Getting everyone's point of view can be fascinating whenever you're with a group of people engaged in a discussion on a range of topics. However, the occasion can be eye-opening when someone unable to read the room makes a comment that can be interpreted as wildly inappropriate.
In an age where social norms are always challenging the way we engage in discourse, nothing is surprising... except for that one rare instance.
Curious to hear alarming quotes, Redditor Alarmed-Hat6997 asked:
"What is the most out of touch thing someone has said/done?"
These make me SMH.
Jacket Destination
"I was in a restroom once and overheard a group of girls at the sinks. One girl says she wanted to buy a leather jacket but was going to wait because it's a big purchase. This other girl responds immediately with 'You should just go to Turkey to get a leather jacket!'"
"There's a pause, and then the first girl says 'Are...are leather jackets less expensive there?' The 2nd girl takes a second to consider what was just asked...then dismisses it with 'You should just go to Turkey for the vibes and then pick up a jacket while you're there!'"
– vanillatcube
Posh Education
"I was fortunate enough to go to a slightly pricey summer school, and one of my classmates (whose parents were loaded) said, 'I don't see why everyone doesn't just go to private schools' and 'It's so unfair that poor people don't have to pay for college.' "
– Equivalent-Crab8830
Never Assume
"I had a friend from college who is blind. We were at a friend’s place, and there were these guys there who kept saying things to him along the lines of 'well you can just collect disability, you’re all set!'”
"Which is sh**ty because disability doesn’t pay jack."
"He ended up making a pretty good career for himself, too. He works with tech giants to make their programs more accessible. He is very no-bullsh*t and will light a company’s @ss on fire if they aren’t accessible."
– ayatollahofdietcola_
Job Hunt
"At university, when I was searching for a new job all day every weekend and my girlfriend (now wife), who had never had a job, said 'I don’t get it, why don’t you just get a job. If one my friends wanted a job… they just got one.' She found out her friends all worked for one of their parent's companies. I reminded her the first time she looked for a job."
– Dry_Action1734
Antiquated & Sexist POV
"'God made women less attractive than men.' And 'Women were only made to serve men.' Mind you this was 40-50 something year old woman preaching this. I keep forgetting there are still people out there who think this way."
– CardiologistDue7480
Scrooge 2.0
"I had a business owner tell me once he does not pay his employees more because 'they don’t spend their money wisely. They should be investing in commercial real estate.' This man makes Scrooge look generous."
– HIginger
Going Nowhere Fast
"In high school my rich friend got a brand new Ford truck after her first car which was a Jeep. They had to get rid of the Jeep because it didn’t have side-impact airbags and she needed a car with side-impact airbags."
"When she was telling us all this, I said 'my car doesn’t have side-impact airbags… it’s a 10 year old piece of sh*t… my mom got it for me for cheap…' so my rich friend said 'I guess your mom doesn’t really love you then.' ”
– jeannesloaf
"I was just out of college, working as a farmland for room, board, and about $100 a week. I was getting ready to start a new job across the country and saving up to pay for gas and new work boots. A couple weeks before I was planning to leave the transmission on my car completely gave up, and I was panicking."
"Another one of the farmhands who was from the bay area and just passing through (when he got tired of taking trains and planes, his parents sent him money to buy a new car in cash), asked me 'why don't you just get some money? That would solve everything.'"
"I just sat and stared at him."
– chucklinvest
People can be so tone-deaf.
The Other Half
"All the millionaires saying 'we're in this together' whilst sat in the mansions during the pandemic. That was great 👍"
– -ButDidYouDie-
"I remember our church group stayed connected on Zoom and most of us are comfortably off older couples in nice houses - but I really felt for the young Turkish graduate student, stuck in one of those awful micro 'apartments' which is basically a small room, 1000s of miles away from his family. He did NOT have a good time, and I think it left him scarred."
– dcannons
Keeping Score
“By no means was my family well off. There were times I would only get 10 presents for Christmas.”
– anon
"I've heard that one, too! She'd ask questions, and when you answer, she'd diminish your experiences. 'You weren't THAT poor, we were poor. My dad was only able to get me one Barbie dream home for Christmas.'"
– Queef_Muscle
The Cab Driver
"Over a decade ago I drove a yellow cab for a living. I picked up a well-off gentleman and took him to the local country club. He was surprised that I wasn’t interested in joining when the club charged most of my yearly salary to join. According to him, it was only $50,000 to start. When we got there, he tried to negotiate a lower fare."
– Corey307
The Boss's Recommendation
"My very, very wealthy boss was telling me about her recent vacation with a private plane to a private yacht anchored off of some beautiful island once, and she looked right at me, while knowing exactly how much money I made because she hired me and said 'if you ever get the chance to do this, you really should.' "
"i just sort of blankly looked at her and said….you bet. 😐"
– carolvessey-stevens
These people missed the memo about having compassion for others in a vulnerable position.
Worthless Hypothetical
" 'If you give a homeless person $100 they'll spend it in a day, if you give a rich person $100 they'll put it into savings.' Yea Mason, give money to someone with no money they'll use it to meet their needs. Give money to someone who already has their needs met they can afford to put that money away for the future."
– GloomyApricot2090
"Which just demonstrates that they don't understand the point of 'giving someone $1,000.' "
"If your intent is to stimulate the economy, eg, like during COVID, you want to give it to someone who is going to spend it. They pay their mechanic, and the mechanic pays their employees, who pay their babysitter, who buys groceries at the grocery store, who pays their employees, who buy gas from a fuel station, whose employees use that money to buy this and that and on and on..."
"That all breaks when it dead-ends at 'and that person pays rent to Black Rock.' Rich people sitting on huge piles of money is not only the opposite of what we want, but it's what causes the problem in the first place."
– persondude27
"But Look On The Bright Side…"
"Someone told my cousin who was grieving a child- 'You can always have more children.' This statement just dismissed the depth of her pain and made it seem like her feelings weren’t valid."
– FairyyWhisperer
"I have a similar story about my dad."
"My dad lost his first baby. He was the only funeral director available and had to do this baby's funeral without breaking down. The baby was almost like my identical twin, according to him."
"This was before I was born, and he had to bury this baby, and a pastor, of all people, who was hired for the funeral, said it just wasn't meant to be, and it was in God's will that he'd lose a baby."
"The baby died of SIDS and apparently either fell asleep during tummy time or flipped on his stomach somehow in sleep and just quit breathing, just like that. Fine the evening before, gone the next day."
"I'm his second baby, made it to 16 years and living my best life. It still sticks with him to this day. He's scared of losing me. To him, I'm the older version of the baby he lost. The baby would be 18 now."
– EmoElfBoy
No Compassion
"Two weeks after my miscarriage, a colleague said, 'I need to talk to you cos I think you'd have researched this stuff before you got pregnant. Can you tell me all you know about how child benefits are calculated by the government?'"
– Mananni
You never know about a person's life; therefore, it's wise to avoid making assumptions about their work or relationship status.
Just because you're content with where your life is going doesn't mean others around you share the same class or privilege.
The examples in the thread demonstrate that having social graces is a mark of good character and will get you places.
