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To be fair, I've seen a plain blue canvas at a modern art gallery once. It was literally just painted the same blue over the whole thing. Some modern art is amazing and some is so 0 effort I don't even understand how they managed to get into a gallery
Yves Klein - Blue Monochrome
Because it's about the colour. It's about how that prior to him working to formulate the paint (International Klein Blue) the binders dulled the ultramarine blue. This colour he helped formulate would be a key theme in his work.
The idea behind the colour is influential enough that it's inspired other works e.g. Alastair Reynold's Zima Blue
to add to this, the Blue Man group use Yves Klein Blue for their body paint.
I think what people struggle with is often the work only has meaning or significance if you know the history or the context so it can feel alienating to those who aren't in the know and people don't like being made to feel stupid. Some people look at art as a puzzle and want to learn more about it while others look at face value and feel they're being patronised if they dont get it right away and it has to be explained.
at a recent exhibition i was looking at the artwork of a uk based artist and it was mostly a single colour in various washes on the canvas. it didn't appear particularly dynamic or moving but when i spoke to the artist suddenly it all had context and i was able to appreciate it. It turned out she made her own pigments and each one told a story. on collection of paintings used earth from sites around the UK where women were executed for witchcraft. the earth was ground into a fine powder and mixed with binder before being applied to the canvas. Another group of paintings used ultramarine blue from clay taken from sites around the south coast of the UK and the blue washes on the canvas covered an underpainting beneath. the sites where the clay was from were famous for smugglers. the meaning being that the paint represented both the water and the hiding of illicit trade beneath.
sometimes the story behind the painting and the ideas it conjures are more interesting than the finished work, but you need to put the effort in to discover it. Its like the ikea effect with furniture, you get a sense of accomplishment from the extra effort it took to get to the end result.
> I think what people struggle with is often the work only has meaning or significance if you know the history or the context so it can feel alienating to those who aren't in the know
I don't disagree. What is unfortunate is the idea that art has to be immediately accessible and that if it isn't people feel alienated. Almost a dumbing down of media literacy.
I'm very much in favour of the other commenters who say that it doesn't matter if you don't know the context, what does it make you feel. If we could as a culture promote the idea that it's OK to not immediately understand art then we might be a bit more accepting of it when it's not instantly obvious.
I think a lot of people see contemporary artworks as something you either instantly get or donāt get, and they think people who like it are just acting like they āget itā because they want people to think theyāre clever.
Theyāre wrong though, not everyone is a snob.
Omg this is actually quite interesting! Wherever I saw it (I want to say Tate Modern) didn't have any info on it. Had the usual artist name and materials used, but that was it. Thank you!
The Tate also has Duchamps "Fountain". It's just a ceramic urinal.
Without context it is stupid art. To art historians it is an important milestone in defining what art is and what galleries should and do show.
The context is so important. He was a performance artist and how people interacted with the art was part of the art. A good example was he had a show with eleven apparently identical canvases each priced differently forcing the buyers to decide which they liked the most.
I think a bunch of it is context and time sensitive- like memes, industry trends or fandom in-jokes.
Like, everybody's doing really realistic fruit, so the first person to pop up with a person painted with really weird shapes and proportions that other art people can read into is automatically the painter of the year.
Then a year later somebody's sick of all these impressionist idiots with their shitty repeated memes, so the next guy comes up with abstract stuff. They're now person of the decade.
Eventually somebody comes along who really hates the modern abstract style and thinks back to the good ol' days of fruit in a bowl, but puts their own spin on it, and everybody's suddenly really turned on by that orange and how it its particular shade of orange reminds us of what it really means to be a fruit.
So the guy with the stupid scribbles and the banana taped to a wall and the plain blue canvas aren't really celebrated for the leages of artistic skill it took to head to B&Q to get the right shade of tape to slap that banana on the wall or anything, they're more celebrated for pointing out something in the culture that people outside the culture just wouldn't understand.
>Why is it always the **Barry's**, we're not all a bit thick you know
Sorry, I'm not usually that guy, but in this case it's funny. Plurals don't have apostrophes :P
At least it has the advantage of having a clear name. If someone says Dadaism I know what to expect. I don't even know what the movements of the last thirty years are called. I don't recall seeing them mentioned.
Do we even have collective movements anymore? Who is publishing manifestos etc. Clearly there is art of a time for example David Shrigley is for me a very 2005-2015 era, it felt like he and other more commercial artists were doing similar things but I don't know what it's called.
Artās āboomersā are basically anyone who says āI donāt like modern art but this is amazingā in the comment section of a photorealistic portrait video Timelapse on Facebook
Discounting that modern art is over 100 years old and they have not shown any serious interest in the discipline in their entire lives
Dare mention the fact that you don't eat animal products and all of a sudden everyone is offended and you'll get hurr durr meat tastes good though comments.
I am a vegetarian. Once at work someone brought in samosas, one box of lamb and one box of veg. Another person mixed them all up in one box "so the vegetarians couldn't have any".
That's next-level assholery.
I eat meat. Absolutely love the taste of medium rare 30+ day mature steak.
But I don't center my identity around eating meat, if anything, most of my diet is vegetarian or vegan, with some fish thrown in.
I until recently was an employer. I would have sacked anyone who did that. If my solicitor said I couldn't sack them for that, I'd give them a warning and monitor them until I could sack them. No one needs someone who isn't a team player.
As a vegetarian I'm not surprised. But I'd be really upset as someone had decided to take it up on themselves to get involved with someone else's food they'd made, just to bring misery to others.
Years ago I worked in a factory, and a guy on the same line told me that his friend, who is a bricklayer, was doing a job on a local mosque and purposefully laid bits of bacon in between the bricks, to get one over on the Muslims.
He was disappointed that I thought his friend was a pathetic prick, instead of finding it funny.
Geeezā¦ that is probably the most petty dick-headed thing I think Iāve ever heard.
I would probably learn to bake and make a batch of delicious cookies for everyone but that one small minded smooth brain.
I really hope he got reprimanded for that.
Wow, how did the person who bought them in react to that? I'd have been fucking furious.
I eat meat but if I bought stuff in for my colleagues, and some arsehole made it's so the veggies couldn't eat the veggie stuff I'd bought in especially, I'd fucking report them.
That shit is immature AF.
I watched someone get outraged at a colleague eating a vegan sandwich once, because something something supporting farmers, you shouldn't get to eat pretend meat if you want the taste of meat etc.
Dude eating the sandwich isn't even vegan, he's just allergic to eggs so 99% of the time if he wants a pre-packaged sandwich he has to buy a vegan one. Oh and it was a felafel sandwich, not even meat alternatives.
What on earth is the logic behind that? Someone should tell that guy he isn't allowed any seasoning on his meat because that all comes from plants and minerals and if he wants meat he has to enjoy the actual taste of the meat!
It does happen and it's bizarre how brainwashed people are over it. They shut down quick though when I explain that it's just food. If I say I'm having a curry with sweet potato and rice, they don't care. If I say I'm having a vegan curry, I know people that instantly get upset until I explain that I'm just eating a dish that happens to contain no animal product.
Very similar to this, I'm sure there was a study a while back where they gave two groups some food.
One saying it was vegan/plant-based, the other just saying "cashew and squash tart with roast parsnips and potatoes".
Nobody has a problem with the latter and they were more likely to order it, but people kicked up a stink about being made to eat vegan food for the former and rated it lower, even though it was the same.
I had someone say that can't comprehend why vegetarians eat meat imitation products.
For some reason they cannot understand that although we like the taste of meat, we don't want to partake in the murder of animals.
I've always used GTA as an example sure it's fun to pretend to steal cars and cause mayhem but you don't do it properly (hopefully anyway) because of the moral implications.
I had a vegan tell me something similar once (bearing in mind I don't eat meat either) because I wear a leather belt.
I told her I've literally had it for about fifteen years and throwing it away seems worse but apparently I'm perpetuating the fashion that calls for leather. I mean I kind of understand it but it's a bit of a stretch.
People tend to crave what is familiar too, especially with food. Itās far easier to make dietary changes if you still have options to you that you know you like and will eat. Swapping out a meat product for a vegan or vegetarian one is probably the single easiest thing you could do.
I once told a friend about a great new restaurant that was vegan. I'm not vegan but it's just a nice new place in the city.
His response was "why would I want to eat there, I'm not a horse".
To me these people are as annoying as the militant type vegans.
On Come Dine With Me, if someone does a vegan/vegetarian menu, there will always be one rabid meat eater that acts like going without meat for one meal will kill them.
