# What are your most unpopular opinions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645 "2013-04-14T00:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/221 "2013-04-16T18:51:21Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > If we as a society weren’t so prudish about educating kids about sex, 13-year-olds wouldn’t be getting pregnant or STD’s. That’s just what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/222 "2013-04-16T19:06:39Z")
Ok, just saw this thread… I’ll throw one out that is sure to be unpopular 🙂 Short men should be a protected class, like gender and race. Hey you said unpopular…but I do believe it. In my work I have seen stats that show short men suffer worse economically then women and Blacks. ---
**Author:** ![Aman27deep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aman27deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aman27deep)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/223 "2013-04-16T20:37:09Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Ok, just saw this thread… > > I’ll throw one out that is sure to be unpopular 🙂 > > Short men should be a protected class, like gender and race. > > Hey you said unpopular…but I do believe it. In my work I have seen stats that show short men suffer worse economically then women and Blacks. As a short 172cm man, I would agree! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/224 "2013-04-17T13:57:33Z")
Another one: when some university either wins or loses the big game, their students go on a rampage and burn property, riot, etc. I would totally be ok with the police firing live rounds into that crowd. The odds of hitting a future Nobel Prize winner are nil and the gene pool could use the clean up. Anyone stupid enough to burn a cop car because some “student” athlete from his school won/did not win at a sport deserves to be shot. I also think that insurance company executives who find ways to deny customers their benefits once they get seriously ill should also be charged with attempted murder. I think penalties for animal cruelty should be much more severe. I think Michael Vick should still be in prison. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/225 "2013-04-17T14:05:45Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I also think that insurance company executives who find ways to deny customers their benefits once they get seriously ill should also be charged with attempted murder. But what about the non-execs who find ways to deny benefits? Should they be tried for attempted murder as well? ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/226 "2013-04-17T14:27:10Z")
[quote=“madmonk28, post:224, topic:655645”] I also think that insurance company executives who find ways to deny customers their benefits once they get seriously ill should also be charged with attempted murder. Do you seriously think that insurance company executives actually look at claims? Sorry, no. They are making big decisions about big, important things. Underling claims processors have very precise, detailed written rules (which are baked into computer programs that do the actual processing) which are based on the benefits (or “coverage”) purchased by the patient or the patient’s employer. Claims determination is almost completely automated, based on what the provider (doctor, hospital, lab) submits on an electronic or paper claim. If a claim is “kicked out” of the computer for any number of reasons (missing info, incompatible diagnosis/procedure, etc.) a human has to review it, against those very stringent guidelines. If the reviewer makes a mistake, it is noted. Several such mistakes, they lose their job. “Quality review” is an additional step that looks for processor errors. Processors want to keep their error rate low in order to keep their jobs. The executives make the decision as to who goes or stays, but they seldom see an actual claim or make any kind of decision to pay or not pay. ---
**Author:** ![JuliaSqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@JuliaSqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JuliaSqueezer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/227 "2013-04-17T14:33:31Z")
madmonk28, sorry I got off on a rant there. I meant to add that I agree with you wholeheartedly about Michael Vick. He disgusts me. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/228 "2013-04-17T14:40:03Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Another unpopular opinion: I think that baseball fans are smarter than US football fans. When I hear someone say that they like football but think baseball is too slow, I think that person is just not smart enough to follow the narrative of a baseball game and anyone who thinks that football, which has 12 minutes of action over a 3.5 hour game, is fast paced is someone who is easily distracted by all the beer commercials, cheerleaders, and other bs. > > Football is more popular precisely because it is so easily followed and understood. Baseball demands attention. I don’t think it’s really a matter of which is more fast paced. I think it’s the fact that Baseball is both an odd team sport and…pretty boring. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/229 "2013-04-17T14:51:34Z")
> [@Aman27deep](#): > > As a short 172cm man, I would agree! Hey, that’s about my height exactly. I don’t consider myself tall, by any means, but I wouldn’t call 5’8" short. ETA: Or maybe it is. Is 5’8" short for a man? ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/230 "2013-04-17T14:55:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Hey, that’s about my height exactly. I don’t consider myself tall, by any means, but I wouldn’t call 5’8" short. > > ETA: Or maybe it is. Is 5’8" short for a man? Last I read/heard, it was average.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/231 "2013-04-17T15:31:23Z")
[quote=“JuliaSqueezer, post:226, topic:655645”] > [@madmonk28](#): > > I also think that insurance company executives who find ways to deny customers their benefits once they get seriously ill should also be charged with attempted murder. > > Do you seriously think that insurance company executives actually look at claims? Sorry, no. They are making big decisions about big, important things. > > Underling claims processors have very precise, detailed written rules (which are baked into computer programs that do the actual processing) which are based on the benefits (or “coverage”) purchased by the patient or the patient’s employer. Claims determination is almost completely automated, based on what the provider (doctor, hospital, lab) submits on an electronic or paper claim. > > If a claim is “kicked out” of the computer for any number of reasons (missing info, incompatible diagnosis/procedure, etc.) a human has to review it, against those very stringent guidelines. If the reviewer makes a mistake, it is noted. Several such mistakes, they lose their job. “Quality review” is an additional step that looks for processor errors. Processors want to keep their error rate low in order to keep their jobs. The executives make the decision as to who goes or stays, but they seldom see an actual claim or make any kind of decision to pay or not pay. Define executive how you see fit. There are professionals in the insurance industry who are very consciously finding ways to deny health care to policy holders when they get seriously ill. I think that is attempted murder. And hey, this is a thread for unpopular opinions. I also think cops and prosecutors who pursue capital charges against people they know to be innocent should also be charged with attempted murder. Plus I think littering should be a very serious crime with jail time (but I would legalize pot, so we will have the bedspace in the jails). ETA: Littering includes cigarette butts. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/232 "2013-04-17T15:40:58Z")
