There are things we accept as inherently bad – like predatory animals or unhealthy foods – because we are socialized to believe they are.
For instance, Steven Spielberg's Jaws terrified audiences when it was released in theaters in 1975 and it kept people from going to the beach.
What many people don't realize is that humans are not naturally shark-food as they typically avoid food sources that are competitive in size.
And when you think about it, aren't people are the most dangerous species of all?
Curious to hear what strangers thought, Redditor BreachyJoe asked:
"What is something that doesn't deserve its bad reputation?"
"Dangerous" Animals
Most species in the animal kingdom will leave you alone if unprovoked.
Silent Predator
"sharks."
"No kidding. The oceans would be a mess without them. They kill less people per year than mosquitoes, deer and PEOPLE. They're intelligent but so different from us that the bad rep was practically unavoidable sadly"
Nothing To Hiss At
"Black cats."
"THIS ONE. I was absolutely floored this past October when I read somewhere that some animal shelters will not allow anyone to adopt black cats for fear that people will abuse them and/or sacrifice them ritualistically because we All Know that black cats bring BAD LUCK. LOOK. We own a black cat and he's Just A Cat. About the worst thing he does is drag his ass across the carpet because he has a sticky piece of sh*t sticking to his fur!!! 🙄"
Creatures Of The Night
"Bats. Some of the best insect control/pollination help out there (depending on species). Plus they can give you good fertilizer. 'But they carry rabies.....' you know what else can carry rabies? Raccoons, rabbits, foxes, dogs, opossums....pretty much mammals. 'But they can carry cross species diseases....' So do pigs, chicken, primates, and now with [the virus] dogs & cats. I mean don't go hug them- but they are very useful & unfortunately on the way out."
They Make For Good Pets
"Snakes. Majority of them are harmless. I understand if you live in an area with deadly snakes. But snakes are always represented as pure evil and villainous when most are just typical reptiles going about their little snake lives. They don't want to bother you, they just want to survive the next day and reproduce."
At Subways Near You
"Rats."
"They make great pets. Very smart and quite easy to train, very loving and loyal, inquisitive, and always up for playing with you."
"Rats are actually very clean animals, groom themselves a lot and don't like being filthy."
Eight-Legged "Freaks"
"Spiders. They just chill in their webs and eat annoying bugs that nobody wants around. They are scary looking but mostly harmless if you leave them alone. Those giant ones need to stay out of my house though."
– Lanky240
People
People can easily be persuaded by the opinions of others, especially on the internet.
Misunderstood?
"Guy Fieri. What the heck did he ever do to anyone?"
"Dude is a bro! He's raised millions of dollars for grants to restaurant workers who have been hammered by [the virus] closures. He does tons of charity work for food security, and even performed marriage ceremonies for 101 gay couples in honor of his sister when that was still super controversial. His signature style may be Backstreet Boy-reject, but it also makes him instantly recognizable and helps in bringing attention to good causes."
Requires Discipline And Hard Work
" Fast food workers. I don't get the 'anyone can do it' argument. Through my time as a manager I've turned down applicants for not being up to our standard and watched all age groups quit because the job isn't as easy as they expected. It's a fast paced work environment with lots of memorization due to food safety standards. I've worked production, construction, warehouse, and others but working in fast food isn't easier than the others, just different."
Honest Living
"Garbage truck man, why does all people look them bad, they just want to live and take our trash away, like seriously."
"Work super early in the morning, no matter the weather, and handle the grossest sh*t in society. They deserve good money."
– 05110909
Productive At Night
"Being a night person and sleeping late"
"Believe me we work better at night and we can be twice as productive."
"As someone who likes to build a lot in minecraft and writing the night is my best hour of creativity In the end, I also do all my tasks between midnight and 2 AM, the rest is to watch Netflix, YouTube, and Reditt."
The Rocker
"Joan Jett."
"Yeah, but she don't give a damn about her bad reputation."
joan jett youre living in the past its a new generation GIFGiphyHealth
Some of the things we put in our bodies are stigmatized for various reasons.
But these people believe the following should not be blackballed.
Let It Flow
"Tap water. People have been manipulated by bottled water companies to believe that drinking tap water is somehow bad for you. Water quality standards for tap water in most 1st world countries is extremely high."
It's In Everything
"Monosodium glutamate (MSG). It's just the sodium salt of glutamic acid, and it naturally occurs in many foods. There is literally nothing wrong with it if used in appropriate proportions, same as regular salt. But sadly it was demonized as part of the whole racist 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' that convinced people Chinese food was out to kill us all. The myth prevails to this day."
Eat Your Veggies
"i know i'm late but, fkn veggies bro. when your little its such a stereotype that toddler wont like broccoli but i love em and i have since i was a little kid."
– ajs3136
Culture Cuisine
"Taco Bell does not give everyone diarrhea."
"Honestly, my theory is that is not Taco Bell specifically, but that some people have the notion that Mexican Food gives you diarrhea. If you think about the people who say Taco Bell gives you diarrhea, it's largely the same people who think any ethnic food gives you diarrhea, black pepper is spicy, and that Taco Bell is Mexican food. They say the same thing about Indian food, for instance. South Park even had an episode where a running joke was that blood in your underwear was a natural result of eating Chipotle. So I think it's less about Taco Bell specifically than it is about people who think Taco Bell is Mexican food, and that any kind of "ethnic" food gives you the sh*ts."
– livious1
Chemical Reaction
"Chemicals. 'Chemical-free' is marketing crap. Everything is a chemical."
"Bacteria automatically gets a bad rap. But most are harmless and some are even beneficial to us. There's both good bacteria and bad bacteria."
Not The Singer
"Meatloaf is awesome."
"A friend of mine at work is Hispanic. He told me the story of growing up, they never had meatloaf. He said the only thing he knew of it was television shows where kids would say things like 'Aww, meatloaf again?' so he assumed it was terrible."
"Then one day, he had the opportunity to try it. He loved it!"
"This came up because the company we work for was giving out free lunches last year for those of use who had to work through the early part of the quarantine. One day, they had meatloaf. We both got the meatloaf and then he told me about growing up and thinking it tasted bad."
"This is one of my favorite stories."
– will477
At the end of the day, a good or bad reputation should be about a personal experience and not generalized off of someone else's opinion.
Unless of course you're a consumer reading Yelp reviews and looking for the best products and services available.
But unless you had a limb swallowed by a shark, or gotten food poisoning from eating at Taco Bell, don't go hating on them.
@WhiteHouse/X