They are worse than militant vegans. I eat meat but I can absolutely empathise with people who are ethically vegan and want to at least try to get people to cut down on eating animal products - I get it. What I donāt get is people who eat meat deciding to become militant about people who donāt. Makes absolute zero sense beyond them being pricks.
I think a lot of people who are very anti vegan feel personally attacked by perceived criticisms of their lifestyle. You see the same kind of over the top reaction to environmental campaigners, or to anything to do with parenting
"How do you know someone doesn't eat meat?.....They'll tell you! ššš"
"I love eating meat, could never give it up? Don't you miss chicken? Pork? Beef? What about a steak? Meat meat meat haha I'm going to eat more now!"
"Ok...I just said I was eating tofu that's all."
I love telling people I avoid meat as when questioned I get to tell them all about my lifetime adventure with difficult bowel movements. The amount of meat eaters that think your poo should have blood in it amd sit on the toilet for ages is hilarious.
I'm vegetarian and only talk about it when it's relevant e.g choosing a restaurant with options that work for me, or someone invites me for dinner, I'm not preachy or judgy about it. My husband eats meat and that's fine.
My father in law cannot STAND this and there needs to be 10000x passive aggressive "jokes" and comments any time I spend time with them. Weak laughter and polite smiles have not deterred him, he just gets offended that I won't fight him about it. I don't want to, that sounds exhausting.
Jokes like that are the worst. Had a group dinner last year and there was an Australian guy who kept going on about it "mmm this burger is so good! Not offending you am I!? Haha! Don't want a bite!? Haha just messing with you, cheer up mate!"
I literally just ordered a veggie burger and mentioned I didn't eat meat when someone asked.
Not saying I'm happy his phone and wallet were stolen that night and he also got food poisoning but karma went in hard!
I had to get rid of a āfriendā when he found out I was seeing vegan woman a while back. He took offence that she would be telling me what I can eat ffs obviously she wasnāt as neither of us cared what the other person had on their plate u less we were sharing a takeaway in which case I didnt mind trying new things
I love how meat eaters are always going on about Vegans being mouthy but I've never met a mouthy vegan in my life...the most I hear is if I offer them food and I get "oh no thanks I am vegan". Cool, I will only offer you vegan friendly food then, thanks for letting me know.
Whereas I know several people IRL and have seen endless comments online from incredibly mouthy meat eaters. The best one is "WHY DO YOU CALL IT VEGAN CHICKEN THOUGH IT ISNT CHICKEN".
I never understand this attitude. Let people eat what they eat! The only time I would be irritated is any kind of proselytising (at all, donāt care what itās about) and thatās never happened with any vegans Iāve known in real life although there seems to be a vocal online cohort of those. Probably a small proportion of real-world vegans though.
Not sure which way this comment is leaning, could be either pro or against.
In my experience (limited though it is) people who support travellers rarely have much first hand experience of their particular brand of whimsy.
I'm not really either, I was trying to be purposely ambiguous.
It is frustrating when you're talking about travellers and people just out right call you a racist or something.
The group where I grew up went around stealing dogs from the village one day and I should be able to be annoyed about it without someone telling me "it's just their culture".
But the group where I live now seems pretty chill so it's whatever. I don't really mind as long as they're not stealing my friends dog to breed her in a puppy mill or driving their children to suicide because they came out as gay.
The group that camped in a park opposite my daughterās high school would try to chat up the girls after school every day. Not their teens, but the men aged 30+.
Unfortunately, not a traveller specific phenomenon. I grew up in a predominantly average white British town and constantly got harassed in my school uniform. Mainly by white van drivers.
Case in point. Even just mentioning them will bring people out of the woodwork, spoiling for a fight.
Edit to add: for more evidence, see the comment chain below this one. It's like a flag to a bull to people on both sides of the argument.
I'm not saying you can't add your opinion, but per the op:
> Does anyone else have anything else that comes to mind where it has gone from 0-60 extremely quickly.
You can't deny that the discussion below went off the rails very quickly, which rather makes my point for me.
Edit: double negative
>You can't deny that the discussion below didn't go off the rails very quickly, which rather makes my point for me
That is true. It has got pretty unhinged down there
Me anytime I mention I'm on benefits, and more importantly, what I've bought with them. Because apparently if you're disabled you are not allowed to have a normal life and you must never enjoy it. Your benefits are to buy ready meals and medication ONLY.
I'm sorry I can't hear you over my air conditioner
Yes, in some people's heads it's sorted into people who deserve help, and people who don't. Of course they're always in the first group. People on benefits only refers to the second group dontcha know. Never mind their ignorance of the actual situations of people they put in that group.
Feck I feel this so much.
Not allowed any form of enjoyment in our lives whatsoever are we? It reminds me of a segment on This Morning years ago where a women was spending her Ā£10 Christmas "bonus" on a bottle of fizz. There was outrage.
Unfun fact, the Ā£10 bonus was originally brought in to make sure disabled people could afford a Christmas dinner and some small presents to give to people. It hasnt gone up since it was brought in, in 1972.
I remember when someone posted in one of the UK subs a picture of a Lamborghini in a disabled bay. There was no caption but the implication, given the comments, was that the person was obviously NOT disabled.
Because obviously disabled people can not afford / must never purchase / can't operate a sports car.
The likelihood is though that it was just an able-bodied asshat who didn't want his penis extension scratched. I know one person who owns a Lamborghini and that would definitely fit.
See plenty of disabled badges in very fancy cars. Normally big ones though. I wouldnāt expect many people with severe mobility issues to have a Lambo since the seats are about three inches off the ground and getting in and out of them is a workout in itself.
Honestly once you've bought yourself one slice of avocado toast, a scary percent of people believe you've waived all right to be in financial distress, complain about money or ask for any kind of help from anyone ever again.
These people would have me believe I either need to be a self-made billionaire in perpetuity or to have never enjoyed life for a second.
Yeah God forbid a disabled person has access to a mobility car so they can actually get out of the house. They'll all flood in with stories of how they "know" someone who has one and isn't even disabled in their "opinion".
Cycling on roads.
You'll immediately get the foaming mouth road tax / no insurance/ don't pay for them / use the cycle paths brigade jumping in.
I'm honestly expecting this post to set it off š
Doesn't matter how many times they're told roads are funded by 'road tax', that 'road tax' is based on vehicle emissions and even compared to an EV, a bike is far more environmentally friendly. Doesn't matter if they're told that a lot of cyclists do have third party liability insurance.
All that matters is that a cyclist holds them up for a few seconds on rare occasions.
That's literally it, motorists think they own the roads when the roads are for everyone. So they complain when they have sit behind a bicycle for 5 seconds then the moment they over take them they get stuck in the traffic and the bicycle fly's by them. So they tell them to go on the pavements when it's against the law so when some do they complain when someone gets hurt and scream about licences for bicycles while ignoring that thousands die each year directly by cars.
It's not just cycling, it's literally anything that doesn't make the motorist the king. Far from a war on motorists, we prioritise motorists far ahead of any other transport method for the most part.
I don't see this. As far as I can see, cyclists will point out and criticise bad behaviour from other cyclists, I've called it out in the past too.
However, drivers pose a monumentally greater risk to the safety of others when partaking in the same rule-breaking. It's a case of directing attention, effort, and policing to where the greatest impact can be made.
Perhaps you're confusing the above point with cyclists 'excusing' the behaviour of cyclists?
wait until you tell them that if they want us to have licence, insurance, number plates that sould include all bikes that hit any public infrastructure (e.g pavements) so that would include the 4 bikes the kids have just got for Christmas. Pisses them right off
Glad to see this here as I was going to say the same thing.
Anti-cyclist people really do tend to be incapable of sharing, or fail to understand concepts when taught to them (such as the non-existence of road tax and the funding sources for road maintenance).
Most people don't see the actual issue here which is that the transport system isn't designed for cycling and therefore creates conflict.
It's a non-issue in the Netherlands because cycling has its own network of high quality infrastructure. Some of it is shared with cars, but these are only streets with low levels of traffic and low speeds. People should be angry at the government who created the conflict in the first place but that would require some intelligence, rather than the standard nonsense arguments mentioned above!
>use the cycle paths brigade jumping in.
But the same people will also complain and say that cyclists are getting all the road space dedicated to bike lanes, or they will complain when there are roadworks to create bike lanes.
They are also the same people that will dump their wankpanzer in the bike lanes, but then complain when people don't use them, and then complain when they have to wait 20 seconds to overtake a cyclist.
