his arbitrary whims is something to be destroyed.

ASporific

"I moved out of my parents' house..."

I moved out of my parents' house, experienced college, people from many backgrounds, and am in a career where I know what a good leader looks like, and he is most certainly not that.

thecore22

"I dropped out of that school..."

My story is a lot like other people's here. I grew up in a small "Christian" town where everyone was conservative or quiet and climate change was a hoax the climate scientists told us so there would be an economic need for them. I was taught basically that the government is out to get you and so we must have as small a government as possible. Had I done any research on Trump I might have known that wasn't even his goal. But anyways, I was 18 and had gone to the big city for school where there were maybe 5 conservatives. I felt like the world was going crazy and for some arrogant reason, I thought I was seeing what no one else was. I voted for Trump without a second thought.

Fast forward a year. I dropped out of that school and moved back to my hometown because I felt like I couldn't handle being around "liberals" for three more years. I started going to community college where I took a macroeconomics class and learned about economic policies from something other than a YouTube video. Once it became clear that trickle down economics doesn't work, I started to wonder what else Democrats could be right about. That ultimately led me to becoming the BLM marching, Bernie Sanders campaign donating, climate change believing progressive outlier that I am.

flannels_n_comics

"I was 21..."

I was 21 and was tired of nothing but career politician after career politician becoming President. I truly believed that if Trump, someone without political experience, could become President, it would open the door for us to be more accepting of non-career politicians becoming President.

I always believed that anyone could be President, and I always felt that someone further from the time-wasting BS that normally clogs politics would be more representative of the common American citizen.

How tf I thought CHEETO CHEETO BUNKER BOY was representative of the American people, idk. But now I realize that it's people like AOC who can truly understand what it's like to be a normal person and can still exist in the political landscape. She's my new hero.

iamnicholas

"I'm trying my best..."

Ignorance and religious pressure were the reasons I voted for him. The only news outlet I really paid attention to was Fox, and my church made it about heaven and hell basically. Voting for Hillary was tantamount to killing a baby with your bare hands. I didnt like him, but I didnt know it was THAT bad. A few months post election I caught wind of a rumor that he had an assault allegation. I wasnt aware of this, and I did some digging. Also, within a year and a half most of my ideological views changed drastically as I deconverted, and I started looking at more sources for news and information. Suddenly I realized that I had been the product of very concerted propaganda efforts by right wing cable news, and those who take it as gospel.

I educated myself, and ever since I have been deeply involved with keeping up on what goes on in our politics. I watch hearings, read source documents, follow Trump on Twitter, and I vet my information as much as possible. I actively speak out against Trump and similar politicians, and I am active in my community fighting against what they stand for.

I'm trying my best to pay penance for my choice made in ignorance because when it comes to these decisions, one cannot afford to be ignorant.

Phoenix0113

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People Share Their Very Specific Dating Restrictions

Reddit user AceofSpadesYT asked: 'What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?'

silhouette photography of couple
Sean Stratton on Unsplash

When it comes to dating, I have my mental checklist. The guy must be kind, intelligent, funny, and a movie buff. He must be adventurous but also doesn't mind a Netflix and Chill date night.

Most of this is similar to the mental checklists other people have. Of course, I can be flexible. If someone is nice and I'm having fun with them, they don't necessarily have to check all the boxes.

However, I have one specific dating restriction that is a dealbreaker regardless of how many boxes the person checks, and that's religion. I've never been a fan, and now I'm an atheist, and I would want my partner to be as well. That's because I want kids, and the last thing I want is for us to argue about how to raise the kids when it comes to religion.

I'm not the only person who has one specific dating restriction. Everyone has that one thing that is a dealbreaker when it comes to a romantic relationship. Redditors certainly do, and they are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor AceofSpadesYT asked:

"What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?"

It's Just A Joke!

"No cruel or rude pranks."

