# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/81 "2017-09-29T03:05:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Money doesn’t buy happiness. > > Fuck that meme. I hate that one too. I was depressed when I was broke, and I’m depressed now that I’m pretty wealthy. But being rich and depressed is roughly 1000 times better than being broke and depressed. Yeah, sure, money didn’t quite buy happiness, but it did buy relief from some major, major stressors. Not having to worry about whether I could pay the rent any given month is a big step in the direction of happiness. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Another shitty meme: Things always happen for a reason. > > No they don’t. My mom uses this one, and it makes my teeth hurt. I like the reply I saw somewhere: “Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is you’re stupid and you make bad decisions.” ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/82 "2017-09-29T10:20:23Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Another shitty meme: Things always happen for a reason. > > No they don’t. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > That’s not a meme, it’s an [aphorism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphorism) (but I agree it’s shitty, whatever it is). Well, things do happen for a reason; even if that reason is obscure (or even obscene) to us, there’s a reason for it. What I hate is when people offer that up as a sort of platitude, a solace or comfort to someone who’s had something really shitty happen to them. > [@HubZilla](#): > > How about if you stand up to the bully, he’ll back down? Usually followed with a story how they won the fight and got their grudging respect. I did that, and the bully pounded the crap out of me. He was stronger and more skilled at fighting. The power of positive thinking was not on my side. > > Or the other tale that if you take out the leader, his buddies will back down. “No, man, this is his fight”, while they watched with bemused detachment watching their friend start losing? Nope, he called for aid, and they jumped in and pounded the crap out of me. Fuckin’ A right. "Thanks, Mom; I just learned a valuable life-lesson\* while fighting four-to-one odds, nearly getting my septum severely deviated, and/or my retina(s) detached. But as long as you got to trot out ‘violence never solves anything’ and ‘everything happens for a reason’ yet again, I guess all is right with the world.” FWIW, the particular life lesson I learned was: “God Made Man; Sam Colt Made 'Em Equal.” ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/83 "2017-09-29T12:09:49Z")
Generalisations that annoy me: British people have bad teeth - this really irritates me. We’re not as \*obsessed \*over teeth as some nations are, we don’t pay dentists that much (a friend is an experienced dentist and earns a little under six figures sterling) and there are still many people lucky enough to get free NHS oral healthcare. All food in the UK is crap - maybe **forty years** ago it wasn’t as good as the cuisines of Europe, but now there are 177 Michelin star restaurants in the UK & Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/84 "2017-09-29T18:16:15Z")
The other day the local pool was a lifeguard short so the manager did a shift as a guard to fill in. The manager has been around for some time, teaches the lifeguard training classes, etc. But remember: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Would you rather have an 18 year old with 1 lifeguard cert under them or an experienced person who is also Red Cross certified to teach courses and teaches them several times a year? Over and over and over I run into situations where a teacher is the best person for doing stuff. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/85 "2017-09-29T22:24:02Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I am so so tired of “When you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME.” > > Goddamnit I said I surmised. Make something out of that. There’s no “I” in team. But there is “eat me”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/86 "2017-09-30T00:12:49Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The other day the local pool was a lifeguard short so the manager did a shift as a guard to fill in. > > The manager has been around for some time, teaches the lifeguard training classes, etc. > > But remember: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. > > Would you rather have an 18 year old with 1 lifeguard cert under them or an experienced person who is also Red Cross certified to teach courses and teaches them several times a year? > > Over and over and over I run into situations where a teacher is the best person for doing stuff. The original is “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” It’s one of the [Maxims for Revolutionists](http://www.bartleby.com/157/6.html) in George Bernard Shaw’s _Man and Superman_. They’re the most wonderfully cynical set of sayings in the entire English language. (“If you strike a child, take care that you strike it in anger, even at the risk of maiming it for life. A blow in cold blood neither can nor should be forgiven.”) They’re serious and outrageous and both true and false simultaneously. People who quote them unironically are idiots, and mostly prove his point about humanity. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/87 "2017-09-30T00:19:18Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > There’s no “I” in team. But there is “eat me”. You’ve got red on you. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/88 "2017-09-30T15:39:30Z")