London. I lived there for a decade and there's a certain type of British person who can't hear you're from London without launching into why they hate London.
Everyone in London is rude, and itās always extremely dirty, busy, and pretentious! Not like oop āere! Weāre all little tea jennies, sitting in our cottages, all wrapped up in a cosy blanket, reading Jane Austen. In the morninā we tip our hats to passers by and hand out Hobnobs. On the bus to work we each take it in turns going around each other, giving mental health check ups to make sure nobody feels alone.
Iām from London and often read this sort of shite online. I rarely have had people utter it in person. Iām grateful to have been born here tbh. Left London to attend uni and was glad to be back after completing my degree.
Itās so diverse yet one can easily go unnoticed if they wish. Itās also the place to be for my field.
Yeah when I first moved to London I'd got people telling me how they went once and never went back.
However you also get the reverse of that, Londoners who think outside of London is a culture-less, racist, wasteland where nothing ever happens. I've just moved out and people can't imagine that life is just as good and perhaps even better not living there. Recently went back just to see a podcast recording (which is actually touring, the London date just worked out better) and my friend immediately asked me 'how do you feel being back in London?' I felt nothing, it was not a big deal to be back.
"However you also get the reverse of that, Londoners who think outside of London is a culture-less, racist, wasteland where nothing ever happens. I've just moved out and people can't imagine that life is just as good and perhaps even better not living there. Recently went back just to see a podcast recording (which is actually touring, the London date just worked out better) and my friend immediately asked me 'how do you feel being back in London?' I felt nothing, it was not a big deal to be back."
Historically, there was some truth to London being better. My big birthday treat in the 70s when I was a boy was going to London. I'd go to the Science Museum, I'd go to Hamleys, we'd go somewhere nice for lunch. Or maybe see a movie on one of those huge, amazing screens. Because Hamleys had stuff we just didn't have out in the sticks.
In the mid 90s I really wished I lived there. All the shops that sold things I couldn't easily get, the arthouse cinemas, the bands, the clubs, the huge diversity and quality of restaurants.
Now, I just go to Bath for some arthouse movies. Or stream them. Nightlife has gone into decline in London as more NIMBYism has kicked in. Easier to see a band elsewhere. And I can buy all the luxury food or books online and have them the next day. And it's just wildly expensive to live there now. Like it was more expensive in the mid 90s, but it was like double the price, not triple. And restaurants outside have raised their game. There's lots of Michelin places everywhere, a huge diversity of global cuisine even in small towns.
About the only reason I go to London now is the opera.
there was a thread on here recently about UK tourist mistakes. it was very amusing to see all of the northerners moaning about London. the worst one was one that recommended that tourists spend a week in Melton Mowbray rather than London
yup. elderly people in my family enraged by pronouns on a name badge. furious about asylum seekers risking their lives in boats. empathy would go a long way.
I have noticed though I'm pretty sure paid trolls are causing trouble.
How can front page articles have comments with hundreds of likes for one side
While back page articles have balanced mix of comments and almost equal votes for each side of the argumentĀ
It's not an assumption but fact, based on ample evidence, that the Zionist lobby has reached out to and paid individuals to promote their cause online. Also Mossad has very powerful online operations.
Weird one but in my experience, all hell breaks loose on Reddit as soon as someone talks about washing up.
Everyone bangs in about how the other people do it wrong or less efficient than them, then the dishwasher crew chime in and it all goes to shit.
I've never seen anything tear a UK subreddit apart like washing up does.
Just ask any sort of non-confrontational question about how to save money/budget based on an income of Ā£21k. Within no time at all your thread will be filled with people having a poverty off to prove how they're the ones getting paid the least so only they get to have an opinion on the subject. It's weird to say the least.
Basically, everyone just thinks their way is best. Then you get people arguing over whether you should rinse the dishes, why you should or shouldn't use a washing up bowl, how long you should use a sponge for, why dishwashers are or aren't more efficient, whether it's lazy or not to have a dishwasher, people.saying they can just wash up in the time it takes to load or u load a dishwasher, people saying their time has a monetary value so they do it X way to save time... It just keeps going. Causes a right kerfuffle.
Similar to yours but specifically trans rights.
I'm guilty of it, but as an avid pro trans supporter. On both sides it gets quite heated quite quickly.
Is this based on online encounters or actual people you've met face to face in the UK?
Online it seems that everyone is thinking about trans people all day but in my experience the overwhelming majority you speak to in person don't seem to care about it at all. If it gets brought up people might laugh a bit at the pronoun stuff and might mention inclusion in sports as a point of debate but outside of that the majority of us seem to take a "live and let live" approach.
I live in a city and work at a school. We have one trans boy in the entire school. When I started, I'd get staff say things like "that girl thinks it's a boy, but I get too confused, so I just call her by her name", or suggestions that anyone the lad is friends with must be a victim of some sort of weird sex thing. Someone put a "trans rights" poster up in town and it was *knifed* down. Massive slash marks where they'd repeatedly stabbed at it.
I'm a queer female, but grew up looking very, very masculine and was usually mistaken for a boy. I'm now very feminine and straight passing, so I get a lot of people spouting homophobic and transphobic drivel at me under the assumption that I'll just agree. My ex girlfriend is a trans woman and we just used to get abuse shouted at us when we'd go out to the pub or whatever. Even the people who weren't being outright hateful, would think it was okay to ask us about our sex life or whatever.
As a more positive take, a child at our local primary school came out as trans. Got letters stating āheā would be a āsheā from next year, and would be wearing the girlsā uniform.. None of the kids or parents batted an eyelid. Either the parents knew the person (and took a sympathetic āgood on her/must be an awful position to be inā approach) or didnāt, so it didnāt affect them. The kids werenāt bothered as the person they knew and liked/disliked anyway hadnāt changed.
Clearly this wonāt affect your lived experience, but just wanted a glimmer of hope and positivity to come through!
Edit: see below!
Thank God it's alright somewhere. I had to run round the school with a fucking sharpie and manually scribble out the boys birth name off all our registers because it was being DISPLAYED AT THE FRONT OF THE FUCKING CLASS EVERY TIME THEY TOOK ATTENDANCE. Genuinely baffling levels of ineptitude.
He'd brought it up multiple times, was clearly seriously distressed by it and was being bullied because of it, and when I asked why it hadn't been changed yet, everyone just looked blank and said it would be too much work.
Having worked with trans women, people wonāt say out loud to their face, but will giggle when they walk past because they are weird. Insist that sharing a bathroom is strange because a penis could touch the toilet seat. Criticise the clothing for being too feminine, not feminine enough. Refuse to give them credit for their work because that would imply you agree with their lifestyle, even though the two have nothing o do with each other. But if challenged, oh no, I am not transphobic. They are just mixed up.
Lots of people "don't care about it" in the same way lots of people in the 80s didn't "care about gay people", in that they were still deeply prejudiced but never had to actually confront it because they didn't meet any gay people. The government has just told schools they are not allowed to teach anyone about gender identity, it's like Section 28 all over again.
You're right to say the majority don't care. However this is misinterpreted on reddit to being supportive, and because most people are not aware of the 'progress' we've supposedly been making. Your typical 40 year old who isn't terminally online still sees trans people (women especially) as a comic novelty (think the IT Crowd) and doesn't actually think a lot of this more modern gender stuff is seriously happening.
Many forms of prejudice are lessened with exposure - most people are less racist or homophobic when they actually meet BAME or gay people. My experience with trans issues is usually the opposite. People assume the stories they read online are jokes/exaggerations/some American madness and become outraged when they realise people are being serious and intend to introduce this progress in THEIR workplace/school/amateur sport etc.
I've got my theories about why trans people face this fairly unique issue in terms of increased prejudice but I'm aware Reddit admins are touchy about this subject.
Anything that even mentions trans people in passing seems to set people wild, regardless of whether or not their transgenderism is relevant.
Iām banned from the sub of a well-known quiz show after criticising a contestantās poor reaction to losing, because that contestant happened to be trans.
Only Connect?
This springs to mind of a trans contestant with a bad reaction. If its who I'm thinking, they were an arse.
I say that being trans myself. Being trans doesn't excuse shitty behaviour.
The problem is that it's just an awful neologism. If you just called them "villages" all the ultra-traditionalist conspiracy nuts would have nothing to complain about.
How things from Lidl/Aldi are "just as good" as their more expensive counterparts.
You'll get people jumping in on both sides of the argument to vehemently defend their personal experience as the be-all and end-all of factual truth.
