# Generalisations/Memes you hate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2017, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795 "2017-09-20T10:42:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/21 "2017-09-21T01:09:09Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > THIS! It drives me insane. Same with TV sitcoms, making men out to be impulsive idiots who NEVER think about their actions. In practice, from what i’ve seen, its the exact opposite. Men are calculated and like things done to specification and the right way. :mad: I don’t disagree. However, what’s happened with sitcoms (and, ads, as well) is that making any character other than the guy (and, preferably, the white guy) out to be the fool or the butt of the joke has become potentially problematic. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/22 "2017-09-21T01:22:30Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/23 "2017-09-21T02:19:04Z")
The Smurfs! I’m over them. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/24 "2017-09-21T02:29:33Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > The Smurfs! > I’m over them. Even the **Drunky** ones? ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/25 "2017-09-21T02:58:54Z")
I hate it when people say that people in this or that city are particularly bad drivers, because apparently it doesn’t occur to them that you can find people who will say that about _any_ city, and while I suppose you could look at accident statistics, there’s no generally agreed upon, objective standard with which to measure bad driving. People will say things like “let me tell you, I grew up near Baltimore, went to college in Chicago, got my first job in Seattle, but since moving to Houston… my God, the drivers here are terrible! They don’t use turn signals, they cut you off, they can’t drive in the rain; I’ve never seen such bad drivers!” Yeah, well, for every person who says that about Houston, there’s one who says it about Seattle, and Chicago, and Baltimore, and every other city and town in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/26 "2017-09-21T03:18:17Z")
Emojis make me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/27 "2017-09-21T03:41:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I hate “It is easier to seek forgiveness than to ask for permission”. It’s a cute way of saying,“I really don’t give a shit about your permission-if you don’t like what I did that’s all on you”. Usually when I hear this, it’s in a corporate or other authoritarian system, and is a lament that “proper channels” are structured such that doing things the “right way” is either impossible or has an unreasonable cost compared to the risk mitigated. In other words, a completely unsubtle way of saying “your system is so broken I have no choice but to work around it.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/28 "2017-09-21T03:51:42Z")
All the “emotionally manipulative woman” tropes. You know, the “if you ask her what’s wrong and she says ‘nothing’ then you’re in BIG TROUBLE” or “if a man says something in a forest and nobody hears him is he still wrong?” “SWMBO” - all of that crap. Shading into the “women are strange and mysterious and who can understand them?” meme, also one I can’t stand. And the bumbling men who can’t housework, that’s pretty crazy-making too. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/29 "2017-09-21T03:55:54Z")
This seems a bit aside from most of the example so far, but the accepted wisdom that I hate is that you can categorize people’s personalities in a meaningful way by plotting their position on some kind of grid. I’m looking at you, Briggs Myers, among many others. There are more than 16 types of people and you don’t get to know any of them by putting them in one of your little boxes. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/30 "2017-09-21T08:54:03Z")
All the gender generalizations. But you knew that. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/31 "2017-09-21T09:57:09Z")
Single with 3 cats? You must be a shutin Crazy Cat Person, coddling your furbabies while you veg on the couch. But 3 large dogs? You must be a fun Outdoorsy Sporty type, down at the dogpark with the frisbee… Yeah, most of the mad outdoorsy types I know are cat people, because they’re lock-up-and-go pets. Dogs, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/32 "2017-09-21T11:11:35Z")
An annoying meme is the meme that memes are “memes” as seen on social media posts, rather than the term meme, that was created by Dawkins, and expanded on by Susan Blackmore in The Meme Machine. Also introduced to me by Cecil on SDMB about 15 years ago. [Youtube explanation of actual memes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/33 "2017-09-21T11:35:27Z")
> [@beckdawrek](#): > > emojis make me crazy. 😜… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/34 "2017-09-21T12:03:32Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > There are more than 16 types of people and you don’t get to know any of them by putting them in one of your little boxes. You can, if they stay in the box long enough and they’re tied up so they can’t run away. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/35 "2017-09-21T13:29:21Z")
The whole nerd/geek stereotype. I think part of The Big Bang Theory’s success is that they show that subgroup as real people. ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/36 "2017-09-21T13:40:40Z")
I hate it when people say that “things” are getting worse. In particular, “Things” can mean anything from the following list: - Driving habits (of other people, of course) - The abilities of young people - The manners of young people - Cheating in sports - Bureaucracy And many more things… Unless there is any objective way to determine deterioration of any of these aspects, I believe these feelings are due to a combination of selective perception, confirmation bias and rosy retrospection. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/37 "2017-09-21T14:43:18Z")
> [@Remember\_me](#): > > I hate it when people say that “things” are getting worse. > > . I think it’s demonstrably true that the 2011 **The Thing** is worse than John Carpenter’s 1982 **The Thing**. Howard Hawks fans insists that both are worse than the 1951 **The Thing**. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/38 "2017-09-21T14:44:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I don’t disagree. However, what’s happened with sitcoms (and, ads, as well) is that making any character other than the guy (and, preferably, the white guy) out to be the fool or the butt of the joke has become potentially problematic. How so? I typically don’t see it in real life in my circles but why is it problematic on TV? I would say it is annoying having white males as the scapegoat, but I don’t want to ruin this thread. (please, readers, don’t.) I’m genuinely curious as to why it can potentially be problematic ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/39 "2017-09-21T15:33:42Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > How so? I typically don’t see it in real life in my circles but why is it problematic on TV? I would say it is annoying having white males as the scapegoat, but I don’t want to ruin this thread. (please, readers, don’t.) > > I’m genuinely curious as to why it can potentially be problematic The reason is that, frequently in the past, women, African-Americans, Asians, etc., were portrayed in that “fool” role, and it was often used to reinforce negative stereotypes (i.e., women can’t manage money and are bad drivers, African-Americans are lazy, etc.) Thus, placing a member of one of those groups in that sort of role today has the potential to generate a backlash from viewers, if they see it as discriminatory or perpetuating those stereotypes. Meanwhile, portraying a while male in that sort of role is often seen as much “safer.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/40 "2017-09-21T15:48:51Z")
It’s not just an issue of being problematic. It’s annoying if a show has only one or two female characters or black characters or queer or another minority and one is a slut and one is a moron. Token characters have their plates full being token characters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795.md?page=3)