> [@CyclopticXander](#): > > In light of recent events, any sentence involving “thoughts and prayers” makes me cringe with its lameness and laziness. Agree 100%…give me some real, effective legislation and then some money for hospital bills and therapy…keep your thoughts and prayers and other insipid comments to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/233 "2013-04-17T15:50:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > ETA: Or maybe it is. Is 5’8" short for a man? Not to me. I’m 5’7". 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/234 "2013-04-17T16:48:33Z")
I was annoyed this morning when I saw a giant SEFCU billboard saying “Our prayers to the Boston marathon…” etc. Why prayers? Does it honestly not occur to you that you might have some secular/atheist constituents? And which God are you praying to anyway? If I was a good Hindu, I don’t think I’d want you to pray to your Christian God which has so many different rules from my religion that I can’t even say. And why bother even putting it up? Why don’t you just donate some money? What’s the point of the billboard? I also hate Samuel Jackson and can’t understand why he’s in every movie. Angry Black Man is not an endearing stereotype, and stereotype it is. I am so sick unto death of his shouting and posturing. I hope he never gets another acting role again but I’m afraid that will never happen. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/235 "2013-04-17T16:54:40Z")
I think the idea that you can educate a teenager into having safe sex is like believing you can educate a dog into using a knife and fork. People who engage in dogfighting are usually horrible people but dogfighting should not be illegal, and what happened to Mike Vick was a miscarriage of justice. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/236 "2013-04-17T16:54:58Z")
Amen on Samuel Jackson. I think in a few years people are going to look back at some of his roles the way people now look at some of the potrayals of blacks in the 40s and 50s. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/237 "2013-04-17T17:39:39Z")
I believe that, as a parent, I am obliged to put my kids at risk to a certain degree in order for them to learn how to be adults (which is sort of the goal here). I get constant comments from other parents about the level of freedom they have and about them getting abducted. I think that the feminists screwed us over royally. I admit, I would suck at being a stay-at-home mom and I love working but I wish we still lived in a society where it was possible to be middle class with only one parent working. Instead, to have a good life, both parents need to work. I do not believe that everyone has a right to a certain kind of education. Not everyone needs to go to college. We need to start hiring kids out of high school for jobs that don’t have specific education requirements (FFS, we hired a receptionist who only answers phones and one of the job requirements was a university degree. Arg!) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/238 "2013-04-17T17:43:54Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > …I do not believe that everyone has a right to a certain kind of education. Not everyone needs to go to college. We need to start hiring kids out of high school for jobs that don’t have specific education requirements (FFS, we hired a receptionist who only answers phones and one of the job requirements was a university degree. Arg!) I agree that not everyone deserves a college education, but I do think everyone deserves a shot at one. That doesn’t mean everyone gets accepted, or gets to graduate. And our economy would be a lot better if people didn’t build up huge student loans to get jobs that don’t really require a college degree to do. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/239 "2013-04-17T18:39:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I believe that marriage the family as a social unit should be abolished. Once children are born, separate them permanently from the biological parents to be raised by professionals until they complete their education and can begin working in a role that suits their aptitude and aspirations. All prenatal care shall be provided for by the state and parents provided monetary compensation for birthing healthy children at a rate commensurate with desired rates of population growth. When you die, your property (by which I mean chattel possessions and intellectual property, since I don’t believe in private ownership of land or buildings either - all real property should be owned by the state and leased or provided to tenants as befits their needs and the needs of the community) becomes property of the state to be sold as a source of government revenue. Evil!Skald jokes aside, I try to be a fairly mild and non-violent person. But I swear to God that if any of that crap every became law, I’d become both a rebel and a revolutionary. A government that did such things would be tyrannical, vile, abusive, and downright evil. Any government official who propounded such plans should be removed from office (by election if an elected official, by being fired if appointed), and any government that put such ideas into effect should be overthrown by whatever means necessary, including violence, as they’ve declared themselves not the servants of the populace, but the masters. > [@](#): > > I also believe in public executions for any elected official or government employee found to be engaged in bribery, corruption, malfeasance, or abuse of power, though I suspect that’s not as unpopular. I further believe that anyone who espouses legislation based on religious morality or which places the interests of corporations above the interest of the people should be barred from office and disfranchised. In other words, you want punishments to be disproportionate to the crime, and you want to elevate your own judgment about religion over all others. That, sir, is the mark of a tyrant. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645/240 "2013-04-17T18:40:44Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > I think that the feminists screwed us over royally. I admit, I would suck at being a stay-at-home mom and I love working but I wish we still lived in a society where it was possible to be middle class with only one parent working. Instead, to have a good life, both parents need to work. How is that economic reality the fault of the feminist movement? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-most-unpopular-opinions/655645.md?page=13)