I see this a lot. And it's always the same argument and counter-arguments.
"Road tax."
"No such thing."
"Insurance."
"Too expensive to administrate for the risk involved."
"Two abreast."
"It's safer this way."
"Not in the cycle lanes."
"Because they're shit and cyclists are allowed on the road anyway."
Have I missed any from the bingo card?
I once commented on /r/Cardiff that the new cycle path out side the student union was dangerous.
The responses were either.
Stupid students they deserve to be run over.
Or
Stupid cyclists they deserve to crash.
I don't care for football but what I really dislike are *some* of the football fans.
Is that better?
It doesn't help that I live in a city where football rivalry also includes religious sectarianism and other bigotry.
Not a vegan, but honestly, in real life, I've heard that joke around ten trillion times, and have never heard a single vegan or vegetarian ever actively want to discuss their dietary choices beyond necessity.
I know which of the two groups bore me to death with their sense of moral superiority and it isn't the vegans.
The environment. When that dies, we die (taking a lot of species with us. Any attempt to do something serious about it will have people whining loudly in no time. They will then complain when food prices go up and supermarkets have less choice as crop shortages become the norm. They will also complain when we see boiling summers, freezing winters, and more frequent storms within the next few years.
Anytime I mention I have a cat I have people arguing to me about how dogs are better and how a cat will never love me the way dogs do! My cats my biggest fan thank you very much š¤
Actually, that does trigger me, because most of their "top talent" isn't. Zoe Ball is a very mediocre presenter who both times she was given the breakfast show lost a huge number of listeners, and there are hundreds of people in local radio as good as her who can barely pay the rent. Hundreds of ex-footballers and managers who would do punditry for a lot less than Lineker and Hansen. The newsreaders are hugely overpaid compared to what you need for someone who can read an autocue.
To bounce off the London comments by it being in a similar vein; Birmingham
It doesn't seem very common in this subreddit thankfully but so many people who drove through the city centre once or spoke to someone that drove through the centre once call it a shithole. I may be biased because I've lived here all my life but there are nice parts and the city centre isn't the only thing here. It's extremely unfair lmao
When I lived in London it was LTNs. I received straight-up death threats for saying I supported having them on my street!
Trans people and their right to exist and just get on with their lives. [If you read this "Talking Points" article on the BBC in 2002 about gay adoption](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1973628.stm) so many of those negative arguments we recognise as unfounded and ignorant now are the exact same as those brought up in relation to trans people.
When I lived in London I found almost everyone was in favour of LTNs.
The people I found opposing them were always non-londoners who seemed to think the scheme somehow affected them in rural LincolnshireĀ
I'm guessing there's some sort of shadowban on this sub for "immigration", because I'm shocked no one else has mentioned it. It's all I bloody hear about these days.
I think what angers me about this one is people arguing in bad faith.
The fact is, nobody cares *how* the NHS is funded, but the concept of "free at the point of use" must always remain.
Nobody thinks it's the best in the world. People just think paying for healthcare is immoral and it's great that we don't have to get saddled with debt for being ill. So when privatisation is pushed, of course people push back.
You miss the point. In 1948 no country had a universal health service, healthcare was a for-profit good. Atlee shifted the global status quo, and for the first time in history healthcare was a human right. That's why it's such a source of national pride. Regardless of its efficacy, it's one of the most important results of the 20th century.
Anything about it being expensive to eat healthily
Someone always seems to start ranting about rice and beans like it's some kind of magic bullet for food poverty. Yes, we all know it's cheap and nutritious but see how long you can subsist on it before that massive bag of Iceland chicken dippers starts looking like the food of the gods
Christ, I used to be like that until I found out that France had an institution legislating what words could be used in French.
I thought that was pathetic, and then the penny dropped.
Islam, Muslims and ethnic minorities of unknown religion.
Online(they wouldn't dare irl) when there's a video of one of these people doing or saying something not to their liking, some will be openly racistĀ
E.g. a Black guy who has road rage gets comments of import third world become third world, always certain type of person, want to take our country etc., deport
White guy throws rubbish out of car,Ā
(*Crickets chirp)
And God help you if you call out racism. That's playing the race cardĀ
This one I've found is very much dependent on country. Over in the US you've got people raging about how if you let cats out you're irresponsible to them and to the environment. Meanwhile over here many shelters and adoption places will turn people down for adoption due to them not having outdoor space.
I work in a library and we just recently changed our mascot for children's events. It's a cartoon alien that isn't specifically a he or a she - the point was that they can be whatever you want them to be. They're an alien. In dungarees.
It went semi-viral and we got a lot of hate for the fact that our new mascot is "non-binary" (we never said that) and "how dare we subject innocent children to that". From all over the world. Mental.
Now we're not allowed to share anything about the mascot online, in case the hate starts up again.
Scientific facts.
Many people are in total denial that they are essentially scientifically illiterate. Instead of working on it and learning the scientific method, they get triggered at the slightest information that goes against what they believe is the truth, i.e., pseudosciences. Among examples are the antivaxxers, climate deniers, flat Eathers, believers in the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, etc.
Anything regarding cars and the apparent 'War on Motorists' (potholes, traffic, LTNs, LEZ, etc).
I'm in a couple of local Facebook groups and people somehow always link it back to those things and get angry.
E.g., someone posts a nice old picture of a street. Immediate responses include things along the lines of "I remember when you could actually drive on that street. Council ruining this city, potholes everywhere, horrible traffic, can't drive anywhere, all ridiculous".
If you're that triggered by images that aren't even related, and you seem to hate the city, why bother being in the group?
The slightest age gap in a relationship.
"I (20f) have a partner (26m)..."
_WHY IS THIS GUY WITH YOU? EFFING PAEDOPHILE_
I can't prove this but I suspect this is only a concern for Millennials and younger. In the 90s, I was 17 and my, bf was 22, and this was considered normal and fine. Now people are up in arms about the horror of it.
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Art - specifically anything which isn't a realistic image of something people recognise.
"Well I could have done that." Sure you could, Barry.
"But you didn't, you haven't, and you won't"
"exactly, because it's shit.... š¤·š»āāļø" āŗļø
To be fair, I've seen a plain blue canvas at a modern art gallery once. It was literally just painted the same blue over the whole thing. Some modern art is amazing and some is so 0 effort I don't even understand how they managed to get into a gallery
Yves Klein - Blue Monochrome Because it's about the colour. It's about how that prior to him working to formulate the paint (International Klein Blue) the binders dulled the ultramarine blue. This colour he helped formulate would be a key theme in his work. The idea behind the colour is influential enough that it's inspired other works e.g. Alastair Reynold's Zima Blue
to add to this, the Blue Man group use Yves Klein Blue for their body paint. I think what people struggle with is often the work only has meaning or significance if you know the history or the context so it can feel alienating to those who aren't in the know and people don't like being made to feel stupid. Some people look at art as a puzzle and want to learn more about it while others look at face value and feel they're being patronised if they dont get it right away and it has to be explained. at a recent exhibition i was looking at the artwork of a uk based artist and it was mostly a single colour in various washes on the canvas. it didn't appear particularly dynamic or moving but when i spoke to the artist suddenly it all had context and i was able to appreciate it. It turned out she made her own pigments and each one told a story. on collection of paintings used earth from sites around the UK where women were executed for witchcraft. the earth was ground into a fine powder and mixed with binder before being applied to the canvas. Another group of paintings used ultramarine blue from clay taken from sites around the south coast of the UK and the blue washes on the canvas covered an underpainting beneath. the sites where the clay was from were famous for smugglers. the meaning being that the paint represented both the water and the hiding of illicit trade beneath. sometimes the story behind the painting and the ideas it conjures are more interesting than the finished work, but you need to put the effort in to discover it. Its like the ikea effect with furniture, you get a sense of accomplishment from the extra effort it took to get to the end result.
> I think what people struggle with is often the work only has meaning or significance if you know the history or the context so it can feel alienating to those who aren't in the know I don't disagree. What is unfortunate is the idea that art has to be immediately accessible and that if it isn't people feel alienated. Almost a dumbing down of media literacy. I'm very much in favour of the other commenters who say that it doesn't matter if you don't know the context, what does it make you feel. If we could as a culture promote the idea that it's OK to not immediately understand art then we might be a bit more accepting of it when it's not instantly obvious.
Some rabbit holes are worth a visit.
I think a lot of people see contemporary artworks as something you either instantly get or donāt get, and they think people who like it are just acting like they āget itā because they want people to think theyāre clever. Theyāre wrong though, not everyone is a snob.
