There’s nothing wrong with being weird.
Originally, weird used to mean ‘having the power to control destiny’ and later ‘unearthly’. In a sense, the term has a positive meaning and should be treated as such. After all, folks tend to gravitate towards unique things more than the same ol-same ol; being weird makes folks seem more authentic and empowering; above all else, it fuels creativity and leads to a more unorthodox approach to problem-solving.
But, somewhere along the way, the idea of being weird got skewed by humanity’s ignorance and so here we are—burning bridges and building walls when it should actually be the other way around. And so here we are, seeing yet another thread discussing the weird aspects of American culture.
#21
The poor are obese. In most other countries when you see abject poverty you can see people starving with their ribs poking out
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153points
#23
that showing blood and gore to children is simply entertainment but a women’s breast is taboo
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134points
#27
We shoot ourselves in the foot with who we elect, acting like were free when it's really just a corporate tyranny and not democracy.
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123points
#28
We banned most cigarette advertising decades ago. But I cannot watch a football game with out seeing every alcohol ad a million times.
122points
#31
Making 14 year olds famous “actors” and “singers” and, if they’re girls, immediately sexualising them.
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109points
#32
How we have such a stigma around sex and can't show nudity on TV, yet there's this total acceptance of brutal violence. My fiancé is Dutch and the relationship with sex in the Netherlands seems *so* much more open and healthy, whereas they aren't as desensitized to violence. Makes much more sense to me.
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108points
#36
Infant male circumcision. Only 30% of males are circumcised on the planet. The vast majority of that percentage is religious circumcision. Most of the rest is tribal practices. America is this sole weird country that on a large scale just randomly does it and no one can really say why.
I remember when I was a kid and learned that the penis naturally comes with a foreskin and all the penises I’ve seen in my life were operated on. It felt like my own country was this weird foreign place I no longer understood.
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83points
#37
Glorifying politicians. Apparently, we believe their lies every time.
79points
#38
The commercialism of everything. Everything is an ad. Everything is to get you to buy something.
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78points
#39
Tipping. America is one of the only countries where tipping a large percentage of a bill at a restaurant is not only accepted but, if you don’t tip the waiter around 20% or whatever, you’ll get shamed for it. And even beyond that, tipping is now starting to creep into, for example, tip jars at pick-up counters where there’s no wait staff and tip jars at some retail outlets and such.
It’s a weird, uniquely American custom that as I recall started around the Great Depression with rich patrons tipping wait staff to get seats or food more quickly. Then the restaurant owners realized they could get away with paying the waiters next to nothing and letting them live primarily on tips, and ever since then there’s been a constant assumption in the US that whatever you get charged on the menu you just add the 20% or so to what you pay. It started as a total scam to underpay employees and employees to avoid paying taxes on cash tips and it just continues mainly due to social inertia to this day.
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74points