# Comments from people that have either shocked you or have left you pondering... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821 "2008-10-27T19:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/1 "2008-10-27T19:32:04Z")
Its amazing how each person is there own little world. We all have different ideas, thoughts, perspectives, backgrounds, etc. Sometimes, during the day to day routine you hear people say the darnest things, some which may shock you, or some that may make you reflect. For the purpose of my story, it is worth noting that the Dominican Republic is over 70% mixed race (mulatto) and about 13% white. As is common in most other countries, due to a variety of reasons, whites control the vast majority of the wealth in the country. Anyway, on to my story: One day, during a rountine blood test (I have high cholesterol and need to have a check up about once every 3-4 months), I had a mulatto woman take out a needle and was about to draw blood from my veins. I do not like needles. In fact, I hate them. They make me nervous and all that. Everytime I go to take blood tests I tend to joke around with the people there, to lighten up the mood in general. Most of the time we all have a good laugh. This time, I told her in a joking way (something along the lines of): “Please, don´t take all of my blood, I´m going to need some for the rest of the day”. (For whatever reason, they always take like 3 or 4 plastic tube worth of blood) Then instead of smiling or laughing she said “That´s the problem with you people.” I took it as a racial statement meaning that whites want to keep all and give little. I did not get angry nor did the event proceed beyond that, but that little comment was quite shocking, and it makes you think about the ways others look at the world. I thought a lot about that little comment. I though it was interesting. I would like to hear from you, fellow dopers: have you ever had a person say a comment or a phrase that has shocked you or has left you thinking? ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/2 "2008-10-27T21:57:11Z")
This guy I work with was “explaining” to me all about how only like 2% of gay men are REALLY gay, and only the REALLY flaming ones of course, so you couldn’t be you know, like muscle-y or Rock Hudson or anything like that. :rolleyes: And then he went on to say “Oh and all these people who say they’re Bi-Sexual are just confused and lesbians are turned that way by abuse and bad experiences with men and a lot of lesbian couples don’t even have sex with each other.” :smack: I almost told him “You are watching the WRONG PORN.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/3 "2008-10-27T23:55:47Z")
Everytime my sister opens her mouth, The Crazy tumbles out like hail on the Great Plains. I am left speechless on many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/4 "2008-10-28T00:20:44Z")
Dude, I work armed Security from midnight to 5am at an urban restaurant. I call the place “The Crazy Factory” because of the shit that happens there. Every. Single. Night. I just can’t believe how mind numbingly stupid people have to be for the stuff that comes out of their mouths. Sure, a lot of them are drunk. But not all of them, and even the drunkest can’t be given a pass for some of the sheer dumbfuckery that transpires. Then I can point to something else entirely. Years ago I was on the outer edge of a clique that revolved around two couples. One of the women was the social maven of the group. Yet for my part, I couldn’t believe the incredibly cruel and nasty shit that would come out of her mouth at the most unexpected times. Oh, certainly never enough or frequently enough to drive everyone away from her, but certainly enough to make me think less of her. Sorry I don’t have any specific cites of things said on either end. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/5 "2008-10-28T01:08:16Z")
I didn’t know I knew half of the crazy people I know until this latest US election cycle… Did that make any sense? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/6 "2008-10-28T01:17:22Z")
The other day someone told me that our tv stations are switching to digital programming as a plot to get those converter boxes into our homes, which the government will use to spy on us.😕 I don’t even know anyone who’ll need a box, so they’re not going to be doing a whole lot of spying. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/7 "2008-10-28T03:14:55Z")
I got into a discussion several years back with another doper regarding romanization of non-western names, in which he stated that how a person chooses to render their own name is completely irrelevant; how **he** (the doper) chooses to write it is the correct way. A couple of rounds of bewildered questioning confirmed that yes, he felt it was an unassailably rational position that he dictate to other fully-literate people how they should spell their own names. It was at that point I realized I was dealing with a completely alien form of thinking and let the matter drop. It’s made it impossible for me to take anything he’s said since then seriously, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/8 "2008-10-28T05:48:58Z")
I have a cousin who is in her mid-to-late 50s. She insists that all dogs are male and all cats are female. According to her, the dog inseminates the cat, which gives birth to a litter of either puppies, kittenss, or both. No amount of evidence will dissuade her of this belief. She also believes that Alaska and Hawaii are right off the coast of California, because that’s where they were on a wall map, back when she was in school. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/9 "2008-10-28T10:58:56Z")
Are you pondering what I’m pondering? Oh wait, we already did that thread. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/10 "2008-10-28T11:47:31Z")