Omg this is actually quite interesting! Wherever I saw it (I want to say Tate Modern) didn't have any info on it. Had the usual artist name and materials used, but that was it. Thank you!
The Tate also has Duchamps "Fountain". It's just a ceramic urinal. Without context it is stupid art. To art historians it is an important milestone in defining what art is and what galleries should and do show.
The context is so important. He was a performance artist and how people interacted with the art was part of the art. A good example was he had a show with eleven apparently identical canvases each priced differently forcing the buyers to decide which they liked the most.
I think a bunch of it is context and time sensitive- like memes, industry trends or fandom in-jokes. Like, everybody's doing really realistic fruit, so the first person to pop up with a person painted with really weird shapes and proportions that other art people can read into is automatically the painter of the year. Then a year later somebody's sick of all these impressionist idiots with their shitty repeated memes, so the next guy comes up with abstract stuff. They're now person of the decade. Eventually somebody comes along who really hates the modern abstract style and thinks back to the good ol' days of fruit in a bowl, but puts their own spin on it, and everybody's suddenly really turned on by that orange and how it its particular shade of orange reminds us of what it really means to be a fruit. So the guy with the stupid scribbles and the banana taped to a wall and the plain blue canvas aren't really celebrated for the leages of artistic skill it took to head to B&Q to get the right shade of tape to slap that banana on the wall or anything, they're more celebrated for pointing out something in the culture that people outside the culture just wouldn't understand.
Why is it always the Barry's, we're not all a bit thick you know....I for one am perfectly aware I'm shite at art.
>Why is it always the **Barry's**, we're not all a bit thick you know Sorry, I'm not usually that guy, but in this case it's funny. Plurals don't have apostrophes :P
"I spent 80 hours making this photorealistic drawing of Heath Ledger's Joker, please upvote"
When people go on about āmodernā art? That was about a century ago
At least it has the advantage of having a clear name. If someone says Dadaism I know what to expect. I don't even know what the movements of the last thirty years are called. I don't recall seeing them mentioned. Do we even have collective movements anymore? Who is publishing manifestos etc. Clearly there is art of a time for example David Shrigley is for me a very 2005-2015 era, it felt like he and other more commercial artists were doing similar things but I don't know what it's called.
Artās āboomersā are basically anyone who says āI donāt like modern art but this is amazingā in the comment section of a photorealistic portrait video Timelapse on Facebook Discounting that modern art is over 100 years old and they have not shown any serious interest in the discipline in their entire lives
Dare mention the fact that you don't eat animal products and all of a sudden everyone is offended and you'll get hurr durr meat tastes good though comments.
I'm vegan and people have never been offended by it in real life, only online.
I am a vegetarian. Once at work someone brought in samosas, one box of lamb and one box of veg. Another person mixed them all up in one box "so the vegetarians couldn't have any".
That's next-level assholery. I eat meat. Absolutely love the taste of medium rare 30+ day mature steak. But I don't center my identity around eating meat, if anything, most of my diet is vegetarian or vegan, with some fish thrown in.
>That's next-level assholery. Has an American got in?
Must be. A Brit wouldāve responded āProper wank, that.ā
Yeah I think Iād have let HR know about that one
I until recently was an employer. I would have sacked anyone who did that. If my solicitor said I couldn't sack them for that, I'd give them a warning and monitor them until I could sack them. No one needs someone who isn't a team player.
As a vegetarian I'm not surprised. But I'd be really upset as someone had decided to take it up on themselves to get involved with someone else's food they'd made, just to bring misery to others.
Years ago I worked in a factory, and a guy on the same line told me that his friend, who is a bricklayer, was doing a job on a local mosque and purposefully laid bits of bacon in between the bricks, to get one over on the Muslims. He was disappointed that I thought his friend was a pathetic prick, instead of finding it funny.
Geeezā¦ that is probably the most petty dick-headed thing I think Iāve ever heard. I would probably learn to bake and make a batch of delicious cookies for everyone but that one small minded smooth brain. I really hope he got reprimanded for that.
You need to bake something vegan that they will love and only reveal it was vegan after they have eaten some.
That'll show em
Wow, how did the person who bought them in react to that? I'd have been fucking furious. I eat meat but if I bought stuff in for my colleagues, and some arsehole made it's so the veggies couldn't eat the veggie stuff I'd bought in especially, I'd fucking report them. That shit is immature AF.
What the hell? What a strange behaviour.
What a prickĀ
The urge to put them all in the bin so noone else could have any except I'm not an arsehole.
I watched someone get outraged at a colleague eating a vegan sandwich once, because something something supporting farmers, you shouldn't get to eat pretend meat if you want the taste of meat etc. Dude eating the sandwich isn't even vegan, he's just allergic to eggs so 99% of the time if he wants a pre-packaged sandwich he has to buy a vegan one. Oh and it was a felafel sandwich, not even meat alternatives.
Because all the plants and veg just appear as if by magic out of thin air far away from any farmers, obviously
What on earth is the logic behind that? Someone should tell that guy he isn't allowed any seasoning on his meat because that all comes from plants and minerals and if he wants meat he has to enjoy the actual taste of the meat!
It does happen and it's bizarre how brainwashed people are over it. They shut down quick though when I explain that it's just food. If I say I'm having a curry with sweet potato and rice, they don't care. If I say I'm having a vegan curry, I know people that instantly get upset until I explain that I'm just eating a dish that happens to contain no animal product.
Very similar to this, I'm sure there was a study a while back where they gave two groups some food. One saying it was vegan/plant-based, the other just saying "cashew and squash tart with roast parsnips and potatoes". Nobody has a problem with the latter and they were more likely to order it, but people kicked up a stink about being made to eat vegan food for the former and rated it lower, even though it was the same.
And likewise, I know very few vegans who have made a big thing about it. They just order the squash wellington and get back to the chat.
I had someone say that can't comprehend why vegetarians eat meat imitation products. For some reason they cannot understand that although we like the taste of meat, we don't want to partake in the murder of animals.
I've always used GTA as an example sure it's fun to pretend to steal cars and cause mayhem but you don't do it properly (hopefully anyway) because of the moral implications.
I had someone tell me it's just as bad as eating meat. Not sure how she worked that one out.
I had a vegan tell me something similar once (bearing in mind I don't eat meat either) because I wear a leather belt. I told her I've literally had it for about fifteen years and throwing it away seems worse but apparently I'm perpetuating the fashion that calls for leather. I mean I kind of understand it but it's a bit of a stretch.
Itās when they say it about burgers and sausages. Do they not know that pigs arenāt walking around with actual sausage shaped meat inside them?
People tend to crave what is familiar too, especially with food. Itās far easier to make dietary changes if you still have options to you that you know you like and will eat. Swapping out a meat product for a vegan or vegetarian one is probably the single easiest thing you could do.
I once told a friend about a great new restaurant that was vegan. I'm not vegan but it's just a nice new place in the city. His response was "why would I want to eat there, I'm not a horse".
To me these people are as annoying as the militant type vegans. On Come Dine With Me, if someone does a vegan/vegetarian menu, there will always be one rabid meat eater that acts like going without meat for one meal will kill them.
They are worse than militant vegans. I eat meat but I can absolutely empathise with people who are ethically vegan and want to at least try to get people to cut down on eating animal products - I get it. What I donāt get is people who eat meat deciding to become militant about people who donāt. Makes absolute zero sense beyond them being pricks.
I think a lot of people who are very anti vegan feel personally attacked by perceived criticisms of their lifestyle. You see the same kind of over the top reaction to environmental campaigners, or to anything to do with parenting
"How do you know someone doesn't eat meat?.....They'll tell you! ššš" "I love eating meat, could never give it up? Don't you miss chicken? Pork? Beef? What about a steak? Meat meat meat haha I'm going to eat more now!" "Ok...I just said I was eating tofu that's all."
I love telling people I avoid meat as when questioned I get to tell them all about my lifetime adventure with difficult bowel movements. The amount of meat eaters that think your poo should have blood in it amd sit on the toilet for ages is hilarious.
I'm vegetarian and only talk about it when it's relevant e.g choosing a restaurant with options that work for me, or someone invites me for dinner, I'm not preachy or judgy about it. My husband eats meat and that's fine. My father in law cannot STAND this and there needs to be 10000x passive aggressive "jokes" and comments any time I spend time with them. Weak laughter and polite smiles have not deterred him, he just gets offended that I won't fight him about it. I don't want to, that sounds exhausting.
