What things do you find odd that are considered normal in your society/culture?

[BrucesBarAndGrill]

This is inspired by a conversation I was having earlier that I found interesting.

The thing that sparked the conversation was that I said I thought it was odd how adults are expected to share beds and on the flip side of that how parents who co-sleep with their children are seen as doing something odd or different to the accepted norm. I can't understand why it's seen as normal to put a baby/small child to bed on their own in a different room while adults, who don't have the same need of protection and care, share a bed in a different room.

I assume that other people must think about things like this aswell and I was wondering what social/cultural norms felt strange to you?

What well-written , excellent post. Thank you.

I too woukd like to know where the blunt speaking cuktures are @BrucesBarAndGrill 😀

Head for your local Deaf club. British Sign Language users are direct / blunt / rude in hearing.

I was shadowing an interpreter for a medical appointment. The HCP said she could discharge the Deaf person, what the interpreter said in reply was, "thank you, I'm pleased" what had actually been signed was, "Good I don't like you"

I don’t understand why people spend tens of thousands of pounds on a party, because it’s a wedding.

Unless you are very wealthy and it’s loose change, it seems like utter stupidity to me. I will never understand it.

I’ve never known a thread where I’ve agreed with almost every poster. Op’s first post in spades.

Walking around and sitting in public transport wearing headphones. I need to hear whats going on around me
Adults playing games on their phones - so childish
Christmas - i hate it - I'm a vegetarian atheist and i hate winter and crowds, i wish it would stop.
People who go to beach and don't swim - why do that?

Women being made to cover up their hair by religion. I love feeling the wind in my hair, i just couldn't do it, i only wear a hat when it's freezing cold out

Drinking the milk of a cow that's intended for a baby cow. Totally weird when you think about it.

Having pets and loving them, then killing eg baby pigs - who are just as cute as puppies, and more intelligent, for food that we dont even need because it's bad for us.

Agree with the OP about not sleeping with your baby/ young child too. Very odd when you think about it logically.

Cars being allowed to completely dominate our towns and take precedence over people. When you walk along a pavement and cars are whizzing past at 30mph, it's so unpleasant and stressful.

The fact that we are destroying the planet and it will wipe out our descendents in the not too distant future. But we carry on doing it because we cant imagine any political systems other than rampant capitalism.

What's interesting, but also terrifying, is the way that if you are born into something being normalised, then people cant seem to ever look at it objectively and see that it's not right.

Also, women being so conditioned by the patriarchy that they willingly cut open their perfectly healthy bodies and stuff themselves with plastic bags of silicone because they want to conform to a certain beauty standard set by men in power. That we as women are so indoctrinated that we tell ourselves that we are putting our bodies through this trauma, as something "for ourselves". (Im not criticising anyone who does this btw, just pointing out how bonkers it is when you look at it objectively. But it goes to show how easy it is for the powerful to indoctrinate groups of people)

Boarding schools for young children (under 12/13). It's obviously emotional abuse to send such a young child away from home. No wonder we have so many screwed up, psychpathic politicians.

This is one of the only times where everything written applies to me 😂 I love listening to music on the train, love playing Pokemon Go, love Christmas (where are the crowds??) and love beach walks ( I do swim in the sea but not every time)

Keeping animals captive in a house. Pets.

The british thing with slavery, yes the brits committed some terrible crimes but then went “oh fuck this is really bad” and then used the royal navy to disrupt the Atlantic slave trade. Think they would capture slave ships and free slaves, the Africa squadron freed something like 150’000 slaves.

Theres a section of society that thinks the UK is uniquely bad but slavery had been a persistent fact of life across the globe for millenia. The arab slave trade is probably the most persistent and widespread slave trade that ever Oman only abolished slavery in the 70’s. I don’t think any other country spent 40% of their national budget devoted to stopping any other country from having slaves. So yes be very ashamed you were involved in the first place but then be proud of the fact that you woke up, gave yourself a slap and course corrected.

Also I come from a colonised people, but whats done is done and frankly a lot of leaders from previously colonised nations use colonialism as a perpetual excuse for their own dysfunction. Theres a difference between looking at colonialism as an informative way of understanding modern day consequences and absolving people from having an agency over their own societies. I see Indian people blaming colonialism for some of the worst aspects of Indian culture, I just roll my eyes and think “suttee”. Any culture that creates that as a solution to widows (not widowers mind) hated women long before white people showed up.
.

Children's menus. Why do adults usually get an extensive choice of food when they eat out but children almost invariably have to pick from chicken nuggets, sausages, fish fingers and if they're lucky, pasta with tomato sauce? Why not small portions of the adult menu?
Mind you, I know people who do that at home too, cooking one meal for their children and something different for themselves once the children have gone to bed. But then I suppose that's part of the wider British tendency to treat children like they are almost a separate species, often pandered to yet somehow simultaneously excluded. My DH's family are from Southern Europe and yes, the whole "they love kids in the Med" thing is true to an extent. Children are indeed more welcome in public places and at social events etc but in my observation there are also a higher expectations of their behaviour and there are less specific children's things - I've rarely seen a children's menu or a play area in a bar/restaurant outside areas catering largely for tourists for example.

Great post @TheGrimSmile

Driving everywhere being norm (nothng to do with disability or weather). Landscapes designed to make car travel kind of easy but then encouraging urban sprawl so people have to drive a while after all to get to any service in reasonable time bcz it's so far away, and huge amounts of wasted land ("landscaping") around all kinds of properties.

Home decisions that mean high amounts of VoCs indoors.

I’m British but there’s some things I’m not carrying forward to my kids as I think they’re damaging.
Being very distant from family. I want to see my family often, not just at Christmas. Older people, young people, it’s joyous to have a full house and a busy life.
Talking about mental health and emotions. Not just everything’s fine until a suicide occurs.
Being honest about colonialism and white privilege. Speaking up even if it’s awkward.
Co sleeping.
Treating the elderly with respect.
Questioning authority and hierarchy. Respectfully.

Yes. "Owning" another living being. I have a dog but when I think about it, it makes me uncomfortable. Even though I love him and I think he loves me. But it is a bit Stockholm Syndromey.