If it’s natural it’s good, the more difficult an ingredient is to pronounce the more unhealthy it is, if it has chemicals in it it’s bad and on and on and on. I absolutely hate that mindset and I do not understand it. Now I don’t know for sure but I’m pretty confident that there are people talking about the evils of technology via their computers. I also agree with the “large monolithic corporations are evil” while the small “mom and pop” business is good. I too work for a big one in a job I love with people that are great. I think that it’s been mentioned upthread but there’s the belief that there is that special job for each and every person on earth. Umm, no there isn’t. As a wild ass guess, I suspect that 90% of the world’s jobs are of the shoveling-shit variety. I also suspect that most of the shit shovellers out there are not passionate about their jobs and, sadly, can’t get something better. I have a job that I love because I’m very, very fortunate. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/89 "2017-09-30T16:48:57Z")
Another one that I hate is “legal logic.” (Not logic that lawyers actually use, but rather, what some people \*think \*they use.) For instance, I once saw a question on Yahoo! Answers that read as thus: “If a victim is shot on the right side of his face, that means that the gunman must have been left-handed.” No, a right-handed gunman can also shoot someone on the right side of his face, the gunman is certainly not guaranteed to be standing directly perfectly in front of the victim, even a left-handed shot can hit the victim on the left-side of the victim’s face too, etc. Or the apocryphal legal anecdote: A lawyer tells the jury that the dead murder victim will walk into the courtroom in 30 seconds. All the jurors watch eagerly. The murder victim, of course, doesn’t appear. The lawyer says, “Oh, but you jurors \*looked \*to see if the victim would walk in. If you \*really \*thought he was dead, you wouldn’t have looked to see if he would appear in the courtroom or not. Therefore, since you aren’t sure that the murder victim is really dead, you must acquit.” What??? Again, not the lawyer (it’s apocryphal,) but rather, that the people who share this urban legend seem to think that that logic would actually fly in court. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/90 "2017-10-04T03:48:11Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > “participation trophies”. Maybe for 6 year-olds and under, but after that, it robs kids the chance of the important life skill of dealing with defeats and setbacks, which _all_ of them will encounter later in life. Useless coddling that’s ultimately a disservice. > [@Velocity](#): > > A few other generalizations I hate: > > 1. “If you are angered by something, it must mean that that thing struck a nerve in you because it was true.” No, 9/11 conspiracies anger me, and they’re not true. > > 2. A related version, kind of an ad hominem: “If you are angered by something that insults Group X, it must mean that you personally are a member of Group X.” i.e., if you are angered by how society treats people who are fat, or unemployed, or on minimum wage, or single, you must therefore \*yourself \*be fat, or unemployed, or on minimum wage, or single. Both these points, muchly. \< (pardon for using a Trumpy-sounding word) Especially the second one, where some passive aggressive shmoe tries to project some weaselly insinuation onto you by weakly trying to mirror the issue. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Another shitty meme: Things always happen for a reason. > > No they don’t. [Totally agree](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=836752). > [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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**. And all of those things are worse than these [Things](https://youtu.be/8R5MJzimFkQ?t=3758). ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/91 "2017-10-04T03:55:03Z")
People saying ‘trope’ for ‘fallacy’ and ‘meme’ for ‘trope’ ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/92 "2017-10-04T04:22:09Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Maybe for 6 year-olds and under, but after that, it robs kids the chance of the important life skill of dealing with defeats and setbacks, which _all_ of them will encounter later in life. > Useless coddling that’s ultimately a disservice. Or this little gem: Your parents whined until you got participation trophies, therefore you’re an entitled brat for having gotten participation trophies. Ditto grade inflation. It might (_might!_) be due to student influence in college, but in high school, the parents are to blame. The teachers have to _listen_ to parents. