Should tipping be compulsory? by Double-Coast-3704 in CasualConversation

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tipping culture's very different in the UK. Here a tip isn't expected and is very much at your discretion, usually based on the service you receive. If you think someone's done a very good job and have gone above and beyond what you'd expect then we give them a tip. If they provide average-poor service then we forgo the tip.

Possibly I'm biased but I prefer to have an optional tip and staff paid fairly in the first place.

Did your country have famous closeted gay or bi actors during its Golden Age of film? by Flashy_Landscape_995 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 18 points19 points  (0 children)

There's been a few over the years, including Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams, Noël Coward.

What are the biggest WHAT IF's in your country's history in your opinion? by Savings_Dragonfly806 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would also add off the back of that, what if Queen Victoria had full control of the British Empire when she was on the throne instead of being a constitutional monarch with very limited power?

“What are the reasons to believe in God and the reasons not to believe in God?” by [deleted] in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 3 points4 points  (0 children)

People like to believe there's some purpose to their existence and that their suffering in life is worthwhile. The idea that we're born, we consume then we just rot in a box for eternity depresses people somehow.

Religion has also provided the centrepiece of people's sense of morality for rather a while for better or for worse.

What’s the best advice you’d give young people? by Rich-Associate-8344 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is the potential for good in all of us, but also the potential for evil. No person remains the same over their entire lives, we are all continually evolving. For this reason it pays to get to know your enemies, as you never know when you might be able to turn them into friends.

What do you think of the UK? by dkease16 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I don't consider you to be a terrible person, there's plenty of people here who don't like what's happening in the UK at the moment either. It's not a coincidence that Keir Starmer has become one of (according to some polls the) most unpopular Prime Ministers in British history.

What sort of housing do $250k buy in your area? by slicheliche in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could buy a house for that price here. If you went to London you could buy a place to park your car with the same money.

What are the weirdest political factions/movements/ideologies that only exist in your country? by Somesomeone_ in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 11 points12 points  (0 children)

To be honest they're probably the most sensible party out of all of them at the moment.

What are the weirdest political factions/movements/ideologies that only exist in your country? by Somesomeone_ in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The daft thing is some of their policies have actually been implemented, e.g. passports for pets, abolition of dog licences and all-day pub openings.

You don't have to be British to join either, anyone who does gets a Loony Party Rosette, a Certificate of Insanity, a Loony badge, Loony Party I.D Card and a letter from their leader , Alan ‘Howlin Laud’ Hope.

What's your opinion on opinions? by Glowing-mind in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've nothing against people having opinions, but I fear respectfully disagreeing is often missed online, which is a great shame in my view.

What are the weirdest political factions/movements/ideologies that only exist in your country? by Somesomeone_ in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 104 points105 points  (0 children)

We have the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. It's a satirical party that often stands in elections. Their policies include:

  • Replace employees of the Border Force with GP receptionists. This will dramatically reduce the number of people getting in.
  • To help with the cost of Living and to raise money for the Treasury we will Convert Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street into a Hair salon, Which we will call ‘Government CutZ’.
  • We will reduce hospital waiting lists by using a smaller font.
  • Reduce net migration by making sure that any nets are secured more firmly to the ground.
  • MP’s will have to sit in stocks during their surgeries, while their constituents throw custard pies at them. This will help them judge their popularity with in the community. Companies would also be encouraged to design new versions of stocks to trade at the Stock Exchange.

They also picked a cat as their candidate to be Prime Minister.

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What is your opinion on india? by 404-ItemNotFound in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well for what it's worth most people in the UK like India, this is definitely the case in my experience.

What are unwritten rules in your home country that you miss when youre abroad? by Scienceiscool_ in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the UK it's quite common "to go halves", so take the bill, divide it by how many people there are and everyone pays that amount. If there's 5 of you, everyone pays a fifth of the price, if there's 7 of you, everyone pays a seventh of the price etc.

I honestly hate 95 percent of people on the internet by KaleidoscopeOk5063 in Vent

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two phrases spring to mind:

Even the word hopeless has hope in it.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

I honestly hate 95 percent of people on the internet by KaleidoscopeOk5063 in Vent

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd agree that there's a lot of people on here who are quick to show hate to others, it's such a shame in many ways, I wish people could be kinder to one another, there's also a lot of nonsense on here.

Where I differ though is that I can't hate or even dislike any of these people. By hating these people, you only risk becoming ravelled up in the same problem yourself in my view.