“They should stop immigration so that there are jobs for white australians” “I hope he didn’t apologise for calling the doctor a black bastard” Both in the space of a minute. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/11 "2008-10-28T12:15:03Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > She insists that all dogs are male and all cats are female. From NewsRadio: > [@](#): > > Beth: All dogs are male, all cats are female. > Lisa Miller: Daisy is most definitely, and I mean definitely, a girl. > Max Lewis: We’re not disputing that. It’s not a matter of sex, it’s a matter of gender. > Lisa Miller: Sex and gender are the same thing. > Max Lewis: Not so. I definitely prefer sex to gender. > Lisa Miller: Well, seeing as you have neither, that must be very sad for you. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/12 "2008-10-28T12:28:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I have a cousin who is in her mid-to-late 50s. She insists that all dogs are male and all cats are female. According to her, the dog inseminates the cat, which gives birth to a litter of either puppies, kittenss, or both. No amount of evidence will dissuade her of this belief. > > She also believes that Alaska and Hawaii are right off the coast of California, because that’s where they were on a wall map, back when she was in school. Does your cousin believe that life is like a box of chocolates as well? Good grief! ---
**Author:** ![Purgatory\_Creek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Purgatory\_Creek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purgatory_Creek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/13 "2008-10-28T12:54:41Z")
From my brother-in-law, at the top of his lungs and accompanied by his fist slamming on the table: “It’s a good thing God created AIDS to kill all the faggots.” WTF? Who says shit like that in public (other than Fred Phelps)? My cousin had died just a few weeks before this of AIDS, so I was a little raw, and I let him have it, although I still have no recollection of what I said. We don’t see him any more. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/14 "2008-10-28T13:07:00Z")
> [@Purgatory\_Creek](#): > > From my brother-in-law, at the top of his lungs and accompanied by his fist slamming on the table: “It’s a good thing God created AIDS to kill all the faggots.” > > WTF? Who says shit like that in public (other than Fred Phelps)? > > My cousin had died just a few weeks before this of AIDS, so I was a little raw, and I let him have it, although I still have no recollection of what I said. We don’t see him any more. I had a former boss tell me that AIDS was created because a bunch of faggots went to Africa to fuck monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/15 "2008-10-28T13:10:20Z")
I know a person who said after Katrina, “Well, it’s not like all of those people dying was a bad thing. Just cleaning up the gene pool, after all.” She was also the same bright bunny who was pissed off that a bunch of the refugees were brought to WV because she said they were the “worst of the worst and it’s not like any of them were doctors, nurses, teachers and so on.” ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/16 "2008-10-28T13:14:04Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > This guy I work with was “explaining” to me all about how only like 2% of gay men are REALLY gay, and only the REALLY flaming ones of course, so you couldn’t be you know, like muscle-y or Rock Hudson or anything like that. :rolleyes: I knew a guy who couldn’t get over so-called “Lipstick Lesbians” or feminine lesbians. In his mind, if they were making themselves look attractive, it was to be appealing to men, right? It couldn’t _possibly_ be to attract other women, or even to feel attractive for themselves. Therefore, to his weird way of thinking, they weren’t really gay. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/17 "2008-10-28T13:55:21Z")
This… [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10367314&postcount=25](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10367314&postcount=25) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/18 "2008-10-28T14:18:14Z")
I spoke to a woman recently who believes it’s “suspicious” that Barack Obama was able to afford tuition to Ivy League universities, coming from such supposedly humble beginnings. She suspects there was support from nefarious foreign sources. My pointing out that it’s not unreasonable that a poor, intelligent minority might have benefitted from a combination of scholarships and affirmative action elicited an even more spirited outburst on affirmative action. When you can’t remember what you were arguing about 30 seconds ago, you’re unbeatable. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/19 "2008-10-28T14:27:40Z")
A few months after my second trimester miscarriage my mom was hanging out with my then-toddler son and me and the toddler was acting up and I was exasperated. This caused mom to comment, “I often think it’s a good thing there won’t be a new baby in December.” Wait, what? Am I a bad mom? Is my son a monster? It’s good this planned and wanted baby isn’t coming even though I have fertility problems and I’m 37 and now I might never get pregnant again [which I didn’t, btw]? It’s 7 years later and I’m still flabbergasted. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821/20 "2008-10-28T14:33:35Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > This… > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10367314&postcount=25](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10367314&postcount=25) This … [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10369074&postcount=27](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10369074&postcount=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-from-people-that-have-either-shocked-you-or-have-left-you-pondering/469821.md?page=2)