– detective_kiara

"I saw a post by someone whose boyfriend "pranked" her by pretending to be dead on the kitchen floor. That is exactly how she had found her previous partner, dead on the kitchen floor, which her current boyfriend knew. He was surprised she dumped him and didn't think it was funny."

– innocuousspeculation

We're (Not) Gonna Party!

"No party people. Nothing wrong with it, I just ain't dealing with that sh*t."

– PlantBasedStangl

"True. I like planning weekend stuff, but it has to be something meaningful - visiting a different city, movie marathon, mountain hike, fancy lunch, all okay. But... clubbing and drinking? How f**king old are we, 19? No thank you, I'm old and have no energy for listening to music I don't like while being surrounded by 50 people that I don't give a single half of a sh*t about."

– PlantBasedStangl

LOL

"Same sense of humor. I have 0 interest sharing physical space with someone who doesn't laugh with me."

– Legendary_Lamb2020

My Ears Are Bleeding!

"I'm a light sleeper. I cannot date a snorer. I can hear snores through ear plugs AND a fan blowing. It's not you, it's me."

– YourLocalOrca

At that point, it does sound like them 😂

– CuriousRedditor98

Funemployed

"Have a f**king job."

– Cuss-Mustard

"Found this difficult when I was funemployed. Was fortunate enough to be able to live off savings for a bit."

"People reacted oddly to it. “But what do you do???”"

"Was dating at the same time and some girls had the same sentiment. “You don’t have a job?”"

"I had a good enough job that I didn’t need one anymore. And one lined up 8 months from then. But there were two girls specifically who treated it as a deal breaker."

– DigNitty

"I had a similar situation. I worked a high-paying job for a few years that demanded a ton of my time and had crazy hours. It burnt me out badly and I lived off of the savings from that job for a while and tried to date now that I actually had free time. I had more money in my bank account during that time than at any other point in my life but so many people were put off by me being funemployed and assumed I was looking to leech. But I guess there’s really no way to know someone's history and hard not to assume. Now I work full-time and have way less money overall but it looks better..."

– Pinsit

Just Breathe

"No smoking. Ever. I'm not kissing an ashtray, or smelling an ashtray. Instant turn off."

–fishfood19

"100% I broke up with an old gf because she started smoking behind my back knowing I’ve got asthma and it was always a hard pass. She thought I was joking but it showed me that she was also untrustworthy."

– Jonowl89

That'll Do It

"I guess my husband restricts my dating."

– HeinousEncephalon

"My wife has the same rule. But the jokes on her, I get around it by dating her!"

– AuralRapist

Prehistoric Love

"Must like dinosaurs."

– Grungeceratops

"That goes without saying."

– Plain_Chacalaca

What's In A Name?

"Cannot have the same name as any of my relatives."

– Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

"My last ex had the same name as my Dad and I reeeeeeaally didn't like it. So, fair."

– severaltalkingducks

Be Polite

"If they’re rude to people they’ll never see again (Waitstaff, cashiers, etc) I’m out."

"I can’t respect anyone who doesn’t respect themselves, and when you’re not polite to people you’re disrespecting yourself."

– OctopusCandleCompany

God Only Knows

"When I was dating, you had to be an atheist. I don't mess with religion. And I genuinely just don't think atheists + religious people work out."

"And I know... There's going to be someone who comments (assuming there are enough upvotes) who says "I worked out with my spouse who's religious and I'm not!" but you're the exception. When it comes to making decisions long-term, how to spend your money, where you think you'll go after you die, not to mention basic morality (!), and if you have children - that's a huge hurdle."

– Lulu_42

"We worked it out. It's absolutely an exception and not the rule. Don't do it if you can avoid it."

– Alcoraiden

Let's Move Tonight (Literally)

"They need to be ok with cold weather."

"I grew up in the north, live in the south, and I'm tolerating it until I can move back north. If someone says they hate the cold it's an instant turn-off because I don't want to drag someone into a climate they hate."

"The same thing also applies to walkability. I want to move somewhere walkable, and I hope to meet someone with that same goal rather than try to talk them into it."