Jokes like that are the worst. Had a group dinner last year and there was an Australian guy who kept going on about it "mmm this burger is so good! Not offending you am I!? Haha! Don't want a bite!? Haha just messing with you, cheer up mate!" I literally just ordered a veggie burger and mentioned I didn't eat meat when someone asked. Not saying I'm happy his phone and wallet were stolen that night and he also got food poisoning but karma went in hard!
I had to get rid of a āfriendā when he found out I was seeing vegan woman a while back. He took offence that she would be telling me what I can eat ffs obviously she wasnāt as neither of us cared what the other person had on their plate u less we were sharing a takeaway in which case I didnt mind trying new things
I love how meat eaters are always going on about Vegans being mouthy but I've never met a mouthy vegan in my life...the most I hear is if I offer them food and I get "oh no thanks I am vegan". Cool, I will only offer you vegan friendly food then, thanks for letting me know. Whereas I know several people IRL and have seen endless comments online from incredibly mouthy meat eaters. The best one is "WHY DO YOU CALL IT VEGAN CHICKEN THOUGH IT ISNT CHICKEN".
I never understand this attitude. Let people eat what they eat! The only time I would be irritated is any kind of proselytising (at all, donāt care what itās about) and thatās never happened with any vegans Iāve known in real life although there seems to be a vocal online cohort of those. Probably a small proportion of real-world vegans though.
Travellers. Any thread about them or their culture is guaranteed to be a train wreck.
You can really tell when people have not had much experience with travellers.
Not sure which way this comment is leaning, could be either pro or against. In my experience (limited though it is) people who support travellers rarely have much first hand experience of their particular brand of whimsy.
I'm not really either, I was trying to be purposely ambiguous. It is frustrating when you're talking about travellers and people just out right call you a racist or something. The group where I grew up went around stealing dogs from the village one day and I should be able to be annoyed about it without someone telling me "it's just their culture". But the group where I live now seems pretty chill so it's whatever. I don't really mind as long as they're not stealing my friends dog to breed her in a puppy mill or driving their children to suicide because they came out as gay.
The group that camped in a park opposite my daughterās high school would try to chat up the girls after school every day. Not their teens, but the men aged 30+.
Unfortunately, not a traveller specific phenomenon. I grew up in a predominantly average white British town and constantly got harassed in my school uniform. Mainly by white van drivers.
Itās not, no. My daughterās been harassed by a number of random fully grown men over the years. We live in Manchester, as the name may hint
Headhunting has been a part of many cultures over millennia but if a group took it up in my area please don't tell me "it's just their culture."
>whimsy Such whimsy.
Nah most people who have negative opinions have had experience with them, thatās why itās negative
Case in point. Even just mentioning them will bring people out of the woodwork, spoiling for a fight. Edit to add: for more evidence, see the comment chain below this one. It's like a flag to a bull to people on both sides of the argument.
Wild that you post on a forum where people can add their opinions and people add their opinions. Never would have expected it
I'm not saying you can't add your opinion, but per the op: > Does anyone else have anything else that comes to mind where it has gone from 0-60 extremely quickly. You can't deny that the discussion below went off the rails very quickly, which rather makes my point for me. Edit: double negative
>You can't deny that the discussion below didn't go off the rails very quickly, which rather makes my point for me That is true. It has got pretty unhinged down there
An American friend of mine once said he's noticed the one unifying thing between all European peoples and that was our opinion of gypsies.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Me anytime I mention I'm on benefits, and more importantly, what I've bought with them. Because apparently if you're disabled you are not allowed to have a normal life and you must never enjoy it. Your benefits are to buy ready meals and medication ONLY. I'm sorry I can't hear you over my air conditioner
Oh god yes the 'people on benefits' one is an awful conversation. People with no empathy or knowledge of the facts and figures.
They're spoon fed it by mainstream media so much it becomes their truth
And yet, if youāve ever spawned a child, chances are youāve ābeen on benefitsā as well. I presume pensioners get a free passā¦?
Yes, in some people's heads it's sorted into people who deserve help, and people who don't. Of course they're always in the first group. People on benefits only refers to the second group dontcha know. Never mind their ignorance of the actual situations of people they put in that group.
Feck I feel this so much. Not allowed any form of enjoyment in our lives whatsoever are we? It reminds me of a segment on This Morning years ago where a women was spending her Ā£10 Christmas "bonus" on a bottle of fizz. There was outrage.
Unfun fact, the Ā£10 bonus was originally brought in to make sure disabled people could afford a Christmas dinner and some small presents to give to people. It hasnt gone up since it was brought in, in 1972.
I remember when someone posted in one of the UK subs a picture of a Lamborghini in a disabled bay. There was no caption but the implication, given the comments, was that the person was obviously NOT disabled. Because obviously disabled people can not afford / must never purchase / can't operate a sports car.
The likelihood is though that it was just an able-bodied asshat who didn't want his penis extension scratched. I know one person who owns a Lamborghini and that would definitely fit.
See plenty of disabled badges in very fancy cars. Normally big ones though. I wouldnāt expect many people with severe mobility issues to have a Lambo since the seats are about three inches off the ground and getting in and out of them is a workout in itself.
Just don't tell anyone you've got a flat screen TV.
Can you even buy non flat screen TV's anymore?
Honestly once you've bought yourself one slice of avocado toast, a scary percent of people believe you've waived all right to be in financial distress, complain about money or ask for any kind of help from anyone ever again. These people would have me believe I either need to be a self-made billionaire in perpetuity or to have never enjoyed life for a second.
Yeah God forbid a disabled person has access to a mobility car so they can actually get out of the house. They'll all flood in with stories of how they "know" someone who has one and isn't even disabled in their "opinion".
Try telling a pensioner their state pension is a benefit and watch them implode
Cycling on roads. You'll immediately get the foaming mouth road tax / no insurance/ don't pay for them / use the cycle paths brigade jumping in. I'm honestly expecting this post to set it off š
Doesn't matter how many times they're told roads are funded by 'road tax', that 'road tax' is based on vehicle emissions and even compared to an EV, a bike is far more environmentally friendly. Doesn't matter if they're told that a lot of cyclists do have third party liability insurance. All that matters is that a cyclist holds them up for a few seconds on rare occasions.
That's literally it, motorists think they own the roads when the roads are for everyone. So they complain when they have sit behind a bicycle for 5 seconds then the moment they over take them they get stuck in the traffic and the bicycle fly's by them. So they tell them to go on the pavements when it's against the law so when some do they complain when someone gets hurt and scream about licences for bicycles while ignoring that thousands die each year directly by cars.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It's not just cycling, it's literally anything that doesn't make the motorist the king. Far from a war on motorists, we prioritise motorists far ahead of any other transport method for the most part.
Not as bad as saying anything mildly critical about a cyclists behavior on any online platform.
I don't see this. As far as I can see, cyclists will point out and criticise bad behaviour from other cyclists, I've called it out in the past too. However, drivers pose a monumentally greater risk to the safety of others when partaking in the same rule-breaking. It's a case of directing attention, effort, and policing to where the greatest impact can be made. Perhaps you're confusing the above point with cyclists 'excusing' the behaviour of cyclists?
wait until you tell them that if they want us to have licence, insurance, number plates that sould include all bikes that hit any public infrastructure (e.g pavements) so that would include the 4 bikes the kids have just got for Christmas. Pisses them right off
Glad to see this here as I was going to say the same thing. Anti-cyclist people really do tend to be incapable of sharing, or fail to understand concepts when taught to them (such as the non-existence of road tax and the funding sources for road maintenance).
People will also overtake dangerously if a bike is on the road
Most people don't see the actual issue here which is that the transport system isn't designed for cycling and therefore creates conflict. It's a non-issue in the Netherlands because cycling has its own network of high quality infrastructure. Some of it is shared with cars, but these are only streets with low levels of traffic and low speeds. People should be angry at the government who created the conflict in the first place but that would require some intelligence, rather than the standard nonsense arguments mentioned above!
>use the cycle paths brigade jumping in. But the same people will also complain and say that cyclists are getting all the road space dedicated to bike lanes, or they will complain when there are roadworks to create bike lanes. They are also the same people that will dump their wankpanzer in the bike lanes, but then complain when people don't use them, and then complain when they have to wait 20 seconds to overtake a cyclist.
London. I lived there for a decade and there's a certain type of British person who can't hear you're from London without launching into why they hate London.
