Common mentalities you despise

[Polarthief]

"respect your elders". Sorry, but just because someone is older, doesn't mean they are right about something, or deserve extra points for their age. Everyone gets the same level of respect, and anything more is earned, or lost by ones actions. Age doesn't mean anything to me when it comes to respect.

"You'll understand when you're older."

Fuck both of those. Seriously, I cannot stand the elders = respect thing (esp when they're TERRIBLE people), and people who usually say "you'll understand when you're older" is their lazy excuse to not tell someone younger.

Y'know what happens when you tell a kid/teenager "you'll understand when you're older"? They obsess about it and since the Internet is so fucking accessible nowadays, they will likely be misinformed or delve too deep than had you just told them to begin with.

But yeah, pretty much every one of these mentalities/sayings is just the worst of societal "norms" that came from ages ago and continued through generations because tradition.

[Machismo]

Willful ignorance. It's a plague on this planet, and it is getting worse every year.

[Endus]

It's not really a mystery why anything competitive is as caustic as it is in the US. American society ingrains the mentality of "you need to be the best, period" into children from the start, where working together with others, or being selfless is seen as weak. I don't blame schools, or organized sports for this, since they're often the venues that try to push team-work and selflessness, but rather blame parents for that kind of myopic thinking. Especially the, "MY child isn't a loser bench-warmer" types who get into screaming matches with coaches during games.

It's the primary mentality that prevents me from playing competitive games. I can't stand caustic people who care more about themselves and their meaningless metrics of superiority (kills, in particular) when they've let the team down by being a lone wolf who did nothing but put everyone else down for not being on his level. It even makes WoW pugs difficult to stomach at times, because Mr 910ilvl in a random heroic just can't be arsed to have any patience with the 830ilvl alt or first-time player who's trying to catch up. It's such a disgustingly destructive mentality.

Right, and it's why most "underdog" movies, the underdog has to win the "big game". Because otherwise, what's the fucking point of his/their life? They shouldn't be wasting everyone's time if they can't WIN. Winning is all that matters. It's not enough to play a good match and lose honorably, to approach things from a unique perspective that offsets your weaknesses and gives you an unexpected advantage that still isn't quite enough. Because if it's not enough to win EVERYTHING, it's fucking pointless.

And I find that attitude utterly loathsome. It's like thinking that you're only a "good musician" if you're winning awards and selling out concerts. It suggests that the guys happy to do their own thing playing local clubs for their small but dedicated fanbase are "wrong", even if they're perfectly happy with that. Participation in stuff like this IS a reward. It's why most people running marathons don't give a shit about winning, they just care about finishing. It's a personal accomplishment, not a competition, and that's fine.

[Katojan]

It's a personal accomplishment, not a competition, and that's fine.

Competitions are meant to be won by someone.

Thing is, not everything in life is a competition, and out of the laundry list of things that piss me off, the mentality that everything is a competition is up there. Same goes for people who always need to one-up everyone they talk to, especially if they're bullshitting about it.

[Heladys]

Authoritarian lickspittles who cannot wait to bend over for someone in a position of presumed power.

[Lex Icon]

the "why won't you, why don't you crowd"

some people just don't like the same crap as you!

[Endus]

Competitions are meant to be won by someone.

Yes, but that doesn't mean the winners are the only ones who get rewarded, and where the losers get implicitly told to fuck off for even trying. That's the point being made.

If you're condemning "participation trophies" where nobody gets anything for winning, that's one thing; I don't actually support systems that don't provide incentives. I just think that participation rewards are just fine alongside those systems. If your high school team doesn't make the finals, having a pizza party to celebrate your effort this year is a "participation trophy", but it's not something anyone should get irked by.

[Super Kami Dende]

The only time, it is what it is, is appropriate is when a comet is about to hit the ground where you are standing.

Tbh that to me would be a more of a "Oh fuck." Moment.

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"Participating is more important than winning".

This entire mentality breeds losers and makes it so competitive people who strive/fight for the best possible outcome are shunned as anti-social try-hards. Instead you're rewarded for half-assed attempts, deserve a pat on the back for failing because "at least you tried". There's no learning involved, no lessons learned. The goal is in the attempt, not in the outcome.