– ThePresidentCantSwim

"Let me know when you find this mythical northern walkable community."

– Partner-Elijah

My Purr-fect Match

"Cat has to approve."

– Possible-Source-2454

Non-Negotiable

"They need to be male. Kind of important."

– RMHaney

"So weird, I want the complete opposite."

– eightvo

Yeah, the male thing is kind of important for me too!

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.

Life is full of shock and surprise.

Apparently, that is part of the fun.

Who hasn't been left stunned by life events?

We always think we're immune to way too many things.

Anything and everything is possible.

It's important to be ready.

Redditor Bob_the_peasant wanted to hear about the things that have left people SHOOK, so they asked:

"What 'That can’t happen to me' thing happened to you?'"

I haven't been left that shocked that often.

I'm always expecting the worst, so I'm prepared.

But you never know.

I'm Dead

Snakes Imacelebau GIF by I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! AustraliaGiphy

"A snake fell out of a tree and bit me on the head."

"ETA: I have always been more scared of snakes than anyone I know, so it’s just so ironic that this happened to me of all people."

amanitachill

Crash Into Me

"A car crashed through my kitchen last year."

aster636

"I woke up to a truck parking in my bathtub 2 weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I watched my sink roll past my bedroom door followed by a hubcap. The driver managed to cross a median, 3-lane road, up an embankment, through an iron fence and between trees. He'd been involved in an altercation nearby and was fleeing the scene."

anjie59k

Hot Air

Swinging Hot Air Balloon GIF by Red BullGiphy

"My family and I were in a hot air balloon crash."

GymDoll2000

"My friend had one crash into her pool when she was a kid."

Environmental-Car481

This is why hot air balloons and skydiving are just a HELL no for me.

Always have. Always will.

Tragic

Cat No GIF by Looney TunesGiphy

"My wife cheated on me with my best friend. They’re moving in together next month. I’m in a new city thousands of miles away. I found out a month ago."

Tssodie

Bad Penguin

"Everyone else’s stories are very sad so here’s something a bit lighter. I’ve mentioned this story before but I got bitten on the neck by a penguin."

"I was at an event where the local zoo had a penguin and owl sitting on tables with handlers so you could take a picture next to them. The penguin went for my glass of wine, I moved the wine, and it bit me on the neck hard enough to bruise. They removed the penguin after that. 😂."

archaeologistbarbie

All Gone

"Our house burned in a wildfire, we lost absolutely everything we owned and only salvaged a single coffee 3 cup."

"On the good side: There was a boy I crushed on all through high school. We went to summer camp together and I adored him. We ended up getting together in our 20s after reconnecting, and have now been together more than 20 years, married almost 17. We’re as madly in love as ever."

toomuchisjustenough

Good Luck

"Homelessness. It came swiftly and out of nowhere. had no savings and the landlord sold the house I was in. couldn’t afford a new place so lived in my car with my dog for a few months. ended up finding community assistance and got into an apartment."

jumbospicyslimjim

"I can’t even imagine being in that situation. Hopefully, this is just the start of things turning around for you. Sending you good energy!"

frappbarqueen

Early Michael Myers

"About 10 years ago, I was stabbed in the arm with a flathead screwdriver. It was a coworker whom I had previously gotten along well with. He had stopped taking benzos and smoking weed a few days before and was on a hair trigger. I said something sarcastic, and he just snapped."

Mr_Spaghetti_Hands

Bad Landing

Bad Day Seagull GIF by Sound FXGiphy

"I was lying on the beach and a seagull flying very high took a poop and it went straight in my mouth."

Competitive_Show6205

This is why I say... "Never trust a seagull!"

They are minions of the devil.

Person cooking in home kitchen
Conscious Design on Unsplash

We've all heard the phrase, "You can't eat at everybody's house," but some of us have a few examples of our own to live by.

From not properly cleaning the environment to questionable hygiene ourselves, there are countless reasons why a person may not want to eat what you've cooked after watching you prepare it.

