[Amazing] 25 Controversial Things That Society Subconsciously Embraces Or Considers Cool
For an article that comes with the word “controversial” right in the title, the trolls are probably already getting their keyboards ready. But in this list we are not trying to pick a fight. In fact, none of the things mentioned in this list come from ourselves or our staff (in spite of the list’s subjective nature). All of the ideas and concepts you are about to be exposed to come from forums and message boards, primarily via Reddit. For this reason there may be things on this list that we ourselves don’t even fully understand or agree with, but having said that, for each item listed, there is a significant portion of society with strong feelings regarding that topic. So, how did we choose what to include? The first criteria is that the concept, idea, or practice must be embraced by society in some manner (typically via Hollywood, fashion, TV shows, or social media). The second is that it has to be controversial. It’s best to just jump in and see what made the list in order to get a better understanding. Either way, we tried to keep things as objectively third party as possible but still inject a bit of humor. These are 25 controversial things that society subconsciously embraces or considers cool.
Featured Image: pixabay
Apathy
Source: reddit
To get it out of the way…not caring about anything is quite often perceived as cool. And keep in mind, we’re specifically talking about complete, total apathy. Without this, we probably wouldn’t even have a list.
Cheating (in the relationship sense)
Source: reddit
You don’t need to watch too many movies to see why this made the list. There are even dating websites targeting married people.
Pimping
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
On the one side pimps are portrayed as silly goofs with their bright colored hats and suits, and on the other side you have the whole human trafficking thing.
Youtube prank shows
Source: reddit
As with a lot of things on this list, we’re not talking about every prank show, just like we’re not talking about every rapper or every rock star. But there are definitely a good number that cause quite a bit of controversy with their pranks.
Being in the Mafia
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
On the one hand you have people who are legitimately affected by the Mob, and on the other hand you have TV shows like Mob Wives.
Thug life
Source: reddit
Similar to some rock stars (coming up in our list), some rappers have managed to put forward an apparently convincing argument that selling drugs and busting caps is cool. Not surprisingly, this has caused some pushback.
Child Pageants
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
Putting children into beauty pageants has definitely caused its share of controversy.
Breeding dogs
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
Breeding dogs has led to some very negative health effects for the dogs, which unsurprisingly has caused a bit of a stir.
The World Cup
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
It’s typically held in places like Rio de Janeiro where most of the population is poor and suffering, but as some people point out, it’s mostly wealthier classes that reap the benefit.
Death without due process
Source: reddit, Image: pixabay
In most movies the antagonist just gets killed off, no questions asked. Yea, we know, it’s just Hollywood, but since when has Hollywood not been controversial?
Grownups acting like teenagers
Source: reddit
Housewives of this, Housewives of that. Reality TV in general is guilty of this.
War
Source: reddit, Image: pixabay
This seems obvious, but really, from video games to politics, the more you glamorize war, the more popular you are. And, of course, war is a very divisive subject.
Alcoholism, drug abuse, etc
Source: reddit, Image: pixabay
It has been noted that when someone successful has an alcoholic, wife-beater side to their personality it makes them “edgy”.
Depression
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
One of the common complaints against Tumblr is that it has glamorized being sad and depressed, in spite of the fact that people legitimately suffer because of depression.
Murder
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
Between the news, TV, and movies, you can’t really get away from it. Even “The Office” featured an episode that involved a murder (Scranton Strangler). We even have shows about murderers murdering murderers (Dexter).
Glamorizing celebrities who killed themselves by overdosing
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
This happens quite often.
Stealing
Source: reddit
This is one that a lot of us end up justifying. Whether it’s downloading movies or crashing the world finance market…
Bullfighting
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
Although there are different types, we’re talking about the one where the bull ends up dead.
Voluntourism
Source: reddit, Image: Quinn Comendant via Flickr
The argument is that young, suburban college kids quite often end up going on one week trips to developing countries just so that they can “dig wells” and take pictures with orphans. Some people point out that this sort of behavior can come across as exploitative.
Access to cheap goods from abroad
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
The people making those goods are quite often literally (we use this word in its intended sense) worked to death. Once again, it’s not surprising that this would end up on our list.
Torture
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
In Hollywood, torture is usually the right answer when it comes to interrogating potential terrorists. In real life…well, it’s real life.
Pirates
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
Basically a culture of kidnapping, raping, and pillaging became a childhood party theme.
Filming victims of crimes/crashes/misfortunes
Source: reddit, Image: pixabay
The rising incidence of people whipping out their phones to film tragedies rather than helping has caused some controversy.
Cheating on your taxes
Source: reddit, Image: pixabay
The IRS is so hated that cheating on taxes is almost cool in some circles.
North Korea
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia
In spite of some of the worst things to have happened in recent history taking place between its borders, nobody does much of anything about it. Of course, the flip side is that nobody can.