Everyone in London is rude, and itās always extremely dirty, busy, and pretentious! Not like oop āere! Weāre all little tea jennies, sitting in our cottages, all wrapped up in a cosy blanket, reading Jane Austen. In the morninā we tip our hats to passers by and hand out Hobnobs. On the bus to work we each take it in turns going around each other, giving mental health check ups to make sure nobody feels alone.
Iām from London and often read this sort of shite online. I rarely have had people utter it in person. Iām grateful to have been born here tbh. Left London to attend uni and was glad to be back after completing my degree. Itās so diverse yet one can easily go unnoticed if they wish. Itās also the place to be for my field.
Yeah when I first moved to London I'd got people telling me how they went once and never went back. However you also get the reverse of that, Londoners who think outside of London is a culture-less, racist, wasteland where nothing ever happens. I've just moved out and people can't imagine that life is just as good and perhaps even better not living there. Recently went back just to see a podcast recording (which is actually touring, the London date just worked out better) and my friend immediately asked me 'how do you feel being back in London?' I felt nothing, it was not a big deal to be back.
"However you also get the reverse of that, Londoners who think outside of London is a culture-less, racist, wasteland where nothing ever happens. I've just moved out and people can't imagine that life is just as good and perhaps even better not living there. Recently went back just to see a podcast recording (which is actually touring, the London date just worked out better) and my friend immediately asked me 'how do you feel being back in London?' I felt nothing, it was not a big deal to be back." Historically, there was some truth to London being better. My big birthday treat in the 70s when I was a boy was going to London. I'd go to the Science Museum, I'd go to Hamleys, we'd go somewhere nice for lunch. Or maybe see a movie on one of those huge, amazing screens. Because Hamleys had stuff we just didn't have out in the sticks. In the mid 90s I really wished I lived there. All the shops that sold things I couldn't easily get, the arthouse cinemas, the bands, the clubs, the huge diversity and quality of restaurants. Now, I just go to Bath for some arthouse movies. Or stream them. Nightlife has gone into decline in London as more NIMBYism has kicked in. Easier to see a band elsewhere. And I can buy all the luxury food or books online and have them the next day. And it's just wildly expensive to live there now. Like it was more expensive in the mid 90s, but it was like double the price, not triple. And restaurants outside have raised their game. There's lots of Michelin places everywhere, a huge diversity of global cuisine even in small towns. About the only reason I go to London now is the opera.
I'm tired of the whole "London isn't real England" thing. 16% of the UK lives in London. Are we all just fucking imaginary?
there was a thread on here recently about UK tourist mistakes. it was very amusing to see all of the northerners moaning about London. the worst one was one that recommended that tourists spend a week in Melton Mowbray rather than London
I think a lot of the hate London gets comes from the fact the government doesn't seem to give two shits about anywhere outside of London.
Anything that requires an ounce of empathy for the situation of others or requires the bare minimum of critical thinking to be honest.
yup. elderly people in my family enraged by pronouns on a name badge. furious about asylum seekers risking their lives in boats. empathy would go a long way.
Israel-Palestine 'Wild' gardens.
I have noticed though I'm pretty sure paid trolls are causing trouble. How can front page articles have comments with hundreds of likes for one side While back page articles have balanced mix of comments and almost equal votes for each side of the argumentĀ
It's not an assumption but fact, based on ample evidence, that the Zionist lobby has reached out to and paid individuals to promote their cause online. Also Mossad has very powerful online operations.
You also have to look out for low karma accounts that have been on Reddit for about a year.
Any account made post 07th October and only posts about Israel / Palestine is usually pretty suspicious
Feels like you canāt go in a subreddit these days without this cropping up as a shitshow in comments
Weird one but in my experience, all hell breaks loose on Reddit as soon as someone talks about washing up. Everyone bangs in about how the other people do it wrong or less efficient than them, then the dishwasher crew chime in and it all goes to shit. I've never seen anything tear a UK subreddit apart like washing up does.
Just ask any sort of non-confrontational question about how to save money/budget based on an income of Ā£21k. Within no time at all your thread will be filled with people having a poverty off to prove how they're the ones getting paid the least so only they get to have an opinion on the subject. It's weird to say the least.
I want to ask why but I'm scared to...
Basically, everyone just thinks their way is best. Then you get people arguing over whether you should rinse the dishes, why you should or shouldn't use a washing up bowl, how long you should use a sponge for, why dishwashers are or aren't more efficient, whether it's lazy or not to have a dishwasher, people.saying they can just wash up in the time it takes to load or u load a dishwasher, people saying their time has a monetary value so they do it X way to save time... It just keeps going. Causes a right kerfuffle.
And don't forget "just wash up as you go" crew chiming in as well!
Oh, that's me hahaha
You forgot yourself? That's a strange situation; take some time to think about that while you're washing up!
People get so riled up about washing up bowls, it's actually funny lmao
Similar to yours but specifically trans rights. I'm guilty of it, but as an avid pro trans supporter. On both sides it gets quite heated quite quickly.
Is this based on online encounters or actual people you've met face to face in the UK? Online it seems that everyone is thinking about trans people all day but in my experience the overwhelming majority you speak to in person don't seem to care about it at all. If it gets brought up people might laugh a bit at the pronoun stuff and might mention inclusion in sports as a point of debate but outside of that the majority of us seem to take a "live and let live" approach.
No, based on actual people I've met face to face. People get very upset about it. Much like people used to get very upset about gay people existing.
My FIL still thinks they shouldn't be able to get married or adopt children.
That's interesting, I guess the demographics we hang around with and location we're in may impact things but that's not been my experience at all.
I live in a village on the outskirts of a small city. I would imagine it's generally less progressive here.
I live in a city and work at a school. We have one trans boy in the entire school. When I started, I'd get staff say things like "that girl thinks it's a boy, but I get too confused, so I just call her by her name", or suggestions that anyone the lad is friends with must be a victim of some sort of weird sex thing. Someone put a "trans rights" poster up in town and it was *knifed* down. Massive slash marks where they'd repeatedly stabbed at it. I'm a queer female, but grew up looking very, very masculine and was usually mistaken for a boy. I'm now very feminine and straight passing, so I get a lot of people spouting homophobic and transphobic drivel at me under the assumption that I'll just agree. My ex girlfriend is a trans woman and we just used to get abuse shouted at us when we'd go out to the pub or whatever. Even the people who weren't being outright hateful, would think it was okay to ask us about our sex life or whatever.
As a more positive take, a child at our local primary school came out as trans. Got letters stating āheā would be a āsheā from next year, and would be wearing the girlsā uniform.. None of the kids or parents batted an eyelid. Either the parents knew the person (and took a sympathetic āgood on her/must be an awful position to be inā approach) or didnāt, so it didnāt affect them. The kids werenāt bothered as the person they knew and liked/disliked anyway hadnāt changed. Clearly this wonāt affect your lived experience, but just wanted a glimmer of hope and positivity to come through! Edit: see below!
Thank God it's alright somewhere. I had to run round the school with a fucking sharpie and manually scribble out the boys birth name off all our registers because it was being DISPLAYED AT THE FRONT OF THE FUCKING CLASS EVERY TIME THEY TOOK ATTENDANCE. Genuinely baffling levels of ineptitude. He'd brought it up multiple times, was clearly seriously distressed by it and was being bullied because of it, and when I asked why it hadn't been changed yet, everyone just looked blank and said it would be too much work.
Having worked with trans women, people wonāt say out loud to their face, but will giggle when they walk past because they are weird. Insist that sharing a bathroom is strange because a penis could touch the toilet seat. Criticise the clothing for being too feminine, not feminine enough. Refuse to give them credit for their work because that would imply you agree with their lifestyle, even though the two have nothing o do with each other. But if challenged, oh no, I am not transphobic. They are just mixed up.
Lots of people "don't care about it" in the same way lots of people in the 80s didn't "care about gay people", in that they were still deeply prejudiced but never had to actually confront it because they didn't meet any gay people. The government has just told schools they are not allowed to teach anyone about gender identity, it's like Section 28 all over again.
You're right to say the majority don't care. However this is misinterpreted on reddit to being supportive, and because most people are not aware of the 'progress' we've supposedly been making. Your typical 40 year old who isn't terminally online still sees trans people (women especially) as a comic novelty (think the IT Crowd) and doesn't actually think a lot of this more modern gender stuff is seriously happening. Many forms of prejudice are lessened with exposure - most people are less racist or homophobic when they actually meet BAME or gay people. My experience with trans issues is usually the opposite. People assume the stories they read online are jokes/exaggerations/some American madness and become outraged when they realise people are being serious and intend to introduce this progress in THEIR workplace/school/amateur sport etc. I've got my theories about why trans people face this fairly unique issue in terms of increased prejudice but I'm aware Reddit admins are touchy about this subject.