Bracing themselves, Redditor 195901 asked:

"What is your 'you can't eat at everybody's house' horror story?"

Fly Spray Sandwiches

"I told my dad my sandwich tasted like fly spray at my grandma's house. He didn’t believe me."

"Two days later, I caught my grandma spraying the benches 'clean' with the two-dollar fly spray you find at the cheap store."

"Dad figured it was safe to make sandwiches straight on the countertop because they looked clean. I dragged him over to see and he apologized and took my sister and me for fish and chips for lunch."

- littlehungrygiraffe

Special Seasoning Deviled Eggs

"My crackpot aunt served us a lovely tray of deviled eggs, complete with very old paprika sprinkled on top. So old, in fact, the many weevils mixed in it were dead."

- PhoneboothLynn

A Disturbing Surprise

"I visited a friend's house who was living with his mother, and she asked if I wanted a coffee and I said I would."

"Upon getting to the bottom of the cup and taking the last few gulps, I found there was a used bandaid stuck to the bottom… I never ate or drank there again."

- MrRailton

In Need of Child Protective Services

"I was babysitting a kid in a pretty dirty house. I was told to wake him up, supervise bathing and changing clothes, and feed him. I was welcome to whatever was in the fridge. Okay. The house and his clothes were filthy."

"Then, when I opened the cabinets, floods of roaches poured out. There were roaches in every opened box and container."

"I took him back to my house and returned him later that day. I hope the boy ended up in a better situation. I found out CPS (Child Protective Services) got involved shortly after."

- Alltheprettydresses

Traumatized by Raisins

"I was gonna complain about raisins in the potato salad but the other comments on here are scary. Oh my god."

- tcumber

"When I was a young kid, I stayed over at a friend's place, and his mom made veal or something with godd**n raisins INSIDE the meat somehow. It was so nasty, I never forgot it."

- User2716057

You WISH That Was Vinegar

"My MIL fished around in the green bin (compost bin) with her bare hands, didn't wash them, WIPED her GARBAGE JUICE HANDS on the tea towel, and then WENT BACK TO PREPPING THE SALAD."

"She also got horrifically offended if I didn't want to eat at her house."

- 116843189

Poor Home Hygiene

"My first boyfriend’s parents invited me for Thanksgiving. I came over a few days before Christmas and all the same dirty dishes from Thanksgiving were still in the kitchen. I passed on coming over for Christmas dinner."

- MinimalistHomestead

Every Surface Covered

"I went to a friend's house after school, he was going to teach a group of us to play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)."

"We got there and his house was disgusting. I'm not the neatest person but the carpet hadn't been vacuumed in forever, clothes were all over the place, and dirty dishes were stacked everywhere."

"I tried to be polite even though the place reeked, but at some point, he was like, 'Who wants snacks!'"

"He picked up a bowl that was crusted with stuff, splashed in some water, wiped it with a towel that clearly hadn't been washed that decade, and poured chips into it. Then he asked if we wanted to stay for dinner. We did not."

- KnittinAndB***hin

O Holy Expiration Dates

"When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was always celebrated at Grandma's. I always got sick afterward. Like, Merry Christmas, you're going to puke now."

"It wasn't until I was all grown up and helping her out in the last weeks of her life that I learned why. She did not believe in expiration dates on anything!"

- SundayMorningTrisha

An Immune System to Remember

"My grandma made me a food phobic from a young age. Whether it was ramen with moths floating on top, or chunky milk in my cereal, it just scarred me for life."

"Dinner at her house was always a fight. Not eating her food was not an option. I'm not sure why that was the hill she would always choose to die on, because she was an amazing grandma other than this."

"Expiration dates aren't a thing. If the cheese was moldy, you cut it off... I think living through the great depression and raising kids in poverty changed her mindset on food."

"I mean obviously, she's doing something right because she's 91. She must have the immunity of a superhero."