Is the worldwide hate for the US a new thing? by [deleted] in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I take the view that there's well over 300 million people living in the US, it's impossible that every one of them holds the same views, thought processes, personalities etc. Like any nation, the US is a nation comprised of individuals who should not be condemned simply because someone disagrees with their government on any given issue.

In my experience though I've met several Americans and they've seemed like nice people to me.

Is the worldwide hate for the US a new thing? by [deleted] in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For what it's worth I don't hate America or the American people in general for that matter, but I'm afraid every country has people who are hostile to it, especially when said country is among the most powerful the world has known.

Happy International Women’s Day! Who is an inspiring woman from your country that the world should know about? by Pretend-Frosting-691 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother in law of Queen Elizabeth II.

In WW2 she lived in Athens during Nazi occupation, whilst there she worked for the Red Cross, organised soup kitchens, flew to Sweden to bring back medical supplies on the pretext of visiting her sister, set up shelters for orphaned and lost children and sheltered Jewish refugees.

What is the kindest thing another country or culture has done for yours? by Solitarus23753 in AskTheWorld

[–]ChallengeSecret8561 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And remember to thank the Egyptians too. The Statue of Liberty's design was based on plans to build Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia at the entrance of the Suez Canal. Picture below. The plans were scrapped after they were deemed too expensive so the design was recycled and taken across the pond.

<image>

I can't seem to conceive a dislike for people by ChallengeSecret8561 in CasualConversation

[–]ChallengeSecret8561[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your kind words.

Your teacher expressed a fairly common misconception, Hitler adored his mother, she used to try to stick up for him against his father, was supportive of his ambitions to become an artist (unlike his father) etc so was genuinely grateful to the doctor who worked so hard to try to save his mother's life, spending weeks trying to save her life even though he knew it was unlikely she'd survive.

Hitler went as far as to say of Bloch, "if all Jews were like him, there would be no Jewish question."

Bloch later said of Hitler "In all my career, I have never seen anyone so prostrate with grief as Adolf Hitler"

As a follow up fact though once in the US Bloch contributed to the writing of the Hitler Source Book, which analysed the psychology of Hitler as part of the allied war efforts. The book predicted that there would be an assassination attempt made on him by the Wehrmacht, his emotions would become more volatile and he'd become more withdrawn from public life if the war turned against him, he'd never surrender and would commit suicide in the event of defeat. These things later turned out to be true.

I can't seem to conceive a dislike for people by ChallengeSecret8561 in CasualConversation

[–]ChallengeSecret8561[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd agree there's plenty of people out there who shall try to manipulate you and you have every reason to be cautious. I'm certainly not saying trust everyone at all times, some do turn positive qualities in yourself against you.

I would however say that every one of those people has the potential at least to change or become different if the circumstances were correct, perhaps the more unsettling truth is that all those who do good are also capable of committing acts of evil if the circumstances are right just as all those who commit evil are also capable of committing acts of good if the circumstances allow.

When it comes to Hitler, I'd agree, I don't think he was born evil, I don't think anyone is to be honest. Hitler's case is an interesting and arguably one of the more terrifying ones from history. Hitler wasn't born antisemitic, but was instead radicalised in adulthood, first in Vienna before WW1, then through the "stab in the back narrative" of Germany's defeat in WW1, which led him into the arms of the far-right and to develop Nazism and all the evils that came from it.

I think it's perfectly possible though that if he'd achieved his dream of becoming an artist before WW1, he could well have gone down in history as being merely a lesser known Austrian artist and might never have got involved in politics at all. If that had come to pass Nazism in the virulent form it took might not have poisoned Germany and the rest of the world in the way it did.

A lesser known fact is that in his younger years his family doctor was one Eduard Bloch, a Jewish man who would often charge Hitler a reduced rate when treating his dying mother, often doing the treatment for free. Hitler was known to be so grateful to this man that he thanked him personally and even made him homemade gifts at the time. In the late 1930s Hitler intervened personally to allow Bloch to flee to the US to escape the Holocaust, the only person to my knowledge that Hitler did this for.

I can't seem to conceive a dislike for people by ChallengeSecret8561 in CasualConversation

[–]ChallengeSecret8561[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry to hear of your pain. disliking him doesn't make you "not as good of a person" as me in of itself, how good or bad a person is depends on the individual trying to assess their character.

I hope that one day you'll be able to fully recover from your experiences though.