Here Are 17 Extremely Toxic Ideas, Habits, And Behaviors That Are Weirdly Glorified In American Culture

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a day ago

As we all know, Americans do A LOT of weird stuff. While some of it might seem harmless, there are many toxic ideas and behaviors that have become popularized and in some cases, even glorified in the US...
That's why when Redditor u/imwith2 asked, "What's something we glorify in American culture that's actually extremely toxic?" thousands of both Americans and non-Americans shared the most bizarre things that have been normalized in the US. Without further ado, here are 17 of their most enlightening examples:
If you know any toxic behaviors, attitudes, or ideas that have been glorified in American culture, feel free to tell us about them using this anonymous form!
1."Absurd and excessive consumerism that only serves to represent status."
—u/renreniii
"I saw someone make an angry post online about discount stores carrying Stanley cups, because then anybody could buy one, even 'poor people', and she wouldn't be special anymore. Thankfully, the comment section tore her apart unanimously.
If you want a quality tumbler in a color you like to keep cold drinks with you all day, by all means, buy a Stanley. I've probably paid close to what they cost for a good travel mug, too, but it's wild that they're a status symbol. It's a f*cking CUP."
—u/ADHDFeeshie
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2."The notion that everyone's opinion is equally valid."
—u/TheBadnessInMe
"People seem to have forgotten the definition of fact vs. opinion.
Opinions are subjective: by definition, there is no absolute truth to them. 'I like this movie/song/show' is an opinion. 'Tomatoes taste bad' is an opinion. Therefore, you can't be wrong.
'The Earth is (roughly) a sphere' is a fact. That is an objective truth, and you can be wrong about it."
—u/eleven_paws
3."Perfect attendance, at work or school. Please stay home if you're sick."
—u/austinelo
"When I was in elementary school, I caught measles from another child whose mother was intent on her child having perfect attendance.
Apparently, that piece of paper at the end of the year was more important than her child's or the class's health."
—u/SkiPhD
4."At least in the South: Big, intimidating, and expensive weddings. It hurts everyone when something is that expensive, including the people traveling. They have to pay for their hotel bookings, dry cleaning, dog sitters, etc. Just make weddings chill."
"Recently, I spent at least a thousand dollars to be a part of a relative's wedding (I was a groomsman). In between the hotel, paying for drinks at the rehearsal dinner, buying my own food the morning of, travel, and buying a suit, I was financially hurting by the end of the weekend.
The groom is lucky he's family, that's all I'll say."
—u/ssssskkkkkrrrrrttttt
5."Instant gratification. Not many people actually wait and save up for things anymore; instead, they buy on credit and ultimately wind up paying far more in the long run."
—u/RavenForrest
"Also conspicuous consumption: Consuming more stuff by buying (spending) more, eating and drinking more, having more media instantly, on demand is, by our logic, supposed to be fulfilling and rewarding."
—u/Logical_Two5639
6."Individualism: We have gotten so individualistic that our communities have almost completely fallen apart. Millions of Americans are hostile to the very idea that they even need to get along with others."
"Going your own way is great when it means that you don't let cultural norms shame you out of expressing yourself honestly and living your life the way you choose.
It's terrible when it means you can't do the basics needed to ride on a plane, go to the theater, or buy food at a restaurant without the cops being called."
—u/BangBangMeatMachine
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7."Treating political leaders like gods."
—u/Pearl725
"The goal should be voting in someone with good policy, who's also not a horrible person. It shouldn't be about loyalty to any person or party.
Things are always swinging around. People have individual opinions separate from a party identity. Voting on a single issue, voting on a single party, or just being loyal to one person in politics is not a good use of the vote."
—u/ArcannOfZakuul
8."Being positive at all times."
—u/BlueStarFern22
"I'm Greek and I was raised with the mentality that life is going to be hard sometimes. This year, I've had two different American friends tell me they're trying everything to be happy and positive within a week of a break-up, and it wasn't working. My suggestion that they 'be sad for a while, because that's what's going to happen, and that way you can grieve the relationship and actually heal,' was met with complete non-comprehension.
The idea of sitting with sadness for a while after an objectively sad event is actually the normal, healthy response, yet it sounded completely nuts to them. I love a lot of stuff about U.S. culture, but have never met a culture so intolerant to any feeling other than happiness."
—u/losethemap
9."Gun ownership culture: I was raised as a hunter and was on the rifle team in college; however, gun culture is out of hand, including the glorification of firearms in movies and media."
