What are things that everyone ought to understand, but many don't?

Professional reviewers of movies, books, music. Someone will get all huffy because the reviewer in the news didn't like their movie and they'll say, "It was the most popular one this year!" as though that proves they're bad at their job.

Reviewers are not bookies, it's not their job to predict the winner. It's their job to describe the item, say whether or not they liked it and explain why. It's our job to read between the lines to decide whether or not we might like it. We can save a lot of money if we find a reviewer who matches our own taste. I miss Gene Siskel.
 
bobcat said:
From time to time, there are things that many don't seem to understand, or they have willing blindness to.
What do you feel those things might be?
No partisan politics please.
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How to care for their themselves. Most people care more for their car, careers, homes than they do their own self. They will put the best gas in their car and the worst food in their mouth.

I am amazed that in 2024 most people still don't understand how to live a healthy lifestyle or willingly don't, thinking that all the bad choices will not eventually catch up to them.

Then, shame the people who have cared!
 
Aunt Bea said:
It seems to me that too many people believe that the idea/system should take on human characteristics and have a heart, empathy, compassion, etcā€¦

Capitalism is just one of many economic systems.
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Yes, that's exactly what I was talking about, not the intricacies of economics, of which I have no clue.

My son will see an ad for something like a new TV show and say, "They want us to do (whatever)," and by "they" he usually means the government. Then I'll say, "No, the producers of the show just want us to watch so they'll get good ratings and more advertisers, thus more money." They don't care if we all become serial killers.

When I worked in credit unions, people who were applying for loans were always telling me sob stories about why they needed the loan. A pipe broke it the kitchen, (they would show me pictures) they were out of a job, ( I would mentally tear that application up.) I would try to explain that we weren't a charity, we were a business and our business was lending money to people who were likely to pay it back with interest. They wouldn't think of going into a dress shop with pictures of their skimpy wardrobe and expecting free clothes.

My husband does taxes for people who haven't worked in years, but expect to get a big lump back from income tax.
 
C50 said:
Personal budgeting. I don't understand how people can constantly overspend and not understand why they can't get out of debt.
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I don't know about the USA...but here people who overspend, dont care that they're in debt, because they can so easily..choose bankruptcy these days..there's no shame to it like there used to be years ago, and they're clear of it after a year.. so this is how they live many of them...that's fact
 
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Tazx's_better_half said:
How to care for their themselves. Most people care more for their car, careers, homes than they do their own self. They will put the best gas in their car and the worst food in their mouth.

I am amazed that in 2024 most people still don't understand how to live a healthy lifestyle or willingly don't, thinking that all the bad choices will not eventually catch up to them.

Then, shame the people who have cared!
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It's been my experience that most of the shaming is directed against the sick people: "She has cancer but it's her own fault for smoking," "He has diabetes, but I saw him at the store with cookies in his cart."

I know young people who think if you eat healthy (defined by the diet of the year) and work-out, you'll never get sick. Those things help, I'm all in favor, but they are no guarantee. The older I get the more examples I see of people who've lived healthy lifestyles going down.
 
hollydolly said:
I don't know about the USA...but here people who overspend, dont care that they're in debt, because they can so easily..choose bankruptcy these days..there's no shame to it like there used to be years ago, and they're clear of it after a year.. so this is how they live many of them...that's fact
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I think it takes up to 10 years to clear it from your credit reports here in the US.
 
bobcat said:
I think it takes up to 10 years to clear it from your credit reports here in the US.
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it used to be 7 here and you couldn't get a bank account or credit and your name was blaklisted..now ... after one year you can get a basic bank account, and I believe a high interest credit card as well.. and then after 7 years the bankcruptcy is spent. so there's no incentive for them not to be running up debt and living within their means ..
 
Della said:
It's been my experience that most of the shaming is directed against the sick people: "She has cancer but it's her own fault for smoking," "He has diabetes, but I saw him at the store with cookies in his cart."

I know young people who think if you eat healthy (defined by the diet of the year) and work-out, you'll never get sick. Those things help, I'm all in favor, but they are no guarantee. The older I get the more examples I see of people who've lived healthy lifestyles going down.
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Ya, we all have a different perspective of what they deem a healthy lifestyle. BTW, smoking does cause cancer, it's on the package- and excessive sugar is a cause of diabetes, so how is that shaming, it's fact.

Shaming and judgment absolutely goes both ways, that's human nature and I believe how we keep humanity in check - so long as it isn't done in violation of someones safety or human rights.

We can all help each other and offer ways to improve a situation personal experience:

I'm a very honest and upfront to people in person, and sometimes it's not appreciated by others.

As a very experienced trainer, I observed a woman at the gym who was being trained by an idiot - she wasn't getting results.

As weeks went by, I finally went up to her and offered her my personal assistance for free (something I don't normally do, but I knew I could help her)

At first, she was very standoffish and later admitted very offended by me intruding on her training.

Once she realized I could help her and cooled off, she accepted.

Within weeks she was reshaping her body and mind, it was a beautiful thing. This girl litterly worked her butt off!

it was life changing for her - the sad thing was, her husband was upset with her drastic weight loss at first. But then, he started to see the light and followed her path.

I do not shame people for being overweight, but I know they can be better and healthier and deep down know how to do it. We all innately know, we choose not to make the right decisions.

For me, I don't really care if someone smokes, but I do care when I have to walk through a cloud of it on the sidewalk or door of a building- why should I (Kids, dogs, others) have to breath in smoke because someone else is smoking. That's very selfish.

Also, one can be too obsessed with health and fitness that it creates the opposite effect. Balance is key- to absolutely everything in life.

A healthier population would have happier people.
 

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