- tha_stormin_mormon

Neighborly Love

"I used to help an old neighbor out with grocery shopping, I’d drop the bags at her door and she’d give me a check for the amount of groceries. She’d give me homemade cookies once in a while, chocolate chips."

"I didn’t ever eat them because one time I caught sight of her apartment. It was a large studio, a small kitchen, and tv, and a bed/couch. And there were about 20 cans of cat food, half-eaten, and one million flies and small maggots in different stages of growth, dishes with crusty food stuck to them, and a wall of empty beer cans."

"After I saw that, and got a whiff of her apartment, I started helping her with taking garbage out and putting groceries away, cleaning out her fridge, and making sure her cat was healthy."

"A couple of months later, she got the virus, ended up at a rehab facility, and passed within two weeks."

"Some people need help and a little company…"

- SnooPeripherals6557

No Longer Rice

"A girl I was interested in at the time had cats. I came to her house one day to pick her up for a date and he had a large sack of rice open in her pantry with the pantry door open."

"One of the cats hopped out of the sack of rice and she just casually laughed at it like, 'Oh, they are always getting into things.'"

"I came over the following weekend that SAME sack of rice was in the pantry and I could hear one of them tussling around in it again, we stopped dating sometime after that but anytime she offered to cook for me I immediately pivoted to taking her out to eat instead."

- justad**nfool

"Those cats probably used it as litter."

- Anonymanx

"Yeah, that was my fear."

- justad**nfool

Could Have Warned Her

"My mom told me one about going over to her aunt Virginia's house. She, her parents, and her siblings were sat around the kitchen while her aunt cooked, and my mom could not figure out why no one else was having ANY of this incredibly delicious bread that was on the table."

"She was on her third slice when her aunt stepped out to do something else, and my mom was told by her brother to go look in the flour bin."

"It was absolutely filled with miller moth larvae. Aunt Virginia had been losing her eyesight for years."

- smoothiefruit

"It's f**ked of her parents not to warn her not to eat the bread... like, what the f**k, you KNOW the bread isn't safe, so you're not eating it, but you're fine with letting your daughter have three slices?"

- whydontthissitework

Bad to the Point of Malnutrition

"I graduated high school at 6' 10" tall, but weighing only 120 pounds."

"That's not skinny, that's emaciated."

"The food prepared by my bio-mom was so bad that it wasn't providing me with the nutrients or calories I needed to survive. I went off to college where I had to cook for myself (I wasn't allowed to cook at home because my father insisted that "cooking was women's work")."

"Not only did I discover that food didn't have to be burnt to a crisp, flavorless, or boiled until everything was grey. I also discovered that food can be made to taste good, and using things like salt, or pepper, spices, or various condiments can make it taste amazing."

"The "freshman 15" likely saved my life."

"The thing is, I don't think that my biomom was even aware that her food was that disgusting. Whenever we went out for dinner (which was more often than what my father wanted, but he was the one who insisted on going), she did nothing but complain about how the food was undercooked, 'practically raw,' or 'too spicy,' to eat."

"When she went to other people's houses (including her own extended family) she would criticize them for 'doing it wrong' when she watched them cook anything. She would often end up refusing to eat their food because she 'watched them ruin it,' when they cooked it. We never had guests over to eat her cooking. Ever."

- Galaxy_Ranger_Bob

Clean Hands

"We have a chili contest every year at work around Thanksgiving and I've stopped participating in voting for it because I want to know whose I'm eating before taking any. I work with some great people, but I wouldn't eat at or anything from their house. Strangely enough, the guy I absolutely despise I'll gladly eat his chili because he is clean and well kept and I know his house is."

"I also work with a bunch of people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom in any capacity and we've secretly kept a list so to avoid any potlucks where they take food or to get food before they do."

- SafewordisJohnCandy

We're left with chills after reading these stories.

Where some people might make some mistakes in the kitchen out of just not knowing, like not properly washing rice before cooking it, most of these are just careless mistakes that have disgusting, if not dangerous, results.

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.