"Many equate owning a firearm to 'being a man,' whether they live in the city or the country.
I stopped owning firearms because I realized the cost of actually using one wouldn't be worth it. We need more people who think it is okay not to own a firearm."
—u/iambarrelrider
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10."Hustle culture: People are more important than money. A person doing an honest day's work should earn enough to have access to a decent life and there should be no need for side hustles, aka second or third jobs."
—u/BananasPineapple05
"I recently went to an interview and was performing well when the hiring manager asked the 'What do you do in your personal life' question, then proceeded to label himself as a gym rat who reads three books a week and consumes nothing but podcasts, before I could answer about myself.
I mentioned some of my interests that were not congruent with his, and he zeroed in on the podcast thing. He said, 'So what development or business podcasts or content do you consume?'
I replied, 'I'm not really into hustle porn. I was when I was younger, but I cut it out cold turkey. Most of what I consume is genuine hobbies and interests, or I just don't consume content.'
I got a blank stare in return."
—u/CunninLingwist
11."High school and college athletics: It's extremely toxic that 26 percent of high schoolers' parents want their children to become professional athletes one day, and some greater percent of kids push themselves to play three seasons."
"I wish people would just play these games for fun in clubs during high school and college."
—u/semxlr5
12."Celebrity obsession.'"
—u/Addis_Thinker
"I never understood this growing up, and I never had any celebrity I was into other than a passing cool vibe.
I've since moved overseas, and I found that outside of soccer, the idea of obsessing over any celebrity is seen as weird. In all the cultures in all the countries I've visited, none of them compares to the US.
Even in Japan and Korea, with their obsession with bands, celebrity obsession is still widely considered out of the ordinary and is deeply frowned upon."
—u/SookHe
13."Competition: A little competition is good, fun, and aids productivity. But we Americans take it way too far."
"I've seen two grown men passing each other in a hallway turn farting into a competition, executives commit horrible crimes in the name of competition when it wasn't even necessary for them to 'win,' and projects totally demolished by infighting. I've even been to the scene of accidents where people are bleeding out while two people are in a shouting match over who should be in charge of the crisis.
Not to mention how companies defraud thousands of people just to outcompete their rivals. Americans do so many unethical things just to be competitive."
—u/jdlech
14."Being prudes about nudity/human bodies."
"I'm not talking about sexually explicit situations, but simply general nudity — nude beaches, sunbathing, etc. Even nipples poking out of a shirt cause many Americans to clutch their pearls!
I really don't like it when people use anatomically incorrect terms for their genitalia because the anatomically correct ones are 'too vulgar.' We have bodies. Stop glorifying the shame of those bodies."
—u/flugualbinder
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15."Cars/car-centric life: You have toxic fumes from the engines, toxic debris from the tires and brakes, and toxic fluids leaking everywhere, as well as the vast amount of concrete and pollution that is associated. All of these issues are known to affect the health of humans nearby. When we got rid of lead in gas, the population at large became less violent."
"Then there is the lack of general activity. Ten thousand steps is roughly equivalent to two hours of walking. How often do doctors complain about people not being generally active? Compare those two hours of walking to the length of your commute to work and back.
We need to have fewer cars, fewer parking spaces, and make everything closer together. That way we could walk more, and not spend as much of our income on transportation."
—u/AbueloOdin
16."The obsession with group identity: Democrat, Giants fan, blue collar, college-educated, Christian, etc."
"Sure, humans are tribal by nature, but Americans view every little box they can fit into with a kind of nationalism, more so than actually being American. It's as if their group identities are more important than their own personal ones, and even more important than safety at times.
This ties into the compulsion to be in the 'winning team' no matter what. Their 'tribe' has to be on top, even if they are at the bottom of their internal social structures."
—u/rulingniko
17."'The American dream.'"
"It's what every person on the planet wants, besides a couple of outliers who want more, and a few who will settle for less.
'Americanizing' is just a form of 'othering,' by creating the basic assumption that this is something only 'Americans' want, meaning that what other people want must be different somehow.
By inviting the notion of such a basic concept, you lay the groundwork for the 'us vs. them" rationale. The idea isn't itself a bad one, but with the wrong sort of push, you can build very bad behavior onto this foundation."
—u/tsuruki23
Did any of these examples surprise you? What are some other toxic aspects of American culture that have been glorified? Tell us about it in the comments or answer anonymously using the form below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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