Anything that even mentions trans people in passing seems to set people wild, regardless of whether or not their transgenderism is relevant. Iām banned from the sub of a well-known quiz show after criticising a contestantās poor reaction to losing, because that contestant happened to be trans.
Only Connect? This springs to mind of a trans contestant with a bad reaction. If its who I'm thinking, they were an arse. I say that being trans myself. Being trans doesn't excuse shitty behaviour.
15 minute cities. Always weird as the idea of being able to walk to school, doctors etc... its fantastic.
I dived into the rabbit hole with that one a while ago. The amount of fuckwits raging on r/conspiracy about them is hilarious.
The problem is that it's just an awful neologism. If you just called them "villages" all the ultra-traditionalist conspiracy nuts would have nothing to complain about.
How things from Lidl/Aldi are "just as good" as their more expensive counterparts. You'll get people jumping in on both sides of the argument to vehemently defend their personal experience as the be-all and end-all of factual truth.
I think they both do a lot of nice food, but their toiletry knock offs are nothing like the brands and crap imo.
Itās because people are too status-obsessed to admit itās a budgeting thing and not a taste thing
Pronouns
Insert that guy who raged for 10 minutes about Starfield having pronouns here.
its so funny to me when they say "I would never use pronouns because i'm normal"
Cyclists.
I see this a lot. And it's always the same argument and counter-arguments. "Road tax." "No such thing." "Insurance." "Too expensive to administrate for the risk involved." "Two abreast." "It's safer this way." "Not in the cycle lanes." "Because they're shit and cyclists are allowed on the road anyway." Have I missed any from the bingo card?
Red light jumping. There's always that perennial favourite. Oh and MAMIL.
I once commented on /r/Cardiff that the new cycle path out side the student union was dangerous. The responses were either. Stupid students they deserve to be run over. Or Stupid cyclists they deserve to crash.
Fake grass always seems to get people going
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Or if it's on Reddit people think it's the funniest most original thing in the world to quote the IT Crowd because they don't like football
I hate football š¤
I don't care for football but what I really dislike are *some* of the football fans. Is that better? It doesn't help that I live in a city where football rivalry also includes religious sectarianism and other bigotry.
Veganism
How do you know someone is vegan? Don't worry, they will tell you! Non-vegans only have one joke about us.
Don't forget the 'my food eats your food' joke! Ugh
As if they never eat plants themselves. Wait until they find out the chips they have with their burgers are made from vegan potatoes!
Not a vegan, but honestly, in real life, I've heard that joke around ten trillion times, and have never heard a single vegan or vegetarian ever actively want to discuss their dietary choices beyond necessity. I know which of the two groups bore me to death with their sense of moral superiority and it isn't the vegans.
The environment. When that dies, we die (taking a lot of species with us. Any attempt to do something serious about it will have people whining loudly in no time. They will then complain when food prices go up and supermarkets have less choice as crop shortages become the norm. They will also complain when we see boiling summers, freezing winters, and more frequent storms within the next few years.
I'm gay. I don't need money being spent to decorate ambulances when the NHS is on its arse.
Pitbull/Bully XL dogs.
I'd say dogs in general. Some people have a cultlike love of dogs and can't accept that some people just don't like them.
Anytime I mention I have a cat I have people arguing to me about how dogs are better and how a cat will never love me the way dogs do! My cats my biggest fan thank you very much š¤
20mphĀ
The BBC, the licence fee and paying their top talent
Actually, that does trigger me, because most of their "top talent" isn't. Zoe Ball is a very mediocre presenter who both times she was given the breakfast show lost a huge number of listeners, and there are hundreds of people in local radio as good as her who can barely pay the rent. Hundreds of ex-footballers and managers who would do punditry for a lot less than Lineker and Hansen. The newsreaders are hugely overpaid compared to what you need for someone who can read an autocue.
Israel/Palestine *ducks*
And you get more shit than anyone else for saying neither side is wholesome
To bounce off the London comments by it being in a similar vein; Birmingham It doesn't seem very common in this subreddit thankfully but so many people who drove through the city centre once or spoke to someone that drove through the centre once call it a shithole. I may be biased because I've lived here all my life but there are nice parts and the city centre isn't the only thing here. It's extremely unfair lmao
When I lived in London it was LTNs. I received straight-up death threats for saying I supported having them on my street! Trans people and their right to exist and just get on with their lives. [If you read this "Talking Points" article on the BBC in 2002 about gay adoption](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1973628.stm) so many of those negative arguments we recognise as unfounded and ignorant now are the exact same as those brought up in relation to trans people.
When I lived in London I found almost everyone was in favour of LTNs. The people I found opposing them were always non-londoners who seemed to think the scheme somehow affected them in rural LincolnshireĀ
Discussions about eating/drinking out. Always turns into an online version of that 3 Yorkshireman sketch.
Smoking/vaping.
I'm guessing there's some sort of shadowban on this sub for "immigration", because I'm shocked no one else has mentioned it. It's all I bloody hear about these days.
The NHS. The "best" or even "only" public health system in the world, didn't you know?
I think what angers me about this one is people arguing in bad faith. The fact is, nobody cares *how* the NHS is funded, but the concept of "free at the point of use" must always remain. Nobody thinks it's the best in the world. People just think paying for healthcare is immoral and it's great that we don't have to get saddled with debt for being ill. So when privatisation is pushed, of course people push back.
You miss the point. In 1948 no country had a universal health service, healthcare was a for-profit good. Atlee shifted the global status quo, and for the first time in history healthcare was a human right. That's why it's such a source of national pride. Regardless of its efficacy, it's one of the most important results of the 20th century.
Anything about it being expensive to eat healthily Someone always seems to start ranting about rice and beans like it's some kind of magic bullet for food poverty. Yes, we all know it's cheap and nutritious but see how long you can subsist on it before that massive bag of Iceland chicken dippers starts looking like the food of the gods
Americanisms on this sub
Christ, I used to be like that until I found out that France had an institution legislating what words could be used in French. I thought that was pathetic, and then the penny dropped.
Islam, Muslims and ethnic minorities of unknown religion. Online(they wouldn't dare irl) when there's a video of one of these people doing or saying something not to their liking, some will be openly racistĀ E.g. a Black guy who has road rage gets comments of import third world become third world, always certain type of person, want to take our country etc., deport White guy throws rubbish out of car,Ā (*Crickets chirp) And God help you if you call out racism. That's playing the race cardĀ
Cats - Indoor or outdoor animals.
This one I've found is very much dependent on country. Over in the US you've got people raging about how if you let cats out you're irresponsible to them and to the environment. Meanwhile over here many shelters and adoption places will turn people down for adoption due to them not having outdoor space.
The order with which jam and clotted cream should go on a scone.
I work in a library and we just recently changed our mascot for children's events. It's a cartoon alien that isn't specifically a he or a she - the point was that they can be whatever you want them to be. They're an alien. In dungarees. It went semi-viral and we got a lot of hate for the fact that our new mascot is "non-binary" (we never said that) and "how dare we subject innocent children to that". From all over the world. Mental. Now we're not allowed to share anything about the mascot online, in case the hate starts up again.
Scientific facts. Many people are in total denial that they are essentially scientifically illiterate. Instead of working on it and learning the scientific method, they get triggered at the slightest information that goes against what they believe is the truth, i.e., pseudosciences. Among examples are the antivaxxers, climate deniers, flat Eathers, believers in the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, etc.
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The new series of Doctor Who gets the whole marketing team at work worked up for some reason? So much so that we've been banned from talking about it
The 20mph speed limit in Wales.
Anything regarding cars and the apparent 'War on Motorists' (potholes, traffic, LTNs, LEZ, etc). I'm in a couple of local Facebook groups and people somehow always link it back to those things and get angry. E.g., someone posts a nice old picture of a street. Immediate responses include things along the lines of "I remember when you could actually drive on that street. Council ruining this city, potholes everywhere, horrible traffic, can't drive anywhere, all ridiculous". If you're that triggered by images that aren't even related, and you seem to hate the city, why bother being in the group?
The slightest age gap in a relationship. "I (20f) have a partner (26m)..." _WHY IS THIS GUY WITH YOU? EFFING PAEDOPHILE_ I can't prove this but I suspect this is only a concern for Millennials and younger. In the 90s, I was 17 and my, bf was 22, and this was considered normal and fine. Now people are up in arms about the horror of it.