A very concrete example is in my piano studies: Only a few years ago there were exams at the end of every year and certain milestones were mandatory before being able to advance to the next year. You guaranteed that you weren't wasting the time and resources of both the aspiring student who cannot keep up and the teachers/entire organization behind it.
Now there are no exams for adults. None. You can study an instrument for 12 years and be at the level of someone in his/her 2nd year. "Permanent evaluation" is what this system is called, and there's no penalty for not advancing except for a hopefully stern rebuttal from your teacher.
This creates the problem that students don't feel the urge to practice diligently. Intrinsic motivation only carries you so far, it won't get you behind your piano 1h every evening, 365 days per year. Quality of students is dropping rapidly, because they do not have both intrinsic and extrinsic forces spurring them on to improve at a rapid pace, and your teacher lacks the tools to push you to study more.

It's a stupid example, but for me it's symptomatic of the "participation trophy mentality".

I fully agree with this. My Nephew's Sport doesn't allow keeping Track of score due to not wanting the losing side to feel bad. So in an effort to make people that don't try not feel bad, they take away the feeling of winning and accomplishment from the opposite side.

When everyone is equal, no one is equal.

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Yes, but that doesn't mean the winners are the only ones who get rewarded, and where the losers get implicitly told to fuck off for even trying. That's the point being made.

If losers don't ever feel like they lost, they never have the strive to be better. Why try harder when you will still get some sort of reward regardless.

YEAH LET'S REWARD MEDIOCRITY!

[Warcrafting]

"Everything is racist, everything is sexist, everything is homophobic, and you have to point it all out."

Now, I won't argue there are still some serious issues on all these fronts, but seriously. Those subscribing to this idea are just paranoid. The West is better than ever before when it comes to equality (can't speak for certain about other areas, I'm no expert). Not everything is out to "oppress" you.

EDIT: I realized after I posted that the title says COMMON mentalities. I immediately admit that this may not be common in the population of those holding this mentality, but none can ignore that it is a philosophy that is rapidly growing in power.

[Endus]

If losers don't ever feel like they lost, they never have the strive to be better. Why try harder when you will still get some sort of reward regardless.

YEAH LET'S REWARD MEDIOCRITY!

Because there's still the bigger prize out there. Which you folks steadfastly ignore, when doing this.

Winning isn't everything. For a lot of pursuits, it isn't a thing at all.

[Queen of Hamsters]

That reminds me, people who think the war of the sexes is a real thing and not just TV bullshit.

Has nothing to do with believing that there's some "war" going on, other than in the minds of said sexist people perhaps...

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Because there's still the bigger prize out there. Which you folks steadfastly ignore, when doing this.

Winning isn't everything. For a lot of pursuits, it isn't a thing at all.

Some people are actually sad enough to only pursue something if they'll be declared as winners with a reward and praise should they win.

Fun thing though, I don't believe the people having the strongest contempt for "mediocricy", are actually anything but mediocre themselves. Kinda like how kids hate being called just that and everything associated with it with a burning passion.

[Armakus]

I can't be bothered to worry about what others think. /shrug

This is a mentality I strongly dislike, for starters.

[Zethras]

This is just the most recent example but whatever mentality this is. Everybody judges people but geez when it's taken to this level.

That kind of mentality is either 1) someone who is extraordinarily uncomfortable with their own self image, and their coping mechanism is to be judgemental of others in order to make themselves feel better.

Or 2) they're just a massive troll.

[Tijuana]

For example, it really bothers me when people say, 'oh you can have this/you can do that [insert unhealthy thing here], you're young!'

I'm not sure where this notion that you don't have to take care of yourself and be kind to your body just because you're young and healthy came from, but to me this seems like a very dangerous way of thinking.

What sort of commonly held mindsets do you strongly disagree with?

It bothers me when stupid happens.

[Grym]

"Companies should think I am the most important person in the world, money and shareholders should all come second, and everything I want must be delivered because I am a paying customer"

That is why I can never work in customer facing jobs, I would have stabbed a few of them already.

[Knolan]

Demonization of people who think different than they do.

This pisses me off a lot and this seems to be increasing a lot. A few examples of that would be Brexit, abortion and Trump.

[Manakuski]

Not respecting someone else's property.

[Tuor]

Hmmm, what?

Exactly what i've typed there.

[Fencers]

Not sure about 'mentalities', but I gain little enjoyment from those easily stressed or whom display high anxiety.

I also don't respect those whom believe in superstitions as much as rational beings. Belief in the unreal is a great bane to humanity and should be eliminated. It's a thought process I do despise such as it is.

[HumbleDuck]

Exactly what i've typed there.

How is thinking you shouldn't leave poor people to die out a bruteforce method?