I recently ran into a fun question on a popular internet forum. A member asked the Non-Americans what American custom makes no sense to them. Here are their honest confessions.
1. Standing Cashiers
Countless individuals admit they do not understand why the American workforce won’t allow their cashiers to sit down. Entitled customers who associate sitting as lazy, of course! That, accompanied by the work mantra “If you got time to lean, you got time to clean,” is likely why they aren’t afforded that basic human right. Aldi is the only place anyone recalls seeing a cashier sitting down.
2. Covering Shifts
Many wonder why America forces its employees to find coverage when they call in sick. This! 100% this! As someone who has worked in food service, that is the worst. They are forcing sick people to come to work to infect other employees and customers.
I’ve worked in many food establishments, and they were all the same. One asks, “Isn’t that literally what a manager is for?” This reminds me, as a retail manager, I was told by my boss that I was “Not allowed” to let people call in sick to work.
3. Homeowner Associations (HOAs)
One foreigner confesses they don’t understand why Americans allow homeowner associations to dictate the most minor details of your own property and home.
Business Insider reports: “Homeowners associations exploded in popularity in the 1960s as suburb development was booming. Some HOAs used racist deeds and covenants to bar Black buyers from purchasing homes. Today, HOAs are majority white and Asian, and Black homeowners say they experience targeted discrimination and harassment by their HOAs.”
4. The Legal Age
The fact that an American becomes a legal adult at age 18 and can buy a gun, join the army, vote, and drive vehicles but isn’t allowed to purchase alcohol until they are 21 is something no one understands. As an American, I certainly don’t. You can’t rent a car until you are 25, but you can die for your country fresh out of high school. Make that make sense.
5. The Toilet Gap
I have read and heard from many foreigners about the inability to understand why American public restrooms have massive gaps between the stall and door.
One thing I read that stuck with me was when someone wrote: “America is the land of looky-loos.” I agree. It’s very uncomfortable when someone makes eye contact with you through the gaps while you’re trying to do your business.
6. Black Friday
Do you understand Black Friday? I don’t, and neither do several forum members. One elaborates: “You spend Thanksgiving saying how grateful you are for what you have, and then have a massive free-for-all over stuff you want.”
I only did Black Friday one year as a single mother to get my daughter some good deals. It wasn’t worth the lines, the crowds, and the disappointment of seeing people act deplorable. The amount of things on the floor from frenzied shoppers was unreal.
7. Sales Tax
Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of playing marketing tricks on your mind, they included the sales tax on the price of an item instead of at the register? A number of people believe it makes zero sense not to tally it into the total price.
8. The Pledge of Allegiance
Ut oh. Why do I feel angry comments coming with this admission? Many people around the globe can’t comprehend why Americans say The Pledge of Allegiance at school.
An American writes: “In high school, I just stopped participating and watched all the other kids automatically get up, in a compulsory/automatic/programmed way, put hands over hearts, mouth the words in a bored monotone, and sit down. It got more and more bizarre each day I stayed seated and silent.”
9. Doing Your Taxes
This one is infuriating, honestly. Why do Americans have to do their own taxes when they know exactly what you owe? It’s a scam. Numerous people agree that the entire process is terrible, with others elaborating on how income taxes are illegal.
10. Tipping Culture
The idea that employers do not pay their employees a living wage and instead demand the public to compensate their staff with tips is a concept non-Americans can’t get behind.
11. Gender Reveal Parties
Gender reveal parties make zero sense to many foreigners and Americans alike. A forum member says: “I hate that it’s slowly becoming a thing in the U.K.,” elaborating that she doesn’t care about what you’re having and you shouldn’t care about what she’s having.
12. Fraternities and Sororities
“Anything and everything related to belonging and participating in a Fraternity or Sorority,” one notes. “Especially the selection and hazing.” Another adds, “These are big in southern colleges specifically (most notably Alabama.) because of racism/segregation.
Sororities were in practice, still able to segregate based on race/religion when other institutions couldn’t, so massive amounts of money got pumped into them, and all kinds of things that should have been public services/part of the school were instead part of Fraternities/Sororities because they could be denied to non-white or non-Christian students.”
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports: “Although fraternities eventually removed the white clauses that were previously included in their constitutions, effectively opening the opportunity for people of color to join, contemporary scholars still question how embedded whiteness and racism are within these organizations.”
13. Bidets vs. Toilets
I agree with the rest of the world, who is questioning why America doesn’t have bidets as commonplace. Several Americans admit to installing them in their homes, with one explaining it’s ruined using public restrooms forever.
14. Censorship on TV
“Beep sounds on TV when someone swears. It’s just words. It can’t bite you,” one writes. “Also blurring out the middle finger when someone sticks it up by itself.”
15. High School Reunions
Multiple people drew attention to the idea of high school reunions making zero sense, with one asking: “Why would you want to reunite with these people ten years later?” I understand entirely and skipped mine.
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Source: Reddit.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.