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/93 "2017-10-04T04:28:15Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I was actually going to start a thread about the endless follow your dreams, Carpe Diem, You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, memes that seem to be posted on Facebook by some of the least successful people career wise that I know. I much prefer a very well thought out career path and I understand that in my industry and particularly at my firm that nothing happens quickly and careful career planning is far more important that dreams or positive thinking, I think you’d really appreciate the insightful [demotivators at despair.com](https://despair.com/collections/demotivators) _“For every winner, there are a dozen losers. Odds are, you’re one of them.”_ _“If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.”_ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/94 "2017-10-04T04:57:05Z")
That children don’t like vegetables. As a child, I devoured everything except asparagus, cauliflower, and eggplant, and I would eat the cauliflower if it was mixed with something else. I ate tomatoes, cucumbers, and turnips like apples-- I **loved** raw carrots, and would get seconds on peas and broccoli withheld as punishment. I loved fruit too. I would pick a fresh nectarine over a lollipop. I always resented the “Kids don’t eat vegetables” thing, and it still bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/95 "2017-10-04T05:34:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Men as bumbling idiots when it comes to housework, daycare, meals, etc. > > in my 19 years of marriage I was primarily responsible for packing lunches and getting my kids up and on the school bus in the morning. > > Plus, I cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed and did all the outside work. > > I’m very tired of seeing commercials on TV that treat men like idiots, which many often do. Related to this, a man who is capable of the simplest household or parental task should be praised like a Nobel laureate. Sounds like you resent this too. Oh, and a father caring for his child is “babysitting.” Please. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/96 "2017-10-04T05:38:45Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I dunno if this is prevalent in other people’s social media feeds, but most of my friends are 30-something moms of young children, or single 30-something women, and the obsession with wine is unnerving to me. I’m not sure if this is better or worse than the freeze-your-woes-in-ice-cream canard. I almost threw a shoe at an episode of _Judging Amy_ when she initiated her preteen daughter in the ritual. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/97 "2017-10-04T16:30:50Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > _This_ part I bolded is something I almost mentioned in my original rant on the subject because, apparently, a job which _does_ help you realize your Genuine Self is an obsession, something you pursue every waking hour, and, conversely, a job you go, do, and then _stop doing_ every day is somehow soul-sucking. > > No. Burnout is soul-sucking, and having a job which consumes your existence is only going to help you realize your Genuine Self if your Genuine Self is a burnt-out husk with no support system or, indeed, existence beyond that one job. Agree 100%. I love my job, it plays to my skills and I often find it interesting. But I rarely think about my work outside of the office, beyond “how was your day?” conversations. “Have a job that you love” is not the same as “make your job the love of your life.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/98 "2017-10-05T21:09:50Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Another shitty meme: Things always happen for a reason. > > No they don’t. Well, things DO almost always happen for a reason. But sometimes the reason is luck. Or timing. Or concidence. Or good planning. Or bad planning. Or good execution. Or inept execution. Or… Point is, the reason doesn’t have to be God, destiny, or anything particularly noteworthy. ---
**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 5, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/99 "2017-10-05T22:06:34Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > Whenever I hear “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” I always add, out loud, “or maims you for life.” No kidding. My wife worked with a guy who ate a slug on a dare. Made him blind. Damn near killed him. My buddy has had several heart attacks. He is certainly not stronger because of them. He can barely climb 4 stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795/100 "2017-10-05T22:18:08Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > No kidding. My wife worked with a guy who ate a slug on a dare. Made him blind. Damn near killed him. Wow…not to derail the thread, but what kind of slug? > [@Gatopescado](#): > > My buddy has had several heart attacks. He is certainly not stronger because of them. He can barely climb 4 stairs. USMC motto, “Pain is weakness leaving the body” - I guess you are strongest right after you’ve had burns over 100% of your body, or surgery without anesthetic… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generalisations-memes-you-hate/796795.md?page=6)